After another double-header this past Tuesday night, the two finalists for The Contender, season two, have been revealed. I admit now, I am already having Contender withdrawals. I have so enjoyed watching these shows and speaking with the athletes involved that I don’t want it to end. There is the finale next week of course, and I can’t wait to be there and get to talk with some of these men in person.

But right now let’s get on with the semi-final show, as it were. To remind you, we had Steve Forbes going against Cornelius “K-9” Bundrage, and Grady Brewer to face Norberto Bravo to find out which two men would vie for the title of Contender Champion.

Before that happened though, there were some video clips shown in tribute to the fighters who were defeated along this journey. Each of these individuals said a few words, and these several moments were both moving and sentimental. Then Forbes, Bundrage, Brewer and Bravo were all informed that each of them would receive a big screen, just like the one they had been watching, from Polaroid. Nice prize, that!

Now it was fight time, and the first fight of this important night was Forbes vs. K-9. I really enjoyed this fight. The last two rounds in particular were fast and furious. These two looked like wind-up punching toys at the end, and I mean that in a good way. They left it all out there, for sure. But as always there can only be one winner, and in this fight that person was Steve.

Bundrage had previously been victorious over Michael Clark and Walter Wright, and I wondered how the three fighters compared to each other, if at all. “The first and the last guys I fought (Clark and Forbes) were quick and had a lot of experience. Walter Wright was a bigger guy. He was the hardest fight out of all of them because he was a bigger guy.”

As far as his semi-final fight with Forbes was concerned, “I actually believe that I had pulled it off, but hey, the judges see different. I wish people could have seen the fight live.”

K-9 lost the fight by a unanimous decision, 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. Since he felt he had won the fight to begin with, it seemed obvious that he would not be happy with the fact this was a unanimous decision. “I didn’t see it unanimous. As I said, I thought I won the fight.

“But I’m just happy for the opportunity to be able to show the whole world what I am and who my family is and who I represent – my family and everything.”

At the conclusion of the fight, Steve walked over to K-9 and raised his hand. I thought this was a really nice gesture, and wanted to know how he felt about it. “I thought that was real classy of him and good sportsmanship, and I believe that was respect that he was showing me. It was nice.”

Some might feel that Bundrage was a bit of bully, but he was nothing but gracious on Tuesday night. He had nice things to say about the show and the individuals involved.

But he did admit one thing. “There were a few guys on there that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. But I still feel good about the whole show. Overall it was a good experience.”

Bundrage definitely has future plans in mind. “Be real successful,” he said. “own some real estate, and to give back. Let everybody know what God can do.”

And what about boxing? Will he continue? “Ah, yeah,” he said, and you could hear the smile on his face. “I’ve been fighting all these years to get to this point, so it wouldn’t make sense to stop now. Now the door is open and now I can reap the benefits of all this hard work I’ve put in. I’d have to be crazy or a fool not to box.”

If there is one thing K-9 is not short of, it’s words, and he had many final thoughts. “Put God first no matter what. There’ll be some good times and some bad times, but no matter what, you’re going to need Him.

“Don’t bark if you can’t bite. A lot of guys do a lot of barking but don’t do any biting. That’s a figure of speech for, be slow to speak and fast to listen, you can learn a lot that way. If you’re talking you can’t listen.

“If you listen and the person is talking sense, if he’s saying something that means something, you can identify. If you’re talking and they’re talking neither one of you are listening, so there’s no understanding.”

Bundrage makes a lot of sense, and he is one character, too. He signed off from the interview with his now-famous bark.

With the first fight finished, it was time for Brewer to face off against Bravo. This was another action-packed fight that had the fans on their feet. In the first round, Norberto put Grady on the canvass. I couldn’t tell if Grady was hurt or just really surprised by that. One person who was taken aback was Norberto.

“I was surprised with myself. I have good boxing skills but I haven’t been able to show that to the people, the boxing fans. I’ve been having a slow start; a lot of ring rust. But once I hit him I felt that that left hook was going to do some damage.

“When he went down I was surprised, but at the same time I knew it was going to have an effect once it landed.”

It might have had an impact, but after five really hard-fought rounds, Grady is the one who will be going into the Staples Center to face Steve. But Norberto had said that it would be an exciting fight, and he was right. I wanted his take on things.

“Grady Brewer is an experienced fighter,” he said. “His arms are long, he’s kind of lanky, so I was just trying to get in there. That first round I landed that left hook and he dropped. I kept trying to get back in there, but he just wouldn’t let me. It’s kind of hard, working on those long arms.”

The fight was decided by majority decision. The first score was 47-47, with the next two being 48-46 and 49-46. What did Bravo think of that? “Once I heard the draw, I was like, ‘Oh, man.’

“The fight was close, I’m not going to say that I took the fight without question, but I think I stayed ahead and won the fight. I thought that knockdown gave me the upper hand. But good luck to Grady, that’s all I can say.”

After the fight the two boxers exchanged a few words, and I wanted to know what was said. “I told Grady, ‘since you beat me, you better win!’” he laughed.

After the fight Norberto’s family came into the ring. All were consoling him, especially his oldest son. I found it to be quite touching, and I wondered what he felt.

“They know how hard I’ve worked, and all of the sweat and the tears that come along with it, and how hard I tried. I try to make a difference for my family. This is for them. I want them to benefit from all my hard work.”

We will get to see Norberto again, as he will participate in the bronze medal match against K-9 in the finale. And after that? “I hope that The Contender people will have a nice set-up for me in future fights. My goal is to be a World Champion, as I explained to them, so I’m hoping they can help me get there.”

Norberto had a few closing words. “I’d just like to thank everybody in my home town and around the world for cheering for me. For people who have a little challenge, don’t ever give up. That’s my motto. If things get hard, never give up and keep punching.”

The very best of luck to Norberto “El Gallito” Bravo (Viva La Raza!) and Cornelius “K-9” Bundrage in their bronze medal match next Tuesday, and to Steve “Two Pound” Forbes and Grady “Bad Boy” Brewer when they fight to see who will be the next Contender!

Also, a quick thank you to Linda Peterson for covering in my absence and asking my questions. There is no way I would have missed an interview with these two men, and I appreciate her help with that.

Be safe and God Bless.

Barb.