By Jake Donovan

They come from the four corners of the world to the four corners of the ring. Whose corner are you in?

For the second straight week, the power is in the Gold corner. After losing weeks one and two, Team Gold posted back-to-back wins, with Deon Elam following up Akinyemi "AK47" Lalaye's unanimous decision win over Erick Vega with a close decision over Richard Gingras in Episode 4. Highlights are shown in the recap portion of this week's episode.

Twelve boxers remain alive in this Contender cruiserweight tournament. The Gold team controls the board for the first time this season, with rosters currently at:

Blue
Mike Alexander (12-2, 8 KO)
Felix Cora Jr. (19-2-2, 9 KO) - Advancing
Ryan Coyne (9-0, 3 KO)
Alfredo Escalera Jr. (16-1-1, 11 KO) - Advancing
Richard Gingras (9-1, 5 KO ) - Eliminated
Lawrence Tauasa (30-5-1, 17 KO)
Erick Vega (8-2-1, 6 KO) - Eliminated
Darnell Wilson (23-7-3, 20 KO)

Gold
Joell Godfrey (9-1-1, 5 KO) - Eliminated
Deon Elam (9-0, 5 KO) - Advancing
Rico Hoye (20-2, 15 KO)
Akinyemi Laleye (10-1, 5 KO) - Advancing
Ehinomen Ehikhamenor (12-3, 7 KO)
Tim Flamos (20-4-1, 8 KO)
Troy Ross (17-1, 12 KO)
Jon Schneider (7-3-1, 5 KO) - Eliminated

Onto the good stuff – who's throwing down this week. Gold Team discusses their strategy. On paper, Darnell Wilson is perhaps the most dangerous member of the Blue Team, if not among the entire cast. His two-fisted power has bailed him out of many a jam during his pro career. Even with seven losses, Wilson is still regarded as one of the best and hardest hitting cruiserweights in the world.

However, the stout puncher finds himself in a bit of a pickle in Contender land (Singapore, to be exact). Struggles at the scales makes him quite the tempting pick for Team Gold, believing now might be the best chance to catch him.

The two sides line up to decide who will square off in this season's fifth opening round battle. The Gold Team summons to the plate Ehinomen "Hino" Ehikhamenor, a Nigerian now living out of Queens, New York. No surprise, Hino wastes little time in calling out Wilson.

Of course, it's the thrill of beating Wilson that prompted the pick, and no other reason.

"I was going to pick Ryan (Coyne)", claims Ehikhamenor, "but I decided that me and Darnell would be a better fight."

If only boxing in real life featured courage that ran this deep.

Host Tony Danza tries to get Darnell to talk some smack.

"How do you feel about being called out by Hino?"

Lock up the kids; Wilson's profound response will shock even the most hardened man.

"It's a good fight."

Blue Team head trainer John Bray certainly believes so as he boldly predicts a Wilson knockout. He doesn't officially declare second thoughts, but expresses disappointment at his fighter being over the limit 10 hours before the fight. The next stop is the gym, where Wilson is found in full body suit sweating off extra poundage mere hours before the same-day official weigh-in.

To the weigh-in we go. Ehikhamenor is way under the 200 lb cruiserweight limit, weighing 196¾ lb. The piercing score that follows suggests Wilson's trip to the scale won't be as smooth.

Score one for the conductor. Wilson climbs aboard. The needle bounces. Cue up dramatic music… "200 lb straight" is Wilson's announced weight. He survives the scale and the fight is on.

Dum… dum dum… DING... dum dum.

Cut to Ehikhamenor, who offers a brief backdrop of why he boxes.

"In Nigeria, if you're anything but a doctor, a banker, an engineer or a lawyer, then you're a failure. But I'm happy as an athlete. Nobody's going to stop me."

This guy wants to win. But wait… so does Wilson – badly!

"I love boxing, and I really want to win badly."

Told ya.

In the locker room they go, where Wilson takes in pre-fight advice from Bray, who boldly predicts that Ehikhamenor will try to outbox him. Wouldn't be a bad idea since the best way to beat Wilson is… to outbox him.

Bray's deepest suspicions are confirmed when Gold team trainer Tommy Brooks instructs Ehikhamenor to work the jab and stay off the ropes. "You brought your dancing shoes, huh?" jokes Brooks when Hino tells him he plans to move around and put on a show.

Wilson admits that his mind races before a fight, thinking about the best way to win before coming to the conclusion that all roads lead to the knockout.

"What's at stake for me in this fight is my pride. A loss wouldn't be good."

It never is, Darnell. It never is.

Cue up the ring walk. Wilson enters first, Ehikhamenor follows. The referee gives final pre-fight instructions, and off we go.

Ehikhamenor shocks the world by working behind the jab in the early going (if we're to believe the sequence of events aired to be in order, since fights are shown via tape-delayed and in edited format). Wilson was instructed to cut off the ring early, let Hino know who was the man. Student disobeys teacher, as Ding-A-Ling fights like a ding dong, plodding forward, his jab virtually non-existent.

Wilson tries to bring the heat, but it's Ehikhamenor who surprisingly scores the first knockdown, ducking a series of overhand rights and left hooks to come through with a right of his own. Wilson shakes his head in disgust, believing it wasn't a knockdown. The referee believes otherwise as he completes the mandatory eight count.

Action resumes, then it ends. Wilson tries to give Ehikhamenor dap, but the Nigerian will have none of it, lifting up his arm and telling Wilson to "bacdafucup off me." (OK, he didn't really say that, but an Onyx reference felt necessary at this juncture).

Ehikhamenor wins the round 10-8, but trainer Tommy Brooks offers a reality check. "This guy can punch too… don't walk into anything stupid."

Round two is underway. Ehikhamenor appears to score a knockdown with a jab, but the referee waves it off. Not sure why, and neither is Hino, who screams in disgust at the third man. His protest falls on deaf ears and we're back in business. Nothing must've happened, because the round lasts only fifteen more seconds in TV time before the bell is cued.

The camera cuts to the host, who doesn't like the Blue Team' chances in this one. "Wilsons' trying to throw one punch at a time, but I gotta tell ya, that's a bad strategy."

Eddie Futch, meet Tony Danza.

Crazy action going on at the checkout counter… oh wait, it's a commercial for Progressive Insurance. My bad, all of this edited material is beginning to blend together.

Back from commercial break. Trainer John Bray is in Wilson's face: "You're looking for one big shot, that ain't gonna happen. You gotta get busier."  He must've been eavesdropping on Danza's ringside convo.

Meanwhile in the Gold corner, Brooks is still petro about his charge getting nailed with a bomb. "Put this round in the bank ,baby."

The action is so intense in round three that nearly all of it is offered in slow motion. Hino cracks Wilson with several left hooks, but eats a few overhand rights in return. A jab from Ehikhamenor keeps Wilson at bay, and brings joy to Tommy Brooks' world. Wilson looks like he's beginning to unravel; Ehikhamenor sees everything coming and counterpunches the Maryland bomber into Bolivian.

"Use your jab, set everything up with the jab," says Bray, who wants the bruiser to better set up his power shots. "Land that uppercut, and night-night."

What's the word on the other side of the ring? The same paranoia that came in the previous three rounds. "You taking a chance on getting caught, man. Make it easy… jab, jab, jab, right hand."

Let's see who does the better job of listening in round four.

Hino offers the jab and, upon improvisational instructions from Brooks, fires off a 1-2. The latter lands in a big way, forcing his Gold teammates to rise out of their ringside chairs in unison. Wilson manages a right hand, but the jab is nowhere in sight. Bell rings, Ehikhamenor gets the gold star for the better listening job.

Bray tries one more time to convince his fighter to use the stick. "You gotta push his teeth back with that jab. You need to win this round big, baby."

Big? How about, he needs to knock him the eff out?!

Final round, and you can feel the tension in the air. Ehikhamenor works behind the jab, and lands a right that has Wilson pitching forward and forced to clinch. Strike up the band – The Contender score is cued up as the round and fight comes to a close.

"After five rounds of action we go to the judges' sco-cahd."

The scores are read off. 50-44, 50-45, 50-44. Winner, unanimous, red corner "Eh-HIIIIINO-men "Hino" Ehikhaaaaamenorrr!"

Ehikhamenor reflects on what insists is the biggest win of his career.

"Knowing Darnell Wilson was one of the most feared fighters in this tournament, and one of the most feared knockout artists in the cruiserweight division, this just puts me on a whole new level. I knew it was my destiny to beat Darnell tonight. It's not about skill or what the other person's record is, it's who has the will and the heart that night, and I had it tonight.

"I made my teammates proud, and most of all, I kept the power of choice with the Gold team."

From the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat, as we listen in on Wilson's last words as a Contender.

"I'm feeling a little disappointed because I wasn't able to perform up to my personal par."

A new twist follows… an excuse.

"I wasn't at my best. I tried as hard as I could, but all that weight loss, I couldn't function."

Bray cracks open the proverbial fortune cookie in offering the next pearl of wisdom.

"So, next time…do better."

Preach it, Johnny Boy. Rich, compelling stuff.

For Wilson, a night without his hand raised is hardly a new wrinkle. He's been here before and managed to claw his way toward the top of the cruiserweight heap, and fully believes that history will one day repeat itself.

"I've had a four fight losing streak at one point in my career. I came back and earned myself a world title fight the old school way (even if it came against a new school interim version of the title). I will do that… again. Nothing will stop me from getting to the top.

"It sucks to go out like this, but you gotta be a man… and deal with it."

Through the Contender doors he goes, never to return.

Roll credits, but fear not boxing fans; only six days and 23 hours until the next edition of The Contender.

Jake Donovan is a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .