If the ESPN deal goes through and season 2 is greenlit, I highly doubt each episode will still have a $2 million budget. And I doubt they'll go the extra mile to get as many women viewers as they can like NBC tried since ESPNs demo is males. ESPN is a sports network, and the Contender is a boxing show. I'm thinking it'll be more concentrated the second time around. So what changes do you guys think will be made?

*Stallone and Sugar Ray - They'll most likely have to take smaller checks, which will be put up or shut up for Sly. If he truly does feel for the show as he says he does, then he shouldn't mind taking a pay cut if its needed. Do you guys think Sugar Ray will be back? I think he's SLIGHTLY more replaceable than Sly.

*More gym training shown?

*Games that revolve more around boxing?

I kind of get the feeling they'd make more of an effort to show more of the actual fights. The cutting seemed to piss off all the boxing enthusiasts (the crowd I'm sure ESPN would want to please), and it'd be a lot cheaper to air the fights unedited.....don't know if i'd like that though. Part of the sppeal of The Contender, whether we notice it or not, is the dramatized fightsd.

Any other ideas?

• RE: What'll make the cut? (Season 2),Wacko Jacko, 09:50 AM, 07-21-05
• RE: What'll make the cut? (Season 2),Wacko Jacko, 09:53 AM, 07-21-05
  • RE: What'll make the cut? (Season 2),JiveGuy, 00:22 AM, 07-22-05
    • RE: What'll make the cut? (Season 2),eeler1, 09:48 AM, 07-22-05
• Housing?,PagongRatEater, 10:45 AM, 07-22-05
  • RE: Housing?,JiveGuy, 04:19 AM, 07-23-05
    • RE: Housing?,Wacko Jacko, 05:54 PM, 07-23-05
  • RE: Housing?,VegasFightWriter, 00:21 AM, 07-24-05

I heard this morning on a local sports radio show that ESPN has picked up the Contender for season 2. Hope that was correct. The 'DJs' were saying they did not watch season one but will watch season two because they heard it was good. One did say they saw a few minutes of season one and thought it was a good reality show, not like other cheesy reality shows.

I think things looks strong for the Contender! Good news.

>I kind of get the feeling
>they'd make more of an
>effort to show more of
>the actual fights. The cutting
>seemed to piss off all
>the boxing enthusiasts (the crowd
>I'm sure ESPN would want
>to please), and it'd be
>a lot cheaper to air
>the fights unedited.....don't know if
>i'd like that though. Part
>of the sppeal of The
>Contender, whether we notice it
>or not, is the dramatized
>fightsd.

Did you watch the live web casts of the fan favorite fights? After watching those you would see that they need to edit the fights. All three were painful to watch and would not make good tv if they did not edit them. Something tells me that some of the fights that were edited were a lot worse than they appeared on NBC. I don't care if they edit the fights as long as they edit them to truly represent the outcome.

You're right about that. Editing them as long as they represent the real outcome. And I think the editing of, and adding music to, the fights was really appealing and made the show special. A lot of boxing enthusiasts say different though.

It's just going to be really exciting seeing the new crop of boxers though. Hopefully whatever changes they do make, its for the better.

I think they can edit the fights for the show. But then let the on-line version be the unedited. That way both versions are available to people who want to see them. THe problem has been that the complete versions have never been available. Trust is scarce in boxing, some people want to believe thier own eyes.

Having every Contender's family in a local house could have added up pretty easily. I hope that they don't reduce this apect of the show since getting to know these guys as people was KEY to non-fight lovers enjoying and getting to know the boxers, but it could be a contributing factor to cost.

Although I agree that salaries are probably a bigger factor. I could see Ray leaving and probably Jackie (since I never saw 4 whole minutes of her all season). I also wonder how much Burnett pays himself.

I don't think the show COST $2m per episode - rather that is what NBC paid Burnett including a healthy profit.

Yeah, I think Sugar (not the boxer), and Jackie wouldn't be much of a loss on the show. And if they lost Ray Leonard, he can be replaced in the context of the show.

I would like to see them all back personally. Sugar Ray, Sly, Jackie, and the trainer. I can not imagine the trainer and Jackie would cost that much.

Sugar Ray has a very broad appeal among many type of people. Women tend to love him and I want him back.

Hey, maybe they should put the contenders' families in one big house, too. It'd be fun to see how their relationships mirrored the fighters' (or didn't); imagine if Latoya Smith and Ahmed's fiancee were getting on famously while Ishe and Ahmed were at each other's throats, or if they, too, were throwing it down.