Why did Manfredo take part in The Contender?

[The Noose]

In an article i read today he said
"The Contender was great because it made me a house hold name, but from a boxing viewpoint it was terrible, as I was already the North American Middleweight Champion and due a title shot in 2 bouts".

According to him he would have got a title shot a few years ago, instead he chose the Contender??

And now hes gonna get his arse kicked by Calzaghe.

[micky_knox]

if it wasnt for the contender he prolly woulnd be getting his shot at joe now

[Barry_Might]

Apparently Manfredo's pops didnt want him to go on the contender but jr defied his dad and went on anyway.

I say it was a good move for him cause if he had of got a title shot earlier he would've just been found out earlier and his career would have been finished earlier.

[hugh grant]

Manfredo looks tiny against Joe. About 4 inches smaller. Joe is supposedly 5ft11according to imdb. So Manfredo must be about 5ft 7inches

[kadyo's]

manfredo was the undefeated fighter who fonso toyed with in therir first bout. I can't how the heck he can win against calzaghe.

[JakeNDaBox]

I always questioned why Manfredo joined the show, as of all the cast members, he seemed to be the one cat who didn't need the exposure as much as the others.

But from a financial standpoint, it makes all of the sense in the world. Yes, Peter was an ESPN2 regular, and undefeated. But thanks to the show, he got to fight Pemberton and Spina for 10x the amount he would've made in a normal ESPN2 main event. Not to mention the carrot on the stick that was the $1,000,000 prize for winning The Contender, though Peter ultimately came up short.

Still, it was a chance he felt he had to take, and is now making a lot more for the Calzaghe fight than he would've had he gone straight from FNF circuit.

[MaYaN_SuN]

Because it was the first season the contender ever aired...It got alot of attention because of that, Manfredo got alot of attention.

[Franko]

I always questioned why Manfredo joined the show, as of all the cast members, he seemed to be the one cat who didn't need the exposure as much as the others.

But from a financial standpoint, it makes all of the sense in the world. Yes, Peter was an ESPN2 regular, and undefeated. But thanks to the show, he got to fight Pemberton and Spina for 10x the amount he would've made in a normal ESPN2 main event. Not to mention the carrot on the stick that was the $1,000,000 prize for winning The Contender, though Peter ultimately came up short.

Still, it was a chance he felt he had to take, and is now making a lot more for the Calzaghe fight than he would've had he gone straight from FNF circuit.

Good points. The initial concept of The Contender was good i thought, and it gave fighters exposure they otherwise may not have had.

[The Noose]

Bsically money and exposure.

It just suprised me he was already an established prospect.
I always thought the Contenders were total unknowns just starting out as pros.

[Franko]

Bsically money and exposure.

It just suprised me he was already an established prospect.
I always thought the Contenders were total unknowns just starting out as pros.

Not quite, but the second and current series certainly moved away from the concept of The Contender.