Sergio Mora and the Pretend- uh I mean Contender

[Brockton Lip]

Psychological testing was also done. Boxing ability was not the only factor. Stop being a hater (I would add the word jealous, but thats probably even more obvious than the word hater).

[Easy-E]

No, the contenders are probably not the best fighters.

They pick a lot based on their stories - history. Inspirational stories like Sergios (poor background, grew up on the streets and trained to keep away from gangs) are inspirational - maybe the boxing hardcores don't feel it, but the general public do.

Maybe this talented guy had no story. Maybe he was a rich kid with buckets of talent, but he was snobby or arrogant or whatnot.

mora certianly has talent, tho.

[BigBoy9000]

No, the contenders are probably not the best fighters.

Well, the Contender is more TV than reality.

They pick a lot based on their stories - history. Inspirational stories like Sergios (poor background, grew up on the streets and trained to keep away from gangs) are inspirational - maybe the boxing hardcores don't feel it, but the general public do.

I wanna see'em throw'em!

Maybe this talented guy had no story. Maybe he was a rich kid with buckets of talent, but he was snobby or arrogant or whatnot.

Maybe he didn't but he definitely wasn't rich. Before seeing him fight he seemed more quiet and nice like he was out of place, they said he was religious.

[BigBoy9000]

Psychological testing was also done. Boxing ability was not the only factor. Stop being a hater (I would add the word jealous, but thats probably even more obvious than the word hater).

This better not be toward me because I think Mora is very good. I just 1 person per city hurt the show. Worst case scenario I'd put the guy as 8th-10th best of the 16.

[+= El Jefe=+]

if open TV cared about boxing they would still air real fights....
they care about the stories, what is good for boxing is no where near their priorities. in other words they dont give a ****.

[cobracore]

if open TV cared about boxing they would still air real fights....
they care about the stories, what is good for boxing is no where near their priorities. in other words they dont give a ****.

The thing is, i think the contender is GREAT for boxing. It opens it up to the public, and i think as boxing fans we should all be thankful - because i feel that those who aren't are elitists who want to keep the sport to themselves.

If you look at when boxing was popular, you'll find lots of drama. Jack Johnson - many fans remember him, not only because he was good, but especially because he was black. It was controversial and thus made good news, and people rooted for him or hated him - thats what made watching him fight more exciting.

Ali - the whole Islam thing and his refusal to go to war - that was drama, and again people either rooted for him or hated him, it added another dimension to the fight - it gave the fight meaning, i guess.

Joe Louis - there was some drama there too, i think it was schmeling that 'represented' germany right? I'm not a big Louis fan and so i don't know his record or anything, but i know that at one point it was almost as if he was representing america.

Tyson - he has a story. Don't even need to talk about it. That's the reason why he'll always be more popular then Lewis, even though arguably Lewis was the better fighter. Tyson had background, character - fallen angel type of thing.

The general public can't fully appreciate the technique until they get to know the sport - the importance of the job, good footwork, cutting the ring, slipping, blocking, etc.

Before they learn that they need to be pulled in, and only drama, good stories, can do that. That's The Contender. And if they do it right, Superfighter will be that way too.

Thats why i love the contender =)

Anyways, yea, Sergio has bundles of talent in my opinion - his handspeed definitely can't be laughed at, and he's got good reaction speed. He needs to work on his technique, obviously. His switching is quite effective too - not many fighters can do that effectively.

[TheEvilSaint]

manfredo is doing good and this guy mora beat him twice. so mora must have something, no power but he has skill. what good is the one punch guy if he can get outboxed tiered and stopped do to stamina

the 2nd manfredo/mora fight was a blatant robbery for mora. even mora's hometown of LA was booing when he got the decision.

[Manager]

The thing is, i think the contender is GREAT for boxing. It opens it up to the public, and i think as boxing fans we should all be thankful - because i feel that those who aren't are elitists who want to keep the sport to themselves.

If you look at when boxing was popular, you'll find lots of drama. Jack Johnson - many fans remember him, not only because he was good, but especially because he was black. It was controversial and thus made good news, and people rooted for him or hated him - thats what made watching him fight more exciting.

Ali - the whole Islam thing and his refusal to go to war - that was drama, and again people either rooted for him or hated him, it added another dimension to the fight - it gave the fight meaning, i guess.

Joe Louis - there was some drama there too, i think it was schmeling that 'represented' germany right? I'm not a big Louis fan and so i don't know his record or anything, but i know that at one point it was almost as if he was representing america.

Tyson - he has a story. Don't even need to talk about it. That's the reason why he'll always be more popular then Lewis, even though arguably Lewis was the better fighter. Tyson had background, character - fallen angel type of thing.

The general public can't fully appreciate the technique until they get to know the sport - the importance of the job, good footwork, cutting the ring, slipping, blocking, etc.

Before they learn that they need to be pulled in, and only drama, good stories, can do that. That's The Contender. And if they do it right, Superfighter will be that way too.

Thats why i love the contender =)

Anyways, yea, Sergio has bundles of talent in my opinion - his handspeed definitely can't be laughed at, and he's got good reaction speed. He needs to work on his technique, obviously. His switching is quite effective too - not many fighters can do that effectively.

Nice post and I agree. The contender does attract a few more people to the sport. Here in America we just don’t have enough fans. Remember back in the day when you could get 10 people to go in on a fight at someone’s house? Hell, I am lucky to find anyone who gives a **** about watching it for free a week later, anymore.

[BigBoy9000]

Nice post and I agree. The contender does attract a few more people to the sport. Here in America we just don’t have enough fans. Remember back in the day when you could get 10 people to go in on a fight at someone’s house? Hell, I am lucky to find anyone who gives a **** about watching it for free a week later, anymore.

Now that's real, in some places "sports bars" do not even show the fights. I guess the main attraction in boxing has been heavyweight, and now it isn't there. The best weight classes are the in between classes say, 140-160

[BigBoy9000]

Well, the Contender is good for boxing but if we don't see the best fighters, is it good for the fighters? People get reacclammated to the "free boxing" of the past but the public thinks, "I think I could beat a few of those guys", maybe I am asking too much.