A storybook ending for ‘Contender 2’

Grady Brewer's rise to victory was a winning made-for-cable tale

"The Contender" Season Two Finale: Grady Brewer v Steve Forbes

Al Bello / Getty Images

Sweet victory: Grady Brewer raises his arms after being named the "The Contender" champion by split decision against Steve Forbes, far left.

COMMENTARY

By Craig Berman

msnbc.com contributor

updated 8:56 a.m. ET Sept. 27, 2006

For once, reality television imitated fiction.

Grady Brewer began his stint on "The Contender" with the least impressive pedigree of any of the 16 contestants. With an 18-11 record as a professional entering the competition, he looked more like a random fighter brought in at the last minute than a serious threat to win.

In fact, that's who Brewer has been for much of his career — that guy promoters called to fill in when a scheduled fighter bailed out of a bout against an up-and-coming prospect. His largest payday for any previous bout was reportedly $10,000, nowhere near enough to allow him to concentrate on the sport full-time.

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In between those calls, he lived in Lawton, Okla., and worked 12-hour shifts at the town's Goodyear plant. Married with four children, taking care of his family meant shunting off his dream of boxing stardom. Without the means to devote more time to boxing, he never felt properly prepared to reach his potential as a fighter.

That chance may have come later than he expected, but it finally arrived in the "Contender" finale Tuesday night. A heavy underdog against Steve Forbes in the finals, the 35-year-old used his superior size and strength to eke out a victory in a split decision, earning himself half a million dollars, a Toyota Tundra truck, the show's championship belt ... and more importantly, the recognition that he's always sought in the ring.

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No respect
It may not be as picturesque a scene as the sight of the fictional Rocky Balboa pounding sides of beef in a meat locker, but taking a fighter out of the factory and giving him a national stage is exactly what the script doctor ordered. Until the end, however, his fellow fighters were unconvinced he had the talent to win the competition.

From his first moment of airtime, Brewer's place on the show was questioned. Nobody else seemed to know who he was, and he wasn't able to show much in the first few weeks that would dispel the notion that his stay would be brief.

A member of the Blue Team, the veteran fighter was accused by the rival Gold Team of being afraid to fight Vinroy Barrett in his opening bout. While the taunting was at first designed to secure what Barrett thought was a favorable opening bout, his rivals had good reason to be unimpressed.

Brewer had undergone surgery on his left shoulder two months before, and couldn't even do a push-up when filming began. Also, there was the matter of his mediocre professional record. Still, he managed to beat Barrett in a unanimous decision to earn a place in the quarterfinals.

Even that wasn't enough to make him one of the favorites to make the finals. Barrett gave him a nasty cut on the eye with a head-butt, a cut that caused the rest of the quarterfinalists to salivate at the thought of fighting him next. Because the show involved numerous fights in a short timespan, the cut wouldn't heal until after the semifinals. That meant one good uppercut would likely re-open the wound, looking impressive to the judges and putting Brewer at a disadvantage.

No matter. He dispatched sluggers Michael Stewart and Norberto Bravo to reach the finals. That got him into the final against Steve Forbes.

CONTINUED : Standing out from the pack

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