At least the last contender had Soliman, Bika, and Codrington. They could lure some decent European cruiserweights to the states to be on the show but instead they're going with a lame duck cast. Ding should be the favorite to win.
Ding should win it, but with 5 round fights it may not work to his advantage. Will be interesting, especially in such a generally overlooked division by the public.
I'm picking Troy Ross on this one.... AK-47, I hope that kid does well but I dont see him winning... Overall, Im not overly thrilled about this cast.. Think of the guys that are out there that could have been on here.... Ola Afolabi, Aaron Williams, Eric Fields, Shawn Hawk, Damian Norris, Eliseo Castillo, Francisco Palacios, Herbie Hide, Emmanuel Nwodo, Andre Purlette, Ran Nakash (he was just in philly not too long ago... blew somebody out), Jaffa Ballogou (Tim Flamos is 40, why not... atleast Jaffa can punch)
No one who has a decent career going on with a good promoter to back him up would be interested by The Contender. It's just too restricting.
You mean to tell me they couldn't throw a guy like Vincenzo Rossitto or Lubos Suda in there? Cuz these are the types of guys I'm referring to. What special direction is their career headed towards that they could pass up a shot on the contender? It's not like European fighters have never been on the show.
I think some people need to remember this is not a world title show and you can't expect the very best of any division to be on it. Its a great way to see some guys most of us otherwise would never see and to give them exposure to the public. Love this show or hate it, its boxing! Good luck to Ding!
I don't expect the best in the world... But I DO expect guys with more than 10-15 fights.... better than 7-2...
I say Troy Ross wins this. He is a very good boxer. Most people just haven't seen him fight yet. Cast might not be very good but at least he'll get some TV time!