The Contender 2: The Finals Are Set

News, Results

The semi-final bouts for the second season of The Contender were held and the final matchup is set. Stephen Forbes defeated Cornelius “K-9” Bundrage by unanimous decision in the first fight. Bundrage seemed to fight dirty, often being warned for hitting behind the head and for holding and hitting. Forbes is a former world champion and it’s no surprise to see him in the finals.

He was guaranteed to face a surprise finalist as two underdogs battled for the right to face Forbes. Norberto Bravo and Grady Brewer both have double-digit career losses yet one would be fighting for a chance at $500,000. Grady Brewer survived a first round knockdown and won a majority decision over Norberto Bravo.

Unfortunately, the fights are edited and this is where I have a problem with it. One judge scored it 47-47. That judge gave Brewer three rounds and Bravo two, with the point deduction for a knockdown making it even. Another judge scored it 48-46 Brewer. That judge saw it four rounds to one in favor of Brewer, again with the point deduction. The third judge however, scored it 49-46 Brewer. This is a problem with me because Bravo’s knockdown should have given him a 10-8 first round. Meaning Brewer couldn’t score more than 48 for the fight. The fights are edited, so I couldn’t see the entire round, but some crazy stuff had to go down for that judge to not score it 10-8 with the knockdown. Hopefully this will be something they change should Contender return for a third season.

Stay tuned for a complete preview of the Contender Finals later this week.