Ok, I gotta throw my hat in the ring again on the contender hate.

The boxers that were on the contender were boxers before the show. They weren't actors that showed up to learn to box. They were your average everyday fighters trying to make a career and they got this opportunity so now they are more well known and make more money since their careers are based on entertainment they make more money by being more well known. Fighters don't make more money just because they have more skill. There are many highly skilled fighters that are not well known and don't make much money. The higher the weight class the more money for the fights, even though most of the time the heavy's don't fight nearly as active as a lower weight class. It's a fact folks.

If you liken the contender to american idol or some other type of talent show maybe you will get the idea of how this works. They get on the show and compete against one another for the prize offered. They are competing to win the show and they get a lot of publicity which helps them to become more well known. Nobody says they are the greatest most talented people in the world, they just happened to be the most talented on the show at the time.

Madonna is one of the most popular and highest paid recording artists. She isn't the best singer, not the best dancer, not the best song writer, yet she's one of the most popular and well known and highest paid Because for some reason people like her, that's just how it goes. The contestants on the contender (most of them) had established careers and many of them had been on Friday night fights a few times. Most of them fought some upcoming prospects and were on the losing side of the deal.

Maybe some of you are getting the "Contender" confused with "The Next Great Champ" that ODH put on. That was crap, those guys weren't fighters, the first guy cried because he actually had to get in the ring. The contender has had experienced professionals for the most part.

Maybe everyone wouldn't be saying boxing is dying if it's true fans (those of us that watch any fight, not just big names) didn't throw every fighter that's not undefeated under the bus. Also when middle of the road guys get a decent paycheck and can make a career rather than just the big names, it's a good thing. There is way too much disparity in paydays. ODH can fight anyone and get millions while some of the most competetive and entertaining fights happen for a few thousand.

And my take on the fight is Manfredo is talented enough to give anyone a tough fight. I don't see him beating Lacy but I think it will be competitive and entertaining which is what I look for in a fight. The whole thing with J.C. was an abortion and Manfredo got robbed. It was a bogus stoppage and everyone knows it. If JC was dodging a flurry like that against someone and they stopped it there would have been an uproar. It was crap and everyone knows it. The stoppage was based upon the preconceived notion that Manfredo was out of his league rather than what happened in the ring. Sure he most likely would have lost but he didn't get beat, didn't run, didn't do anything wrong to have the ref step in way too early. He was respecting the speed that JC punches with and waiting to punch back, dodging and blocking almost every punch, wasn't in trouble, certainly wasn't winning but it was a crap stoppage no matter what.