The Contender (TV series)
| The Contender | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Mark Burnett |
| Starring | Sugar Ray Leonard and Sylvester Stallone |
| Theme music composer | Hans Zimmer |
| Composer(s) | Jeff Lippencott and Mark T. Williams, Ah2 Music |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | Varies |
| Production company(s) |
Mark Burnett Productions DreamWorks Television ESPN Original Entertainment (2006–2008) |
| Release | |
| Original network |
NBC (2005) ESPN (2006–2008) Versus (2008) |
| Original release | March 7, 2005 – 2008 |
The Contender is a reality television series that follows a group of boxers as they compete with one another in an elimination-style competition, while their lives and relationships with each other and their families are depicted. Produced by Mark Burnett, the show is hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard, who shared hosting duties in the first season with actor Sylvester Stallone. Leonard also serves as a trainer on the show, along with Tommy Gallagher. During the first season, boxing manager Jackie Kallen also served as counsel to the boxers.
The show ran for fifteen weeks through 2005 on NBC in the United States of America. The show ran in the UK on ITV2 and was repeated later in the week on ITV, and now airs on ITV4. It also aired on AXN in India, and on the Spanish language network Telemundo. The second season, featuring welterweight contenders, premiered in the U.S. on Tuesday, July 18, 2006, at 10 pm ET/PT, on ESPN. The third season, featuring super middleweight contenders, premiered in the U.S. on Tuesday, September 4, 2007, at 10 pm ET/PT, on ESPN. The fourth season, featuring cruiserweight contenders, premiered in the U.S. on Wednesday, December 3, 2008, at 10 pm ET/PT, on Versus.
The series’ tagline is “The Next Great Human Drama”, and its soundtrack was scored by Hans Zimmer. Before the show premiered, rival US television Fox network rushed to air a competing show The Next Great Champ, hosted by Oscar de la Hoya. The show performed very poorly, with the final episodes being relegated to cable FSN. In an effort to distance itself from the Fox disaster, NBC opted to hold airing its show until spring 2005.
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