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A reality television series that follows a group of boxers as they compete with one another in an elimination-style competition, while their lives and relationships with each other and their families are depicted.
2005
Sixteen of the best middleweight fighters in the United States arrive in Los Angeles at the Contender Gymnasium. Each week, the boxers will train at this gymnasium and, with the support of their families who are now living close by, will vie to win $1,000,000 if they win a fight at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Teams are divided into East and West and in the first challenge, the winner of which decides the matchup for the fight that week (one fighter from each team), the players must haul three logs up a steep hill. West comes out victorious, and choose Alfonso Gomez and Peter Manfredo as the contenders of the night. In a suprising fight, Alfonso, with help from his father, mother and family, beats Peter, who has his wife and daughter to cheer him on.
The West once again wins the second challenge, a puzzle using flags, they again are allowed to decide the matchup for the week. Ishe Smith wimps out and the team reluctantly allows Jesse Brinkley to challenge veteran Jonathan Reid to the second round of fighting of the show. Tempers flare when Jesse accuses Ishe of betraying his team by rooting for Jonathan instead of himself. Later, in the second surprising upset of the game, Jesse Brinkley defeats Jonathan Reid in a close match of fighting.
The tension between Ishe and Ahmed reaches a boiling point when West wins the third challenge, a dodgeball game, and Ishe challenges Ahmed to the third boxing match. Though Ahmed starts out strong with a heavy barrage of punches in the first round, Ishe gets the last laugh when he wins the very personal match and gets the third spot into the quarter finals.
The teams reconvene after the fight between Ishe and Ahmed, and everyone seems glad that Ahmed was outed. Jeff begins to feel ill, and after consulting a doctor, he finds out that he has chicken pox and that he must leave the entire tournament. In his place, Stallone tells the remaining contenders to vote one person back into the game. Peter Manfredo, jr. from Episode 1 is voted back in with a vote of 8-4 (the other votes being for Jonathan Reid). Later, at the challenge, the East Coast pulls their car to the finish line the fastest, and they choose Najai Turpin to fight Sergio Mora. At the boxing match, Najai gives it all he has but is defeated by a surprisingly strong Sergio.
The first four Contender fights are recapped as Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard host, pointing out what went wrong about the fight, and what the winner did right.
Peter Manfredo, after being let back into the game, begins to feel "off." He has tasted his first defeat when Alfonso beat him, and he is afraid to lose again. At the challenge, which tests versatility, West wins again, and is able to choose the matchup for that night. Miguel Espino chooses to fight Manfredo. At the fight, Manfredo conquers his fears of losing and wins the match, sending an ashamed and sad Miguel packing.
After feeling their first loss of the game, the West Coast team set lineups for the next three weeks - beginning with Anthony (West) versus Jimmy. When West wins the challenge, Anthony chooses not to pick to fight Jimmy because Jimmy's arms are too long, and that challenges him. He does what is best for him, not for his team, and chooses to fight Brent Cooper, a former Alcoholic who turned to religion. That night, all of the other fighters - even Anthony's team - exclude him and wish Brent all the good luck in the world, leading to an explosive pre-fight press conference and an even more explosive fight - Anthony's determination results in a quick win, and only three out of the five rounds need to be fought. Brent is sent packing by Sly, and Anthony's team wishes bad luck upon him.
Tensions are still surrounding the West Coast from last week's "betrayal" with Anthony choosing not to fight Jimmy Lange. Ishe Smith opts not to take a part in the reward for Anthony's win, saying that he doesn't feel right celebrating a win that he didn't want. At the challenge, the teams knock down graffiti-covered walls and load their debris into the back of a new car, and in the end West wins, giving them a choice of the matchup, ultimatley deciding the matchup for the next week as well, by process of elimination. Tarick chooses to call out Juan, the youngest player in the game, and in the fight, Juan surprises everyone by beating Tarick. On his way out of the Contender Gymnasium, Tarick says that he feels relieved that he finally got his shot.
After his tough fight the week before, Juan De La Rosa feels terrible. The show must go on, however, and the remaining two contestants who have not won a fight, Joey Gilbert and Jimmy Lange, prepare for their fights. In the ring, Joey beats out Jimmy in a close fight, and Joey is given a ticket to the second round while Jimmy is sent home. After, Juan quits due to his injuries, and Sly and Sugar Ray take the remaining boxers to Caesar's Palace to give them a glimpse of what a champion's life is like - filled with girls, money, and greatness.
After returning home from Las Vegas, the fighters are forced to vote someone back into the competition. In order to throw Ishe off, a new alliance of Joey, Anthony, Jesse, & Peter vote Ahmed back into the game. In a turn of events, the challenge is completley individual, and the winner will make the choice of who will fight that night. In the first individual challenge, Jesse Brinkley defeats the competition and picks Sergio and Ishe to fight, knowing that Sergio will beat Ishe and send him packing. In the fight, Ishe is unable to conquer Sergio, and he is sent home, the first of the Round 2 fighers to do so.
Things take a turn to the good in the house when everyone is able to see their family during the next challenge of the competition. The challenge, to haul your family member around a horsetrack, makes Peter Manfredo into a winner, and lets him choose who would be fighting that night. He chooses Alfonso Gomez and Ahmed Kaddour to fight, and Alfonso easily claims victory, putting him into the final four instantly.
Since he beat Ahmed in the last challenge, Alfonso was able to choose someone for his reward. He picked Sergio (because Sergio picked him last time) and the two went on a shopping spree. With injuries abound, Anthony did not compete in the challenge, which Jesse won. Jesse, who makes sure he has the easiest fight the next week, matches up Peter Manfredo and Joey Gilbert, leaving Anthony and Jesse to fight next week. After a lot of training and some more inspiration from their families, Peter and Joey fight a good fight, but the two accidentally headbut, cutting Joey's face and ending the fight midway through the fifth round.
Despite being shaken up and being forced to lose ten pounds, so as to qualify for his weight range, Jesse goes through with his fight with Anthony, who has been training harder than ever in order to make his children proud. At the Pre-Fight Press Conference, Jesse and Anthony have a falling out, but at the fight, Jesse has the last word. He knocks out Anthony and becomes the final Contender player to make it to the Final Four.
The stakes are raised when the Stallone and Leonard announce that the last three fights will be seven rounds instead of the usual five, and that the matchups will be decided by the four boxers themselves - and all of the fighters would have to agree. A rematch is decided between Peter Manfredo Jr. and Alfonso Gomez Jr, who fight in their match at the end of this episode. Manfredo comes out the winner, sending him to the finals, and sending Alfonso packing.
Jesse, who knows that he has a big fight to win against Sergio if he wants to be a part of the finale, an amazing opportunity to win $1 million, feels exhausted after his fight with Anthony only days before. Despite support from both family and friends, Jesse gets beaten up badly by Sergio; Jesse comes out of the fight scarred and bruised. Sergio wins the seven-round fight, ensuring him a position in the prestigious final fight at Caesar's Palace.
In Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace, Sergio Mora and Peter Manfredo Jr. arrive to slug it out in a seven-round fight for $1,000,000. Preceded by a fight between Alfonso Gomez and Jesse Brinkley for the Bronze Medal, which Alfonso wins, the ultimate fight is tough and brutal. In the end, Sergio conquers Peter by a unanimous vote, and he becomes the one and only Contender.
In Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace, Sergio Mora and Peter Manfredo Jr. arrive to slug it out in a seven-round fight for $1,000,000. Preceded by a fight between Alfonso Gomez and Jesse Brinkley for the Bronze Medal, which Alfonso wins, the ultimate fight is tough and brutal. In the end, Sergio conquers Peter by a unanimous vote, and he becomes the one and only Contender.
2007
Sixteen super-middleweight boxers vie for a $1 million purse as the bell sounds for Season 3 of this reality show, hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard and produced by Mark Burnett ("Survivor," "The Apprentice"). Each episode ends with a five-round elimination bout. Buddy McGirt and Jose Correa are trainers.
Conflict erupts between two old rivals; the fighters receive a visit from Oscar de la Hoya.
The second first-round bout is on tap, with the Gold team owning the "power of choice." Sugar Ray Leonard hosts.
One fighter gets bad news from home while another looks to prove himself against a tough foe in the third elimination bout. Seven boxers will remain. Sugar Ray Leonard hosts.
The last two first-round matchups are determined as the boxers feel pressure to advance to the semifinals. Sugar Ray Leonard hosts.
The final first-round bout is held, after which four semifinalists will be determined. Host: Sugar Ray Leonard.
The semifinal matchups are set; season 1 favourite Alfonso Gomez battles Ben Tackie in a welterweight bout from Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Jaidon Codrington vs. Wayne Johnsen in an eight-round semifinal bout.
Australian countrymen Sam Soliman and Sakio Bika square off in an eight-round semifinal. The winner makes the Nov. 6 final in Boston. Host: Sugar Ray Leonard.
Jaidon Codrington and Sakio Bika square off in the 10-round Season 3 finale in Boston. A $750,000 grand prize is on the line. Sugar Ray Leonard hosts.
Troy Ross vs. Akinyemi "A.K." Laleye; Ehinomen "Hino" Ehikhamenor vs. Rico Hoye.
Troy Ross vs. Ehinomen "Hino" Ehikhamenor; from the MGM Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut.
2006
This is the first episode of "The Contender: Season 2". It introduces 15 new boxers and one familiar boxer from season 1, all competing to become the next Contender Champion. This episode features the first fight of the season between Cornelius "K-9" Bundrage and Michael Clark.
Part two of the season premiere, this episode features an all out boxing war between Norberto "El Gallito" Bravo and Rudy Cisneros.
Week 3 of The Contender found plenty of tension among the competitors. After harsh words between boxers, it was finally decided that Aaron Torres would fight for the Blue team, and he called out Gary Balletto.
More drama is brewing between Grady Brewer and Vinroy Barrett, but Walter Wright steps up for an "easy" fight, and challenges a dtermined, but ultimately not in shape Andre Eason.
Trouble is brewing between K9 and Walter, as Walter decides to fight K9 next round. Vinroy calls out Grady, and in a close fight Grady takes it home by Unanimous decision.
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2008
Sixteen cruiserweights arrive in Singapore; first elimination.
The first elimination causes a shift in power; fighters clash over who should compete next; and an injury could end one contestant's dream.
Team Gold receives a wake-up call; trouble brews between fighters during training; and a boxer takes on a slugger in the tournament.
Team Gold learns a tough lesson; a rivalry brews between two fighters; and harsh words are exchanged in the loft.
One fighter battles injury, while another struggles with his weight.
Fighters get their first taste of traditional Chinese medicine when an Asian Master visits. Also: two friends square off in the ring.
The first round comes to a close as the final four fighters battle for the last two spots in the second round.
The second round begins after the remaining fighters are treated to a reward Singapore-style.
Alfredo Escalera and AK Laleye settle their differences in the ring; and a new grudge is formed.
Joell Godfrey gets a second chance in the tournament; and spots in the final four are at stake.
The final four face off in the semifinal.
Troy Ross and Ehinomen Ehikhamenor square off in the season finale.
2018
Sixteen boxers move into a training facility to compete in the Contender tournament; two fighters have a verbal altercation outside the ring; the two teams choose fighters to represent them in the first fight of the tournament.
A passionate fighter steps up and is gunning for a major threat from the opposing side; another fighter is determined to stir up trouble as tension between the teams escalates.
The winning team is riding high from their victory and is hungry for another; one fighter plays mind games with the other team, while another focuses on his faith to maintain peace while in the Contender house.
One team continues to reign while the other remains discouraged; observant behavior initiates a guessing game of who will be called out next, frustrating members of the losing team, who are waiting for their chance to prove themselves.
Tension between the teams rises as one fighter continues his antics, keeping the opposing team on edge; one fighter gets to spend time with his family; two hometown rivals step into the ring to face off.
One team is livid after being stripped of a victory, and the three remaining fighters are out for blood; after feuding since day one, a heated rivalry between two fighters is settled in The Contender ring.
A former Olympian, a world record holder, a boxer who hasn't fought in three years and one of the older boxers in the house all fight for the last two slots of round two; with so much on the line, they're all going for a knockout.
It's every fighter for himself in the second round of The Contender Tournament as former teammates must prepare to battle; a special guest drops by the gym.
One fighter faces a doctor's evaluation to decide whether he can continue in the tournament; another fighter nearly gets into a fight with a fellow boxer inside the house; two Contenders face off against each other.
Friends become foes in the last two quarterfinal bouts; with the semifinals just around the corner, one fighter tries to refocus, while another is hungry for redemption.
The final four contenders face off in the semifinals; two season-long rivals battle, while another match involves two fighters who have built a brotherly bond; in the end, only two will move on to the finals.
After their arduous journeys, the top two fighters go head-to-head in a battle for the $250,000 prize and the ultimate title of "The Contender"; from the Forum in Los Angeles.
Sylvester Stallone
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Sergio Mora
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Brent Cooper
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Tarick Salmaci
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Najai Turpin
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Anthony Bonsante
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Jimmy Lange
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Alfonso Gómez
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Joey Gilbert
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Ahmad Kaddour
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