I am a huge fan of the Contender, but I have to say I am disgusted with this show!! In a sport where controversy is the center of every majoy fight I was hoping that this show would be based on the purity of the sport....not on the 3 blind mice, a.k.a the judges.The producers of this show have put themselves right up there, if not above, the likes of Don King...the icon of controversy in boxing.
The rules were simple...."if you lose....YOU LOSE". NOT, "if you lose...you lose, UNLESS the producers think you'll be good for the show. Then we will find a way to vote you back at all cost".
Peter Manfredo is a great guy with a beautiful family.....but he has NO BUSINESS being on the show after his loss against Gomez in the first episode. Since he's been back the producers have been falling head over heels to try and make this kid the contender icon. The last two fights against Miguel and Joey were two split decisions that could have easily gone the other way.....especially with Joey, where a very well timed and convenient "accidental" head butt took him outta the fight. The kid LOST and now he comes back and gets to the final four with TWO very close split decisions?!!!??!
All that being said, the reason I am even writing this message is because of his last fight with Gomez...hence the subject, "DISGUSTING". I almost threw up I was sick to my stomache. Could they be any more obvious about their love affair with Peter. Let's do a blow by blow:
1st round: Peter's round easily...fair enough
2nd round: Gomez comes back strong and lands a stomach punch that sends Peter to his knees...BUT THEY DON'T COUNT IT A KNOCKDOWN!!!!!! They say he slipped. UNBELIEVABLE!!!
3rd round: Peter comes back and wins easily.
4th round: Gomez comes back and hurts peter with a flurry of punches that almost sends him to the matt.
5th round: Gomez continues his offensive from round 4...so much so that Peter can barely get off a punch.
6th round: Peter comes back again to win the round.
....for those keeping track, that's 3 rounds to 3 going into the 7th, with what should have been a 10-8 round for Gomez in the 2nd.
7th round: Peter gets off a few shots and then they stand toe to toe in the center of the ring and go blow for blow.
....Somehow all of what I just said translates into a UNANIMOUS decision in favor of Peter Manfredo?!?!?!?! Are you kidding me?? Unanimous??? Just be honest and tell everyone not to even show up...save them the pain and suffering. Gomez could have won the last 4 rounds in a row.....he wasn't getting the vote unless he knocked him out.
A SLIP???? Unanimous?!!?!?! I'M DISGUSTED WITH THIS SHOW....
Peter...you seem like a great kid, but you have no business being in the final fight, and because of this I hope you get your ##### beat!
The show's promotion of Peter can be interpreted in many ways. The only fishy thing I see is getting him back on the show. You are forgetting that:1) The fights are heavily edited and made to look close and generate controversy. If you download the full fights from Kazaa (or similar program) you will see that Peter is winning handily in some cases, especially the second fight against Alfonso. Calling the headbutt intentional is ludicrous.
2) The producers already know the outcome of the fights and they can slant the portrayal of the boxers accordingly. They've known that Peter was in the finals all along so why not play him up? It should be no surprise that Sergio is also portrayed in a very good light.
If all of the fights are set up and the judging is fixed, well there is nothing we can do about that. Just don't go by the edited fight footage. You don't even know what round all of the punches are coming from.