Series 1 - The Contender

I loved it. I liked the number 1 dad. Can't remember his name

 

I loved that show.

 

The show itself was fun but the boxing fights were to rockylike for me, the coolest thing was the ishe smith vs ahmed kaddour rivalry.

 

anthony bonsante

loved the show....being from the same, small, state as peter manfredo...i was pulling for him

 

To be honest, No. I have been a boxing fan for years but only " a hardcore fan " for only a few.

 

the first season was excellent. Very well done in my opinion. The only drawback alot of people have on the contender is that they dont show the whole fights just clips and they then dramatize those clips. but i loved the first season. I have it saved on my harddrive so i shall rock it this weekend

 

Walter Wright could fight

 

walter wright wasnt in the first season. he was in the one that grady brewer won(season 2)

 

I watched it, it was ok but a bit overdramatic with all the gladiator music and "im doing it for ma family" voiceovers, plus it should have been called "the gatekeeper"

buit it was alright

 

Well technically alot of them ended up being contenders for belts and fought in championship matches.

Gomez, Mora, Manfredo,Espino, Brinkley, Ishe Smith, Bonsante

All had championship fights in their careers.

 

That was my problem with it

 

I did enjoy the First Contender series and I'm amazed It has been released on DVD yet.

 

The same can be said for the following seasons. While the HLs maintained our focus on the action in the fights, seems like they could've spent a bit more time on the substance of the fights and less on the out of the ring antics of the fighters.
But as fightfans, that's why we watch so much more fight footage than the boloney between fights.
But as for bringing it a little more mainstream, it did well from what I remember, and I for one, would welcome the return of the series.

In reality though, these guys are prospects, not much more, and contender is a bit of a stretch even though their name recognition did get them some big fights.

 

That first season was brilliant. I get the feeling that it was this, as well as Prince Naz's documentary before the Barrera fight, that inspired HBO to create the 24-7 series. It got all of my friends, including the girls, involved in it, and done a beautiful job of promoting the sport the short time it lasted.

I didn't follow the other seasons, though.