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Yo, Adrian. My Career is Over.

By Margaret Lyons in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 8, 2004 2:44PM

The Contender: Photo, NBCJust in case you didn’t get to audition for your unscripted drama last weekend, and you are a man, and you are a boxer, go rock out today or tomorrow at auditions for The Contender at theNational Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame. Sylvester Stallone (attention: not an actual boxer) and Sugar Ray Leonard (admittedly an actual boxer) will mentor 16 young boxers, who will be forced to live and train together. The 16 will all be in the same weight class, which makes it fair for them to punch the fuck out of each other. At the end of each episode, two “contenders” will spar, sending one sad and bloodied loser home each week. Sort of like The Inferno but maybe with less throw-up. At the end of the season, the winner gets a million-dollar prize.

"The Contender" is not a show simply about boxers or boxing, it is a show about people and the dreams, hopes, desires and fears that motivate all of us in our battles big and small. The backdrop may be the sport of boxing, but this show will reveal emotion, humor and personal drama that any viewer can relate to. "The Contender" will give us a chance to meet 16 amazing boxers while becoming a part of their lives.

America will not only know who they are, but will understand why they fight, as we cheer, or cry, with them all the while witnessing them struggle to make their dreams come true.

If you have questions, feel free to call 1-877- BE A BOXER. No, seriously, that’s the number.
It’s hard to tell if this is going to be exactly like Tough Enough or more like a boy version of America’s Next Top Model. Come to think of it, those shows are a lot alike.