Contender stuff

[luvfightgame]

How is getting a lot more publicity a step down? The tournament is what it is, but the huge impact the show has is the popularity of the fighters. The paydays for the guys before and after are drastically different. This should be a huge boost for all of them that hang around a while on the show.

I agree with you. Look at Manfredo since appearing on the contender. His fight with Calzaghe and the fight before that against Joey Spina he got $250,000 each time. I bet he didn't even get a tenth of that before he appeared on the contender! It doesn't garner any respect from the hardcore boxing fans like me or you but to the fighters it ceratinly means better promotion and marketability. I must admit I was a little shocked when i saw Bika, Soliman and Codrington on there but if you take a moment to think, you can't blame the fighters for taking the oppurtunity.

Take a look at the trainers they just hired. It lends some credibility to the show. Overall the show is good entertainment. I think people expect way too much out of these guys cause they were on t.v. they were still fighters before, and it's called "the contender" not "the greatest fighters ever". I was a little shocked too, but to the average guy this group of fighters are no more well known than any of the first group of fighters were. Should be a good season. At least the corner advice will be better than "this is for your family" or "get out there and throw punches".

No here's the beef people have with it (and i believe is goes for everyone who doesnt like the show):

There was already a show out there to see who was the best boxer of a group, it was called boxing- greg giraldo

Every fighter, ATG or recognized journeyman/bum started out the EXACT same way. Very little exposure, very little money, and if you didn't have the right management, you were going no where. Now there's this show that gives average fighters the "chance of a lifetime" to win a fake belt and a quarter mil. Why did this guy get chosen over that guy? Its 100% bullshit. All it does is promote mediocrity. "Horray you've beaten an unproven prospect. Most fighters would have to beat an established champion to get this kind of exposure and money but you don't. Here's $250,000 (or 1mil in the total joke that was season 1) for beating an average fighter that doesn't have a championship belt."

Mora was what like 17-0 when he fought manfredo the first time and that fight was worth 1mil dollars? Where's everybody else's HANDOUT?

I can sympathize, but really it's jacked. The disparity between the top guys making millions and the average guy like Bonsante having a full time job and fighting at the same time isn't right. Often it is promotion and hype more than talent. There are plenty of guys that have been built up and fed easy opposition and promoted and matched easily. Those guys make big money and aren't necessarily the most talented. Having another way for a fighter to get out of the bottom rung paydays isn't a bad thing in my opinion.

I am more offended by a fighter making the biggest payday in the history of boxing and not putting there heart and soul into BEATING THE OTHER FIGHTER, and instead trying to win a points decision without any bloodshed and then calling it easy work. To me it's almost like watching a highschool or college football game instead of pro. Most of the time the talent is lacking, but they sure seem to play alot harder. The pros seem to go half speed till the playoffs.

If we are gonna talk about how it's not fair to make lots of money without REALLY earning it.... We should be looking at sports as a whole. People get paid enormous amounts of money for doing pointless things like hitting a ball or throwing something, when some people put there lives on the line for about 2% of what an athlete makes for a season of work. If you really look at it, it's all ridiculous. ODH made more money in his last fight than probably all of the military members killed in Iraq in the first year of the war would make if you added up their annual salary. Talk about a handout?