The Contender

[Crimson Platypus 0]

I was a little disappointed in how they showed the fight. I was hoping that they would just show the whole thing instead of the cheesy slow motion + sound effects that they did. Still, I didn't actually watch the whole show, just tuned in to the last 1/3 of it to see who was fighting and why. Gomez (I think that was his name) really took it to Manfredo, and certainly deserved to win.

[Zack Malibu 0]

I watched because I know Peter Manfredo, and trained with him in karate and kickboxing at his dad's gym when I was younger, before it turned into a full fledged boxing gym. Sad to see the hometown guy go down so fast, but according to an article in our local paper, all eliminated fighters will remain on the payroll so that they can be brought back in "fan favorite matches".

[Guest Brian]

I got sorta pissed with the whole thing, but I'm going to wade it out and see how it goes and if it pays off. I was surprised coming on last night without a thread in here. Anways, my gripes:

 

1. I'm nto digging the two team thing right now, with only one trainer and everyone working out together. I know it builds drama and all, but I like the idea if you're going to divide into teams, you actually divide.

 

2. In an hour and a half show, I expected a lot more training. I hope next one is better, because they won't be so dead-set on introducing guys.

 

3. Editing. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This is two-fold. One, I like to watch the whooollle fight, especially without the gimmicktry. And I think that this is great vehicle for the sport, and here they are not willing to condition fans, afraid to take that risk. Really disappointed on this front.

 

Otherwise, I think the group of fighters they've got together is incredible and they have a real opportunity with this, but it feels like an entertainment, reality show rather than a boxing show.

[Guest NaturalBornThriller4:20]

I like the show because it actually makes you care about what's going to happen.

 

I felt for Manfredo after the fight. It seemed like his mind was focused more on his wife and daughter than on the fight. Plus, the pressure of wanting to do good in front of them.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Just show the damn fight. How many times do they need to cut to the crowd?

[Guest Brian]

I think it's a big problem. I'm a casual fan of boxing, I'll tune in whenever it's on ESPN or Fox, and my brother was a boxer, but when you commit to showing only part of a fight your not enticing people to get into the actual fights, absorb what's going on, etc. Like what has been said about TUF, they need to put announcer's on so people can piece together the things, and learn, growing into the sport. This is a much bigger opportunity than TNGC, with Stallone and Bruckheimer behind the project, but they can't cut stuff for entertainment when it sacrifices what a lot of the show is about. The boxing.

[Crimson Platypus 0]

I agree about the announcers. They need to have knowledgeable, well spoken announcers that can explain things like the scorecard. Maybe have someone who scores each round and explains why they scored it the why they did. Like someone above said, this is a great way for boxing to showcase itself. Being a long-time boxing fan (my grandfather taught boxing at the Cronk Gym in Detroit, I met Hitman when I was 7 or 8) I had some high hopes for this and TNGC and I really have felt fairly let down.