That was a travesty! If I wanted to watch fixed fights I can do that here in Memphis at the local Tuesday night fights. Better still I could watch Jerry the King Lawler and Memphis Wrestling and at least get better acting. The Basante fight was a joke Jessie had his head beat in for five rounds. Jessie you lost, you know it. The first fight was a good fight I don’t have any complaints about it accept they should have let it go longer. Gomez was ahead in the match and I do believe he might have knocked Perez out. Now on to the sick and disgusting main event. I have watched boxing most of my life. All I can say is between the compu-box numbers and the level of damage to each fighter Peter won this fight. He didn’t even look puffy after eight rounds. Sergio was cut (by a very stiff right to the temple) he was bruised, tired and he looked beat.
So what does this mean to Contender fans?
In my opinion you will now question the show and ESPN’s credibility. We watch sports for drama, excitement and ultimately fair competition. As we have seen in the last 24 hours fair competition is not a goal for this show. Allowing those judges to continue to work for the California Boxing commission is a joke. Like other sports there should be a review process to keep the judges above board. This is the equivalent of getting a speeding ticket while parked. In Manfredo’s case he got a ticket and he wasn’t even in a car. Fixed fights have been a problem in boxing for years. When betting is involved outside influences are often at work trying to sway results to better determine winners. But this is a sport and like all sports they need to be on even playing fields. For ESPN to gain credibility and for the show to regain it’s composure they need to publicly voice their concerns about last night’s event and sit down with the boxing organizations to come to a resolution. Contender fights are sanctioned but they shouldn’t be fixed.
As for Stalone. You new it stunk where were you when it was over? I hope you are working on a resolution to this problem because your credibility is on the line as well.