Category: TV

The Contender One of the Best Ever

Craig / / 2010, Honors, The Contender, TV

The Bleacher Report posted their choices for the The Best 50 Sports Shows of All Time.  The Contender came in at # 44 and here’s why…

  • The Contender was the brainchild of Mark Burnett of Survivor fame, and was originally hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard and Sylvester Stallone The show featured a bunch of amateur boxers trying to make it big. It was just a fun watch to see what it takes to make someone into a professional boxer.  The desperation some of these guys had was palpable, and it made it that much more entertaining to watch.  It eventually fizzled out, but I enjoyed the first season.
You can see the full list here.

StalloneZone Exclusive: Bill Pruitt’s Rocky & “The Contender’s” Peter Manfredo!

Craig / / 2006, Rocky, Sly Fan, The Contender, TV

SZoner, Bill Pruitt checked in with the attached pics and this:

Hi Craig,

Here’s the new re-make of an old caricature I did. This oil on canvas is 30″x39″. “SLY” is hidden somewhere in it as usual.

Also, enclosed is a pic from last weekend with Peter Manfredo who is in town with his dad. He is training with Freddie Roach for a fight on Oct. 14th in Providence, RI and will be aired on ESPN. Thanks a lot.

– Bill

As always, thanks to Bill for sharing his talents with us! Check out Bill’s web site with brand new art posted regularly! – Craig

“The Contender” is a Winner!

Craig / / 2006, The Contender, TV
Larry Stewart, in his August 11, 2006 column for the LA Times. com says that The Contender has
become a winner! Here are some excerpts:
* “Boxing is in a slump…
* “There is one boxing format, however, that is suddenly showing signs of success — “The Contender.” * The reality series has been revamped from its first season on NBC and is now on ESPN Tuesday nights at 7.”
* “Through four weeks, it is averaging a 1.2 rating and each show is reaching an average of 1.1 million homes. That represents a 33% increase for the same time slot last year.”
* “ESPN is the perfect home for the show,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-founder of DreamWorks and
one of the creators of “The Contender.”
* “The lead producer is Mark Burnett, creator of the “Survivor” series. Last year Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard were co-hosts, but Stallone is now busy filming another “Rocky” movie, leaving
Leonard as the lone host.”
* “The series started four weeks ago with 16 fighters and is now down to 12. Each show provides an
inside look at the fighters and their families and friends and concludes with a five-round fight. The
losers go home until only two are left. The live finale will take place Sept. 26 at the Staples Center, with the winner getting $500,000.”
* “The boxers, culled from a nationwide search, are all professionals with winning records, and all in the 148-pound weight class.”

For Larry Stewart’s full article click HERE – Craig  

The Contender in Entertainment Weekly

Craig / / 2006, The Contender, TV

The June 9, 2006 issue of Entertainment Weekly looks at “67 Shows You Can’t Miss.” Here’s a few quotes about The Contender:

* NBC is a very wide audience; ESPN is a sports audience.

* It’s probably the correct home for The Contender.

* They are without the hosting skills of Sylvester Stallone, who was busy filming Rocky Balboa (the actor will stay on as exec producer).

* That emotion is, of course, compounded by observing the boxers’ parents, wives and children sit ringside as they they fight – a concept that comes from the master himself. “Stallone advised me correctly,” says (Mark) Burnett, “that Adrian was the key element in Rocky.”

* These kids are noble warriors.

The Contender returns July 18th at 10pm on ESPN – Craig