TalkingBoxing Articles
What ESPN's "The Contender" Could Be
FRI April 4, ANTONIO ANDRES CARRIEDO - I hate to rain on the reality television series, "The Contender's" parade. However, even in light of the recent wins by "Contender" alums Brian Vera over much-hyped 160 lb. prospect Andy Lee and Cornelius Bundrage over former IBF 154 lb, titlist Kassim Ouma, I find it necessary to point out that "The Contender" still has a long way to go before it begins to truly live up to its potential. In the thrilling finale of its third season, which featured an incredible 168 lb. fight between battle tested veteran Sakio Bika and untested hot prospect Jaidon Codrington, "The Contender" lived up to its potential.
At its best, "The Contender" can provide fans with memorable battles that produce worthy title contenders. However, a quick look at the spring boxing schedule will prove to the discerning eye that season three of "The Contender" missed quite a few top 168 lb. prospects. 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist, Andre Ward defeated Rubin Williams by TKO7 on March 20th. Ward will follow that crossroads fight up with a fight against battle tested former hot prospect Jerson Ravelo on the June 13th edition of ShoBox.
The ShoBox series will air three more intriguing matchups involving 168 lb. prospects over the next five weeks. Buddy McGirt Jr. will fight Carlos De Leon Jr. on April 11th, 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist Andre Dirrell will fight Anthony Hanshaw on May 2nd and Carl Froch will battle Denis Inkin on May 10th. Unlike the overwhelming majority of the fights which aired on ESPN every Tuesday night in the fall of 2007, these matchups will have an immediate impact on the rankings within the 168 lb. weight class.
While it is important to note that the fighters who've participated on "The Contender" embody the positive attributes of fighters that fans need to see more of if the sport is to regain mainstream appeal; it's a misnomer to call a show "The Contender" when, in fact, the overwhelming majority of its participants will not contend for world titles. It may be worse that those who actually have competed for titles have not been competitive in their title shots.
Alfonso Gomez' April 12th WBA 147 lb. title challenge against Miguel Cotto, Steve Forbes' May 3rd non-title 150 lb. battle with former six division titlist Oscar De la Hoya and Sergio Mora's June 6th WBC 154 lb. title challenge against Vernon Forrest all have the potential to give "The Contender" series its first truly significant win. However, none of "The Contender" alums are given a realistic chance of winning any of those three fights.
This brings me back to my original point. A truly bona fide prospect like Ward could have used the network exposure, as could a bevy of noteworthy prospects and contenders who regularly compete at the 168 lb. limit. I understand that promotional control, managerial conflicts, fight purses and other assorted business factors generally preclude legitimate title contenders from participating in "The Contender" series. That's a shame; because if "The Contender" had launched Ward to mainstream stardom the show and the entire sport of boxing would cease to face criticism from anyone short of extreme haters. Right now, there are legitimate concerns.
The fact remains that, in its current format, "The Contender" does not produce clarity in the divisions it visits. Instead, with the exception of Bika-Codrington, it produces fodder for true title contenders and champions to face in their tune up bouts (e.g. Edison Miranda-David Banks, Joe Calzaghe-Peter Manfredo, etc.). In some cases, the tune up fodder may expose over-hyped prospects (e.g. Vera-Lee) or shot former titlists (e.g. Bundrage-Ouma). While these are undeniably positive developments for "The Contender," this still falls short of clarity within the division.
The mainstream reaction to Bika-Codrington was instructive. The general public enjoys a great fight. It should not matter if a fighter's management team is not willing to give up promotional control of their charge. The best contenders who regularly compete in the division should participate in "The Contender." If fans begin to perceive the show as a hoax then it will only reinforce negative perceptions of the sport and that does harm to everyone involved. The 168 lb. division is a great division and season three of "The Contender" did provide a glimpse of that, but only a glimpse.
The Importance of a Fab Four Fighting Each Other
The 122 – 130 lb. quartet of stars, Manny Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez, engaged in classic battles and generated an immense amount of excitement in the lighter weight classes. However, their rivalries were incomplete. Marquez did not get into the fray until too late and never fought Morales. This is reminiscent to the 147 – 160 lb. quartet of Oscar De la Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Fernando Vargas and Ricardo Mayorga. Though all four did eventually fight each other, the matchups did not come in quick succession and when a De la Hoya-Trinidad rematch seemed necessary it did not happen.
This brings me to the subject of a potential quartet of rivals at 140 – 154 lbs, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Oscar De la Hoya. By the end of the year Mayweather will have engaged De la Hoya twice. He's fought Hatton once and has expressed interest in granting the Englishman a rematch. De la Hoya has expressed interest in fighting Hatton as well. In my humble opinion, this could work to the benefit of the sport. I'm also of the opinion that Mayweather's suit filed against the Top Rank promotional outfit is actually the beginning of the end of the rift between Top Rank and Team Mayweather. So, here's a call for Cotto to be allowed to enter the fray.
This quartet of star fighters need to all fight each other. Mayweather has accomplished enough in the sport to not have a responsibility to fight another fight. However, if he is to continue fighting, a fight against Cotto is necessary before any rematch with Hatton can become justified. In fact, De la Hoya and Hatton should both fight Cotto as well. It's not enough for Mayweather to fight and defeat all of the other fighters with star power in or around his weight class. There must be a quartet of fighters who are fight each other. That is how memorable rivalries are created and definitive distinctions between classes of fighters are formulated.
Forum
