Maybe this should be in a separate thread or even a different sub-forum, but
per Dan Rafael, the third season of THE CONTENDER will start airing Sept. 4. It'll be super-middleweights this time with probably the most interesting cast yet:
• Max Alexander (26, Camden, N.J., 14-1, 2 KOs).
• David Banks (24, Portland, Ore., 14-2-1, 2 KOs).
• Sakio Bika (28, Sydney, Australia, via Cameroon, 22-3-2, 14 KOs).
• Henry "Sugar Poo" Buchanan (28, Capital Heights, Md., 14-1, 11 KOs).
• La Farrell Bunting (27, Las Vegas, 16-3-1, 16 KOs).
• Jaidon Codrington (23, New York, 16-1, 12 KOs).
• Miguel Hernandez (32, Chicago, 20-5, 10 KOs).
• Wayne Johnson (29, Lyndhurst, N.J., 16-1, 9 KOs).
• Donny McCrary (24, St. Joseph, Mo., 23-5-2, 13 KOs).
• Les Ralston (25, Buffalo, N.Y., 16-2, 9 KOs).
• Danny Santiago (34, Ocala, Fla., 29-3-1, 19 KOs).
• Paul Smith (24, Liverpool, England, 20-0, 12 KOs).
• Sam Soliman (33, Melbourne, Australia, 33-9, 13 KOs).
• Brian Vera (26, Austin, Texas, 14-0, 9 KOs).
• Rhoshii Wells (30, Las Vegas, 18-2-2, 10 KOs).
• Rubin Williams (31, Detroit, 29-2-1, 16 KOs).
Bika and Soliman are warhorses. Bika fought Joe Calzaghe last year and Soliman of course has been in with Winky Wright (in fight that he came close to winning, or so it appeared). Codrington is the highly-touted "chin checker" whose career was at least temporarily derailed when Allan Green knocked him silly in 18 seconds. But McCrary is the guy who nearly derailed Green's career by knocking him down brutally, onmly to have Green recover and get a TKO win a round later. A number of the other guys are noteworthy fighters as well.
Unlike a lot of boxing fans, I've always really enjoyed this show. Maybe I just don't take it as seriously as everyone else, but boxing is boxing and it's always fascinating to get a peek behind the scenes and become emotionally involved with the fighters stories. Look what "24/7" did for the Mayweather-De La Hoya fight. It's exactly the type of thing boxing needs.
Looks like this season will have some differences in format. It's going to be 10 episodes instead of 15, with 6 fighters somehow being eliminated in the first episode. Not sure how they plan to pull that off. Also, they plan to edit the fights less drastically -- and according to the above-linked article, will show every fight in its entirety in a separate broadcast, probably on ESPN2.
Looks like a fun season. I'm excited and the more boxing, the better!