With the conclusion of The Contender season three a couple of weeks old, I wanted to speak with a couple of people who were directly involved with the program, to get their views of the show. I wondered if those in the know were pleased with what came about this year. The first person I was able to speak with was executive producer Jeff Wald. Outspoken and not afraid to voice an opinion, I was looking forward to this interview. Was he pleased with the overall product?
“I thought the show was the best season we’ve had. We had the best fighters, and I thought we had a great production team this season, who did a fabulous job. These were the most skilled fighters we’ve seen. We had a good cross-section of really, really, good fighters with great personalities. There wasn’t a dog in the pack there – they were all good guys.” And many of them had interesting stories.
“There was David Banks,” Wald explained. “No amateur fights, no trainer ever; he watched television. He gave Manfredo a hell of a fight, and beat Elvin Ayala twice. Then of course, his fight with Paul Smith, who was another of the more skilled fighters this season, and one more great guy. Paul was another pleasure to have around.” (Must note here for those of you that don’t know, that Smith and Banks were supposed to face off again in a re-match at the finale, but due to the broken hand of Paul, that fight was not able to take place.)
Wald pointed out that Banks walked into the ring for his fight against Smith’s replacement Donny McCrary to boos, what with his large ego and all, but left to cheers. “He’s a future champion, Wald told me. “He’s got real skills.” Jeff also told me that David is staying with trainer McGirt. “Buddy’s going to train him, and also Jaidon Codrington. The newest Contender Champion Sakio Bika is going to work with Pepe.”
I was waiting for this next name, who happened to be my personal favorite, and he finally gave it to me. “Sam Soliman,” he said. “One of the most likeable guys we’ve ever had on the show. The minute he comes into the ring with a big grin on his face, the audience starts to grin. He is also probably the single most fittest athlete I have ever seen. When his career is over I think he is going to have an amazing career as a physical fitness trainer. He was also very nurturing to the younger fighters.”
Wald continued mentioning other fighters. “Wayne Johnsen, who blew out his knee playing football and changed sports to begin fighting. He fought above where he was career-wise, but gave enough to be in the final four.” Donny McCrary, Brian Vera, and Miguel Hernandez were also referred to in a positive light, and he apologized if he left anyone out.
But besides the interesting cast of characters, there were some changes that Wald felt were positive. “I think we had some different ways of approaching things this time.” He liked the inclusion of the SPARQ (Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction and Quickness) test being added to the show for C3. “Every other professional sport uses high tech policies to test the weaknesses and strengths of their athletes. I’d never done that, and I thought that was a really interesting way to go.”
There was less emphasis on the families this season, and more boxing. While I enjoyed getting to see the fighters as ‘real people’, I loved seeing more fighting. This was, of course, a boxing show, and I could have watched even more training.
And speaking of training, Wald was very pleased with the choices of trainers this season. “Let’s not forget, we had real, legitimate trainers, and that made a big difference, as opposed to what we had before. Buddy McGirt and Pepe Correa are great trainers. Jeremy (Williams) was a great fighter – a great guy with a great personality, but he wasn’t a great trainer. I won’t comment on Tommy Gallagher.” OK…
Wald had an idea who would be in the final four, but admitted that it is mostly guesswork. “I didn’t guess Mora would win in season one, or that Gomez would beat Peter Manfredo, Jr. in the first fight.” He had his views, but this is boxing, where anything can happen.
So we know that he was happy with the series in general, but what about the finale? “It was electric, and it was so much fun,” he told me. “There were two great guys involved here. You had a guy from Cameroon via Australia, Sakio Bika, good family guy who fought some championship fights in not some of the best of circumstances – some last minute situations or fighting hurt, especially when he fought (Lucian) Bute – great story, great guy with a good sense of humor, just a gentleman.
“Of course then you had Jaidon, articulate, intelligent, good looking, young, with the back-story of his father’s untimely death. This was another great story.” But certainly beyond that, this super fight moved The Contender into another league. “I think that the last fight gave us credibility,” he told me. And while he never thought of the show as just a boxing reality show, he is aware of his critics. But as he said, “Those that can, do, those that can’t are critics!”
We discussed that sometimes it was hard to pick a favorite, and that I often wanted both fighters to win. Wald did not completely disagree, but did say that “I didn’t necessarily want to see an Ishe Smith win, you know what I mean?” When I commented that I had heard he could be a little difficult, he made me laugh when he responded, “Ya think?”
It certainly looks as if there are good relationships continuing for The Contender. They are working together with Codrington and his promoter Lou DiBella, and with the boxing promoting company Main Events and Wayne Johnsen.
As far as fights for the Contender alumni are concerned, many men have things in the works. Alfonso Gomez, who is currently recovering from a broken hand, is scheduled to fight Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. the end of March. On December the 8th, Manfredo, Jr. will fight Jeff Lacy. Danny Santiago will face Antonio Tarver on December the 1st. Steve Forbes just fought Francisco Bojado, and won. There are also some fights coming up for Freddie Curiel.
When I inquired as to the prospects of a season four, Wald said the hope there is a season 20. It has already been determined that for 2009 they will showcase heavyweights, but 2008 has not yet been decided. In all, things are looking good for The Contender, something that makes me very happy. I want to thank Jeff Wald for taking some time out of his day to speak with me, I really appreciate it. I am hoping to get some opinions from Sugar Ray Leonard in the near future.
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.
