The Contender 2 is a reality television show based on the sport of boxing, but with an element of the (welterweight) competitor's lives and relationships with each other within the show's living quarters, based in Pasadena, California. Filmed in January and February 2006, the show began airing on July 18, 2006. The winner of The Contender Season 2 was decided in a bout at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, broadcast live on September 26, 2006, winning a purse of US$500,000. The Contender 2 was shown on ESPN in the US, in the UK on ITV4, in Canada on TSN, in Australia on FOX8, in New Zealand on TV2, and on AXN in South and Southeast Asia.
The show took the format of a gameshow, with the boxers divided into two teams (blue and gold) in a "playground pick" on the first episode. These teams competed for the right to choose which of their team members fights that week, and who he fights against. The second half of the hour long episodes are mostly taken up with that fight: the loser is eliminated.
The program was hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard, former champion boxer. Sylvester Stallone, who famously portrayed the boxer Rocky Balboa in the Rocky series of films, is the show's executive producer. It was also produced by Mark Burnett. Unlike in season 1, Stallone does not appear on camera; at the time the series was taped, he was making Rocky Balboa, the sixth installment in the Rocky movie series. The movie premiered in December 2006.
Contestants Blue Team Gold TeamNick AcevedoGary "Tiger" BallettoNorberto "El Gallito" BravoVinroy "Slick" BarrettGrady "Bad Boy" BrewerRudy CisnerosCornelius "K-9" BundrageMichael "Cold Blood" ClarkFreddy "Furious Freddy" CurielEbo "The X-treme Machine" ElderAndre "Daredevil" EasonSteve "2 Pound" ForbesMicheal "No Joke" Stewart Jeff "Hell Raza" FrazaAaron TorresWalter "2 Guns" Wright
Episode guide Episode numbers refer to the progression of matches in the tournament. Episodes one and two aired together at full length, while seven and eight, eleven and twelve, and thirteen and fourteen were one-hour "doubleheaders" featuring two bouts.
EpisodeOriginal US air dateDescriptionWinner1The Contenders arrive and are split up into their teams before moving into a communal loft apartment: the teams each have a large room to themselves for sleeping and strategy. They spend a day training and sparring, then are woken at 5 am the next day for roadwork.
The first fight is chosen by volunteers from each team. Michael Clark represents Gold and Cornelius "K9" Bundrage for Blue. Clark apparently underestimated Bundrage in the first two rounds, but then came back to win two of his own, in front of his adopted father/boxing coach and fiancée, until Bundrage throws a punch to knock Clark down in the fifth round, securing the win by majority decision (two judges saying he won, one saying it was a tie).Blue2The blue team were rewarded for their victory in the first fight with a dinner with Alfonso Gomez. Cornelius chooses to fight in the second fight of the second round. The blue team also get to choose this week's matchup. The gold team is shown weighing themselves in the trainer's room (they have to fight as welterweights, at ). Rudy Cisneros is shown having difficulty making weight, weighing in at .
Norberto was chosen to fight Rudy, due to the weight problem. Rudy was shown running with a sweatsuit to lose the 10 lbs in 14 hours—both fighters weighed in at under 149 for the bout.
To the fight then, where Norberto easily won rounds 1 and 3, and Rudy stepped it up to take rounds 2 and 4. However, Norberto had enough energy to take the final round, and won by split decision, with judge Max DeLuca scoring 49–46 Norberto, judge Lou Moret scoring 48–47 Rudy, and judge Fritz Warner scoring 49–46 Norberto.Blue3Norberto chooses to place himself in the last fight of the second round. Some of the members of the blue team question his choice, noting that fighting last in the second round means a long rest between the first round and the second, but very little between the second and the third.
In the loft, there is a lot of trash-talking by members of both teams, setting the stage for a rivalry between Grady and Vinroy—Vinroy accuses Grady of trying to duck out on fighting him, while Grady reminds the gold team that blue makes the decisions for this fight. There is a training scene, where Alfonso Gomez spars with several contestants. Then, Aaron is chosen to fight Gary.
During the interviews of Gary and Aaron, Gary goes over his fight strategy while Aaron spends most of his time trash-talking Gary, saying "If I lose to Gary, I'll retire." Aaron believes that Gary is a good boxer but will not win because he doesn't have enough motivation.
Gary's plan for the fight seems to be to go for a quick KO, punching hard, while Aaron is trying to box and bob his way inside Gary's reach and hold his arms when he swings big. The first round, Gary is shown landing some large shots to Aaron, but Aaron is effective at tying the bigger man up and lands some bombs of his own. In the second, Gary is the aggressor, while Aaron seems to be mostly bobbing and weaving out of the way of punches. Same for the third round, where Aaron accidentally grabs Gary's knee and lifts, knocking Gary down. Between rounds, Gary is shown bleeding, while Aaron is merely sweaty. In the fourth round, Aaron seems to hurt Gary, then slips and falls. In the fifth round, both boxers stand toe-to-toe and slug—the ring announcer refers to it as "boxing in a phonebooth." The final result is James Jen-Kin 48–47 for Balletto, Marty Denkin 47–48 for Torres and Chuck Hassett 48–47 Balletto.Gold4While the gold team lauds Gary on his victory, Blue discusses the implications of Aaron's loss. Grady uses the opportunity to again insult Aaron, saying he should have been the one to fight instead of Aaron. The gold team are all given Polaroid digital cameras as a reward, and Gary also receives a framed photo of the fight. Saying it was partially due to the injuries suffered in the battle against Aaron, Gary chooses to fight in the last bout of round two, against Norberto, who says that his plan is to try to re-open the cut by Gary's left eye.
There is a training sequence, first the contestants have to stack tires in a truck with Tommy, then hit focus mitts with Jeremy. Walter is shown working hard at training, while Andre is shown as much slower and less enthusiastic. Grady spends some time talking with his family, and the teams then discuss who's fighting next. The blue team expects Vinroy to call out Grady, but the gold team uses the power to choose to play head games with the blue team. Instead, Walter toes the line, and chooses to fight Andre. There is also a scene showing a close relationship between Cornelius and Andre, where Cornelius discusses the Bible with Andre and even says he is like "a little brother".
In the fight, Andre is knocked down in the 1st round. It seems Walter has a good chance to win the match by KO, but he gets cocky and shows off some instead. Andre never manages to win a round; Walter wins 50–44 on all three cards in the show's first unanimous victory.Gold5There is a recap of the previous action, then in-ring congratulations to Walter from his girlfriend and Sugar Ray. Back at the loft, the contestants await Walter's return, and they laud him when he comes up the elevator. "Sugar" Shane Mosley arrives with the reward for the victorious Gold team—designer leather jackets and sunglasses for everyone.
There is a training sequence, with various contestants sparring with Mosely, including Walter (who uses the opportunity to try to showcase his talents). Then, they are shown running behind Tommy in a pickup truck, and Alfonso Gomez is shown sparring with them. Walter and Cornelius exchange words, setting up another rivalry on the show. The time comes to select the position that Walter will fight in for the quarterfinals; he indicates that he's torn between fighting first and fighting against Cornelius; when he puts his plate in the slot for week nine, Cornelius taunts him, saying "smart choice", and Walter decides to change his decision; he will fight Cornelius in the quarterfinals.
Then, the fight selection for this episode; Vinroy calls out Grady. Grady is shown talking to his wife and children, while Vinroy calls his family back in Jamaica. Just before the fight, he is surprised by his wife and two girls showing up in the locker room. The fighters talk about their plans, and Jeff Goldblum is shown in the audience just before the introductions. Grady apparently wins the first round handily, cornering Vinroy and out-punching him; the second round has the same theme, with Grady cornering Vinroy and not letting up. In the third round, Vinroy "accidentally" headbutts Grady, cutting him by his right eye. The referee pauses the bout for the doctor to examine Grady, who is deemed fit to continue. Vinroy appears to win this round, coming behind his jab to score. Grady fights defensively in the fourth round, but Vinroy appears unable to capitalize on it, sticking with the jab only. In the fifth round, both boxers stand toe-to-toe and slug it out, which is to Grady's advantage, being shorter; later on in the round, Grady chases Vinroy around the ring, catching him on the ropes to win the round. Grady wins by unanimous decision, Dr. James Jen-Kin scoring 48–47, with Marty Denkin and Fritz Warner both scoring it 49–46.Blue6Grady is shown receiving six stitches near his eye, where Vinroy caught him with the headbutt. When he returns, he is lauded by his teammates for his victory. The ceremony where he chooses a slot to fight in for the next round isn't shown in full like in previous weeks, but he chooses to fight in week eleven.
The contestants get to meet Willie McGinest, who gives the blue team designer wristwatches as a reward for Grady's victory. The contestants train, and talk about Steve Forbes' record. The blue team argue amongst themselves about who's fighting next. When the time comes to choose, Michael Stewart chooses to fight Ebo. When the men's wives are interviewed, it turns out that the two families have become close, and Ebo's wife hopes that the relationship will continue regardless of the outcome of the fight.
The morning before the fight, Michael and Ebo have breakfast together, both commenting on how unusual it is to do so; they both say how much they respect each other in interviews.
In the first round of the fight, Ebo seemed to dominate, closing with jabs and forcing Michael to the ropes; Michael lands a couple of big shots, but not enough to win the round. In the second and third rounds, Ebo tries the same game plan, successfully, although in both cases, Michael lands more big shots than Ebo; Ebo's volume wins out. In the fourth round, Michael lands a huge left hook, stunning Ebo, and slowing him. After this point, every time they close, Michael manages to land a power punch, culminating in a knockout punch coming from a left hook. Ebo manages to rise by the count of nine, but when he is asked to walk towards the referee, he stumbles and keeps his hands down, so the referee ends the fight at that point, 1:52 in the fourth round.
After the fight, both men talk with their wives and the camera, discussing their feelings about fighting a friend; Michael seems especially broken-up, saying he'd have to pray for Ebo's family, and thanking the referee for stopping the fight before Ebo is hurt. Ebo is taken away in an ambulance as a precaution; the ring doctor indicates that he's worried that there might be slow bleeding in Ebo's brain.Blue7The contestants discuss the upcoming two bouts—Freddy is unsure about boxing Steve, as Michael was supposed to box Steve instead of Ebo. However, he says "to be the best, you've got to beat the best", referring to Steve's world title. Jeff and Nick wish each other luck, and we see the men's pre-fight routine; Nick trains, while Jeff relaxes.