Local Boxing Goes Prime Time

Dateline: Monday, December 20, 2010

With the upcoming reality series, The Contender, hope is revived in the fortunes of the local boxing fraternity. The past year has seen many challenges that have stymied efforts to bring about the desired results. The good news is that the work never stopped on all levels and, because of that, we can all expect much more to come.

The new TV series has caused a shift in the local boxing scene with many boxers moving up from amateur to pro. This has made the way for newer amateurs to step up and for the pros to see some well-deserved returns.

Working with the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control (JBBC), the producers searched all across Jamaica to find the best fighters and settled on 16 middleweight boxers. They have been split into two teams with eight fighers training at Bruisin’ Gym in Stony Hill, St. Andrew for the Green Team and eight fighers training at the Hard Knocks Gym in Savanna-la-Mar for the Yellow Team.

The series follows the fighters over 15 weeks and will see the teams engaging in a series of physical challenges. The winning team will then have the advantage of nominating a boxer from their team and choosing his opponent from the other team. The resulting fight will be live on TVJ and will determine who stays.

From all accounts, The Contender should be an excellent showcase for the sport. Kudos go out to the production team who have clearly put in high quality work on the series. We also express our thanks to the sponsors for their faith and generosity.

The choice of respected Olympian Juliet Cuthbert as the no-nonsense host is a stroke of genius in our humble opinion. She is no stranger to hard work and knows first hand what it takes to become a champion. We look forward to the series with much anticipation and will be following every episode closely.

The contender is set to air on TVJ on Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. starting December 22.

Contributor: Sandra Lloyd