Last week marked the exit of the prettyboy father’s boy and seconds hottest, Joey, rendering The Contender not just unwatchable from a quality thrill-factor standpoint, but also as eyecandy guilty pleasure. Gay and female audiences really now have no reason to watch, being the non-boxing fans they are, so the 18-35 straight skewing of thie primetime flop should get even more narrow. Who knows, maybe Mark Burnett has decided to come ACTIVELY on board and steer this show away from oblivion and towards born-again ratings. Here’s hoping.
Anyway, the live recap will start in a few.
After winning the fight by “split-decision,” Manfredo is excited to become a world champ, but his heart goes out to Joey.
Jesse wanted the kid to feel what it is like to fight in a real fight. Anthony says in all of his 24 years of boxing, he’s never seen a cut that fierce.
Anthony thinks that the million dollars will heal his wound.
Peter has never seen anything as gross as the cut.
Anthony spends time with the family and he is passed the ketchup. He works a fifty-hour a week job to support the family and the kids, only getting two days to spend quality time with the kids. He doesn’t want to be away from the kiddies any more, so unfortunately he must kick Jesse’s butt (actually, that would be fortunately).
Both Jesse and Anthony have hurt hamstrings and Jesse is lacking the motivation to fight. Anthony thinks that Jesse isn’t fully emotionally here and almost “wants” to lose.
The boxers are practicing their dancing after the break instead of training, until Sly calls the boys together and presents Manfredo his award. Pete’s award is meeting Angelo Dante, the legendary trainer of Ali and Sugar Ray (and who too is in need of an escape from his washed up). Angelo critiques a tape of the match with Joey, but is told he could be better. Manfredo is taught some sliding defensive techniques and he promises to show Angelo the LEARNED techniques next fight.
Jeremy Williams sees Jesse as someone who doesn’t really care. He’s getting lazy and too big. He apparently have to lose 8 pounds of water in order to be able to fight and HE CAN’T eat, he puts a ‘sweat suit’ on to lose the weight. Money is the motivational part, but Jesse thinks of the man in front of him. That’s ANTHONY.
On the scales, Jesse comes in at 161 and a half pounds, one half pound over what the pussy Anthony is willing to fight. Jesse has three hours to play the mental game. He ends up coming in at 160 pounds, so is able to fight, but he is exhausted.
Anthony wants to win the dirty fight. Manfredo wants Jesse to do well so tells him to hydrate himself with water and Gatorade.
Anthony is fighting for his two kids and if the officials need to come and peel him off the mat to raise his hand in victory, it’ll still happen that way.
Jesse, on the other hand, guarantees he will defeat Anthony. It doesn’t matter how, but he’ll do it.
Jesse says he’ll know half way through the first round whether he has won or not.
Anthony reads a letter and tears up Survivor-style before the match and now has more determination to win this fight than any time before. There is no damn way one man can stand in “my” ring and stop me. Anthony’s TPT blubbery mom says this’ll be a ‘walk’ for him. Jesse knows he’s fighting someone who fights in the ring, as opposed to boxes. He had blew Brent out of the ring, and intends to do the same to Jesse. Jesse knows very well that the same can happen to him. He’s not peaked and his wife sees him as lacking confidence. Jesse wants to knock him out in one round to show that he is NOT Brent Cooper. He nonchalantly (but more intelligently) tells us he doesn’t want to lose and let everyone down.
After the traditional back-and-forth shadowboxing montage (to make up for the lost time of the missing obstacle course).
Round One: Jesse doesn’t just absorb Anthony’s punches fully. Jesse lands a few strong hits himself, but Anthony seems to have the lead.
In Two, Jesse smiles as he lays in some good hits before suddenly Anthony hits him hard. Jesse needs to bring up the tempo: he is two round behind.
So in three, he does what he is told and has Anthony’s devil child of a freak daughter screeching like a snake. Jesse easily lands some quality hits on the monster. Anthony tries to grapple and get dirty to no avail.
Anthony uses his same flailing cheap attacks to virtually demolish Jesse like he was another Brent (with only a few apparent comebacks)
Anthony needs to be KO’d if Jesse wants to stand any chance. Seems like Jesse is toast with the savage brute that is the daughter dancing around as a form of devil ritual. Anthony is taken down to the mat with two swift uppercuts. His daughter is in ters. After 8 seconds, he stands up but none of his daughte’s tears can stop him from losing and being virtually obliterated. Anthony whines in the corner. Jesse saw Anthony as the type of fighter who HAD to be KO’d because he will otherwise use whatever tactic he can to win.
Anthony, finally sees Jesse as the better fighter, who defeated Anthony fair-and-square, with a brutal KO, even (the tables have been turned on the Brent-basher). Anthony’s age has finally come to bite him in the ass, and all he’ll go him with is the experience of the adventure. Though, getting pummeled around in a ring seems considerably less fun than immersing yourself in the worldly cultures of Amazing Race. But hey.
Unless something TRULY surprising happens, the winner of this one will be Jesse by a LONG SHOT.
