…and We Get Down to the Final “Fabulous” Four!

So here we are in the last episode of the second round, which features another doubleheader! The winners of these two fights will join Steve Forbes and K9 Bundrage in the final four. We begin with the guys visiting with Sugar Ray at his home, which features and in ground pool and tennis courts. Unfortunately, this isn’t MTV Cribs and we are not shown around the inside. Sugar Ray gives the boxers an inspirational speech about winning and how he has everything he has because of his success in the boxing ring.

We get a brief glimpse at the bracket wall which shows the semifinal round and has Forbes – Bundrage in it.

Our first pair this time, Grady Brewer and Michael Stewart, are getting ready for their fight. Norberto Bravo is talking with Mike in the loft and he tells us he wants to take this opportunity to make a difference for his family. K9 joins in the discussion. He has an ice pack over his eye. I suppose he has some lingering injuries from his fight. Gary Balletto tells us his wife didn’t want him to fight anymore and that’s why he’s been out of the ring for 2 years. Well I guess we know who wears the pants in his family! He tells us it took a lot of convincing for his wife to even let him do the Contender.

…and we’re already on to fight 1! Grady tells us he works 12 hour shifts at a tire factory, comes home and then also has his training. He thinks if he had more time to train, he would be much better and could make a name for himself. Mike tells Jeremy he’s going to knockout Grady. After they go back and forth between the two guys for a few minutes in the locker rooms, the families visit.

They head to the ring where Mike is wearing white trunks with an orangey-red trim and Grady sports powder blue with white trim. Round 1 begins and Grady gets in the first few hits, then Mike gets in a few. Grady lands some combos, but Mike keeps missing his target. Grady has some moves! Grady lands more combos and hits Mike with a few uppercuts and the bell is rung. Looks like Grady has round 1. In round 2, Mike does land a few, but Grady hits him with a few more combos and gets Mike up against the ropes. Grady is really taking control and has Mike trying to duck away from his shots. This round is Grady’s too! Back in Mike’s corner, Jeremy yells at him that he’s “down 2 in a 5 round fight.” In round 3, Grady gets in several jabs and some uppercuts. Mike hits with a couple of body shots. Grady gives Mike a seemingly constant pounding and gets Mike against the ropes again. We only see about 30 seconds of this round in the edited version, but I’d say Grady has this round too. Round 4 begins after Jeremy tells Mike he needs a knockout. Grady is too fast for Mike and keeps moving away from him around the ring, but Mike does land a few. Grady then pounds on Mike some more. It’s all Grady at this point and he takes the 4th round too. Mike is looking really tired, but Grady is ready to go. Jeremy again tells Mike he needs a knockout, while Tommy tells Grady to just keep moving. In round 5, Mike gets in a few good jabs and Grady even stumbles a tad, but it’s only for a moment and he’s right back to punishing him! Finally the bell rings and the judges’ scores are all 50 – 45! Grady wins by unanimous decision!!! Mike tells us he was waiting for one punch, but that was a mistake. He was looking for a knockout. He hangs his gloves and leaves the gym.

On to fight 2 of the night, which features Norberto Bravo and Gary Balletto. In the locker room, Bravo talks about his Mexican pride and then his family visits. Gary’s family also visits and he tells us that if he doesn’t win, he’s done and this is his last chance in the ring. Bravo heads out to the ring wearing black trunks with red trim and Gary is wearing blue with white trim. I don’t know why I always tell you the trunk colors, but I do!

In round 1, the two fighters look a little tentative, but they each get in a few shots. Gary gets Bravo on the ropes at one point and likely wins this round. In round 2, Bravo comes out hard and lands several combos! I guess he needed round 1 to warm up! This time, Gary is on the ropes, then Bravo, but Bravo fights his way out and away from them. I’d score this round for Bravo. In round 3, Bravo gets in several jabs and seems to have the advantage, but then Gary gets him on the ropes. Bravo is still fighting back, though. Gary hits pretty well this round. This one is too close to call, from what we saw and even Sugar Ray and Sergio Mora can’t decide who took it. In round 4, they trade a few jabs back and forth, then Bravo gets Gary on the ropes. He gets out of it, but he is looking tired. Bravo then puts a hurting on him! Score this one for Bravo. Round 5 has more jabs from both boxers, but Bravo still looks pretty fresh while Gary looks really tired. Gary stumbles a bit and when he does swing, Bravo ducks away from all the jabs. I’d say Bravo in this round as well. So I have Bravo for 3 rounds, Gary for 1 and another that’s too close to call. The judges apparently had a tough time judging that 3rd round too as their scores are: 48 – 47, 49 – 46, and 49 – 46 all for Bravo by unanimous decision! Gary goes back to his locker room. He feels bad, but he is relieved it’s over as he can go back to his normal life. He says he may wind up giving up boxing now. He hangs his gloves and leaves the gym.

Next week: We will see both semifinal fights in a double header between K9 & Forbes and Brewer & Bravo!

A tribe original ©2006