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The Contender: Season 2

posted by mightygloves.com on July 13, 2006, in The Contender

Have you ever stopped to think about what it takes to box professionally, or wondered what goes into a boxer’s training, or how it affects their lives and the lives of their families, their feelings and emotions that take control of them before they enter the ring? If you missed season one of “The Contender”, an unscripted reality series highlighting the lives of 16 boxers as they compete for a shot at the championship, then you are in luck. A special two hour premiere of season two will air on July 18 at 10 P.M. ET on ESPN. A new sixty minute episode will air each Tuesday and will run for 11 consecutive weeks. The network also plans to make additional content available across its multiple platforms, including ESPN.com, ESPN360, ESPN Motion and Mobile ESPN.

The series will take you into the lives of 16 welterweight fighters and their quest to be “The Contender” Champion. The contestants, along with their two trainers will live together, train together and each week one fighter will get closer to the finale and the grand prize of $500,000.00. The Championship fight is scheduled for Tuesday September 26, 2006 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Each episode will take you into the lives of these fine athletes, through their vigorous training to the five round professional bout, which will have one fighter moving on toward the championship fight, and the loser going home.

Boxing is not a game to these “Contenders”, it is their career and a way of life. These men have and will sacrifice a lot for their futures and you will witness the anxieties and pressures that the fighters feel during training, immediately before their fight and after the bout. You will see the emotions of their families and how it affects their lives. You will see first hand the “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”, and you will see the lives of some of these fine young men changed forever.

The opportunity that this series gives these boxers is tremendous, not only from the exposure that it provides, but many other factors including, teaching them good nutrition, and world class training, along with getting first hand guidance from one of the greatest boxers in history and a legend in his own time, five time world champion, Sugar Ray Leonard, who will host the series, and will guide each contestant through one of the most challenging experiences of their lives. “This group of 16 contestants is the strongest group of fighters I have seen in a long time,” said Leonard. “They have the heart, determination, and will to do anything. I think that the battle to become the next “Contender” will be a fight to the finish.”

I’m really proud of these 16 young men, they really plowed their hearts out this season and they really represented “The Contender” brand extremely well,” said Lisa Hennessy, Executive Producer. “And the fights you will see this year are probably even better than last year and Sugar Ray Leonard is just a legend and it was a pleasure working with him and having him as a host.”

"The Contender" is produced by ESPN Original Entertainment, Mark Burnett Productions, & Dreamworks.
Executive Producers Mark Burnett, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Sylvester Stallone, & Lisa Hennessy.

Story by Kathleen Holland
Photos Courtesy of ESPN

Watch for upcoming entries highlighting the entire season 2.

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