First, you have to applaud the tremendous heart and spirit of the Contender finale. ESPN couldn't have dreamt of a better scenario for the live final. Having said that, the action was a little too crude for me to really be blown away. It was a great, sloppy fight, but still sloppy. Everything Bika does is wide, and Codrington apparently has no sense of distance at all. They are both very easy to hit flush with power shots. Even in a punch-out like Pavlik vs. Taylor, the skill level was much, much higher. To me, that fight was better. Calzaghe/Kessler also was better, and so was Vasquez/Marquez II. But thanks to ESPN for funding The Contender, and hopefully there will be many more. Boxing needs all the support it can get, and fights like the final are a shot in the arm for attracting new fans.
No ... It wasn't a candidate for FOTY, but it showed pretty clearly that you do not need "A" level fighters to put on a great show. That fight happened as the result of a tournament, but you could create the same atmosphere with good matchmaking. Promoters really ought to work on moving away from so many guys just fighting set-ups. Friday Night Fights on ESPN, and Fight Night on Verses could both be great shows that could do a lot for boxing if we had more careful matchmaking and fewer guys being allowed to pad their records with tomato cans! Boo
Totally agreed. B.A.D. has been a promoters' platform in recent years, and that **** has to stop. You wanna put your guy on HBO? OK, let's find a dangerous opponent. No more showcase fights on the major networks. ESPN is a different story, because they don't pay ****. But maybe if The Contender starts to catch on, they'll go back to amping up their budget the way they did in the 80s. Versus is what it is. I don't know if that will change anytime soon. Meanwhile, I think better access to the European networks would be great. I wish there were a way to combine Setanta, Sky, Eurosport and other companies to get only the fights -- and none of the other stuff -- for a reasonable monthly rate. I'd happily pay $15/month to get just the European fights.
What do u expect from a show called CONTENDER? World Class Fighters and Champions do not go on that show, it is just a a chance for B and C level fighters to make the kind of money they have never seen before where as WORLD CHAMPIONS will laugh at the money that is paid out.
I'm not sure I understand your point. I thought Contender did a great job this year. But people have been mentioning Bika/Codrington as FOTY, and I just don't see it. Doesn't mean it wasn't hella fun, though. And there are lots of beltholders who wouldn't sneeze at a 750k purse.
This astounds me. Same as when people were talking about Miranda-Pavlik as a possible candidate. Both were simply rough, ugly brawls (and at least Codrington-Bika, at least in the first half, had sustainted two-way action unlike that one-sided snoozer). When guys named Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez set the bar and then raise it in the same year, no other pair of dance partners really has a chance. Their two fights are OBVIOUSLY the #1 and #2 fights this year, by a lightyear. Hell, I'll say clear fight of the decade/century-so-far.
I'm in total agreement. I know it doesn't matter to a lot of people, but skill level plays a role in whether I determine a fight is FOTY worthy. Obviously, that doesn't mean guys have to fight like Whitaker; but I do want to skill and some strategy thrown in with my war. (Castillo-Chico and MAB-EM I-III are all excellent examples.) Still, great fight for The Contender and for boxing in general.
That is a very strong statement. I don't think I feel the same way, but certainly I loved both of those fights. Especially No. 2.
Bika/Codrington was not the only fight that was super-hyped by the commentators. Pavlik/Miranda, Pavlik/Taylor, Calazghe/Kessler were also hyped way beyond what they actually were. As good as these fights were, especially Pavlik/Taylor, they were not the stuff of legends. I mean go watch: Haglar/Hearns; Lenoard/Hearns I; Danny Lopez/Mike Ayala; Arguello/Pryor I; Arguello/Mancini; Any Ali/frazier fight; Ali/Foreman; et, et, and then come tell me that these recent fights were in the same class. To me it's insulting when I here these jokers acting as if a good fight is a legend maker. I also think the sport loses credibility rather like the guys on pro-wrestling acting like there is a life and death struggle going on. Good Match Making, and lucid commentary would go a long way toward improving the state of boxing. What if the commentators dropped all the bull**** and PAID ATTENTION! As in noticing that the beginning of the end in Pav/JT was a perfect 1-2 mid-ring. Not one commentator has picked up on that TO DATE!! Boo
