Gloves are coming off for ‘Contender 2’

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Watching these “warriors,” as they were often called, play with their kids or interact with their family members provided a nice backdrop to their lives. And the visits from relatives in the locker rooms before and after the fights nicely bookended the fights with their non-boxing lives.

But more importantly, these scenes brilliantly came into play when the fighters entered the ring. After particularly brutal punches or successful volleys, the camera would cut to the boxer’s family and their pained and ecstatic faces, and instantly the emotional weight from those earlier scenes would be transferred to the bout. It’s probably not a stretch to assume that many people got choked up or even cried their way through the last few minutes of each show, particularly when the cameras followed the devastated losers into the locker room, where they had to face their loved ones.

It was compelling television, but ultimately, “The Contender” failed to draw in large numbers of viewers, starting with about 8.4 million viewers, and losing more than 2 million viewers over the course of its run. NBC declined to renew the show.

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For its second season, the show is moving to ESPN, where a few “Contender”-themed fights have already aired. But those bouts have been actual boxing matches, and for those who were introduced to boxing by the Hollywood-style fights shown on “The Contender,” they seemed slow and, well — a lot more real.

The first season’s look and feel, particularly during the heavily edited fight sequences, were criticized by some who wanted to see real, raw boxing, not an over-dramatized, melodramatic version of the sport. Bringing boxing into the mainstream apparently involved alienating some of its core constituency. But removing those elements could cause “The Contender 2” to lose viewers who will follow the show to ESPN.

Thus “The Contender” is stuck in an impossible world between realistically depicting a sport that is “dying,” according to Burnett, and drawing in the fans it presumably can’t afford to lose.

For its second season, the show is reportedly dropping the challenges between teams, perhaps in part because they caused the fighters to expend so much energy with so little payoff and so much of a chance for injury. With the condensed, rapid fight schedule that the show demands, any unnecessary physical activity can negatively affect the main attraction, the bouts themselves.

“The Contender 2” is also saying goodbye to host Sylvester Stallone, who’s working on his next “Rocky” film, leaving just Sugar Ray Leonard to host. The two were unlikely hosts during the first season, with their monosyllabic delivery and expressionless faces. While Sugar Ray made for an inspiring mentor, he’s going to have to work hard to be an engaging presence for viewers as our host; he is no Ryan Seacrest.

Despite these changes, “The Contender” will most likely keep its dual focus on the sport of boxing and its consequences, both emotional and physical. And with that, the series will retain its reverence toward the fighters that seek its title.

Andy Dehnart is a writer and teacher who publishes reality blurred, a daily summary of reality TV news.

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