Full Version: Tournament of Contenders
I heard a rumor they are bankrupt and it would seem accurate as many of their boxers have been given promotional releases left and right recently.
Good. Tom Hauser's articles on them and that whole show undressed them as a group of guys trying to pay slave wages to fighters. Fuck them.
I wouldn't expect anything good with Sugar fag leonard being a part of it. But Hauser is just too fucking bitchy for me. Does he even like Boxing?
If that's the picture Hauser painted then he was either terribly misinformed, or just flat out lied. Knowing Hauser, probably both.
I know for a fact that the fighters in the first season were handsomely compensated, and a number of them went on to make paydays ridiculous in comparison to what they made prior to and what they would've made had they never appeared on the show.
I have absolutely no love whatsoever for Jeff Wald. I think he's a tired ass blowhard and brought more discredit to the sport than positive attention. Nor am I the least bit saddened that he's potentially out of the game altogether.
But there's no question that for a club fighter, such an outlet changed their careers for the better. Joey Gilbert, Jimmy Lange, Jesse Brinkley - these guys don't advance beyond four-figure paydays on the club circuit without The Contender.
I know for a fact that the fighters in the first season were handsomely compensated, and a number of them went on to make paydays ridiculous in comparison to what they made prior to and what they would've made had they never appeared on the show.
I have absolutely no love whatsoever for Jeff Wald. I think he's a tired ass blowhard and brought more discredit to the sport than positive attention. Nor am I the least bit saddened that he's potentially out of the game altogether.
But there's no question that for a club fighter, such an outlet changed their careers for the better. Joey Gilbert, Jimmy Lange, Jesse Brinkley - these guys don't advance beyond four-figure paydays on the club circuit without The Contender.
QUOTE(JakeNDaBox @ Nov 2 2009, 03:34 PM) 
If that's the picture Hauser painted then he was either terribly misinformed, or just flat out lied. Knowing Hauser, probably both.
I know for a fact that the fighters in the first season were handsomely compensated, and a number of them went on to make paydays ridiculous in comparison to what they made prior to and what they would've made had they never appeared on the show.
I have absolutely no love whatsoever for Jeff Wald. I think he's a tired ass blowhard and brought more discredit to the sport than positive attention. Nor am I the least bit saddened that he's potentially out of the game altogether.
But there's no question that for a club fighter, such an outlet changed their careers for the better. Joey Gilbert, Jimmy Lange, Jesse Brinkley - these guys don't advance beyond four-figure paydays on the club circuit without The Contender.
The Contender was a bunch of bullshit. It wouldn't surprise me if they were rigging fights in the first season.
And they may have been paid well to an extent but they weren't allowed much freedom. The guys behind the Contender looked at boxing from a reality TV standpoint and not actually what it was.
http://www.secondsout.com/usa-boxing-news/...n-the-contender
QUOTE
"Ishe's grievances against The Contender fall into several categories. First, he believes that several of the show's producers played favorites throughout the taping and undermined the fairness of the process. In that regard, he is infuriated by the decision that went against him in his fight with Sergio Mora.
"I won that fight," Smith says. "You know there was something phony about the decision because one judge gave it to me 49-46 and another judge had it 50-45 for Mora. How can two judges score a fight that differently? How can one judge score every round for Sergio when I had him out on his feet at the end of the fight? They didn't show the crowd booing when the decision was announced. They didn't show the way Sergio staggered around the ring at the end of the fight. To this day, they won't let me see a tape of the whole fight. My own fight! If there's nothing to hide, show me the tape. Show everyone the tape. There's no way Sergio beat me, but the producers are protecting him. I've pleaded with them to let me fight Sergio again, and they say 'no way.' Instead, they wanted me to fight Jesse Brinkley in their next show at 165 pounds. That's not my weight. If they said 154, fine; but not 165. So I told them 'no,' and then they said, 'Well, bring your own opponent and you can fight him at 154 pounds but it will be an off-TV fight. The only way you get on TV is if you fight Jesse at 165.'"
"And that's the way it is," Smith continues. "Under the contract, as long as they pay me my minimum [ $50,000 a fight for two fights a year], they can keep me from ever getting exposure or fighting a world-class fighter. They can keep me from ever testing myself to see if I can be a world champion. I don't want to fight five-round fights against bring-your-own opponents. I don't want to be a carnival act like Butterbean. I want an opportunity to be recognized as a great fighter. I want to be a world champion, not a make-believe Contender champion. How do I know if I can fight a Winky Wright when they won't let me fight more than five rounds? David Estrada just fought Shane Mosley. I beat David Estrada. These guys have no respect for fighters. They're playing with fighters' lives as a hobby and I don't want to be part of it anymore. I want to fight real fights; not Contender nonsense. I want to be a real fighter, not a TV-reality-show guy. The people who are running The Contender don't know the difference."
"I won that fight," Smith says. "You know there was something phony about the decision because one judge gave it to me 49-46 and another judge had it 50-45 for Mora. How can two judges score a fight that differently? How can one judge score every round for Sergio when I had him out on his feet at the end of the fight? They didn't show the crowd booing when the decision was announced. They didn't show the way Sergio staggered around the ring at the end of the fight. To this day, they won't let me see a tape of the whole fight. My own fight! If there's nothing to hide, show me the tape. Show everyone the tape. There's no way Sergio beat me, but the producers are protecting him. I've pleaded with them to let me fight Sergio again, and they say 'no way.' Instead, they wanted me to fight Jesse Brinkley in their next show at 165 pounds. That's not my weight. If they said 154, fine; but not 165. So I told them 'no,' and then they said, 'Well, bring your own opponent and you can fight him at 154 pounds but it will be an off-TV fight. The only way you get on TV is if you fight Jesse at 165.'"
"And that's the way it is," Smith continues. "Under the contract, as long as they pay me my minimum [ $50,000 a fight for two fights a year], they can keep me from ever getting exposure or fighting a world-class fighter. They can keep me from ever testing myself to see if I can be a world champion. I don't want to fight five-round fights against bring-your-own opponents. I don't want to be a carnival act like Butterbean. I want an opportunity to be recognized as a great fighter. I want to be a world champion, not a make-believe Contender champion. How do I know if I can fight a Winky Wright when they won't let me fight more than five rounds? David Estrada just fought Shane Mosley. I beat David Estrada. These guys have no respect for fighters. They're playing with fighters' lives as a hobby and I don't want to be part of it anymore. I want to fight real fights; not Contender nonsense. I want to be a real fighter, not a TV-reality-show guy. The people who are running The Contender don't know the difference."
QUOTE
Tarick Salmaci was one of the fighters on The Contender. "It was a great experience for me," he says. "Whatever you write, I want people to know that I'm very grateful and happy that I was on the show."
Still, one thing sticks in Salmaci's craw. Like all of the fighters, he signed a contract that bound him to The Contender for a period of up to five years. In return, he was guaranteed at least two fights a year after the May 24th grand finale. Those fights were to be for a specified minimum purse. In Tarick's case, the minimum was $75,000 per fight. (Salmaci had a higher minimum than Ishe Smith by virtue of finishing higher in the Internet "fan favorite" voting.)
But there was a problem. The Contender contract was terminable at will by the promoter. Salmaci lost to Juan De La Rosa in the first round of the Contender tournament on September 9th of last year. Then, a week after the May 24, 2005, grand finale, he received two letters from The Contender on the same day. The first letter terminated his promotional contract. The second letter said he could continue fighting under The Contender banner if he signed a new contract that would pay him a minimum of $10,000 a fight.
"If I was twenty-three years old, I might do it," says Salmaci. "But I'm not. I'm thirty-three. My future is now."
Still, one thing sticks in Salmaci's craw. Like all of the fighters, he signed a contract that bound him to The Contender for a period of up to five years. In return, he was guaranteed at least two fights a year after the May 24th grand finale. Those fights were to be for a specified minimum purse. In Tarick's case, the minimum was $75,000 per fight. (Salmaci had a higher minimum than Ishe Smith by virtue of finishing higher in the Internet "fan favorite" voting.)
But there was a problem. The Contender contract was terminable at will by the promoter. Salmaci lost to Juan De La Rosa in the first round of the Contender tournament on September 9th of last year. Then, a week after the May 24, 2005, grand finale, he received two letters from The Contender on the same day. The first letter terminated his promotional contract. The second letter said he could continue fighting under The Contender banner if he signed a new contract that would pay him a minimum of $10,000 a fight.
"If I was twenty-three years old, I might do it," says Salmaci. "But I'm not. I'm thirty-three. My future is now."
The Salmaci part is why I no longer read Hauser's articles and believe I'm being told the whole story.
The part left out of the story is that Salmaci LOST on that very card. It's standard industry practice for a promoter to have the right to:
- extend a contract upon its expiration
- terminate a contract after a loss/series of losses.
That's exactly what happened to Tarick. He lost to de la Rosa. Then he lost to... I think, Jimmy Lange (either Lange or Joey Gilbert).
Hold on... Yanks rallying, I'll finish this in a few minutes
The part left out of the story is that Salmaci LOST on that very card. It's standard industry practice for a promoter to have the right to:
- extend a contract upon its expiration
- terminate a contract after a loss/series of losses.
That's exactly what happened to Tarick. He lost to de la Rosa. Then he lost to... I think, Jimmy Lange (either Lange or Joey Gilbert).
Hold on... Yanks rallying, I'll finish this in a few minutes
Alright as I was saying...
Salmaci having his contract terminated and re-worked is no different than any other fighter with any other promoter losing a fight (much less two fights). The first contract is based on the fighter's value when he signs; the opt out clause is for the sake of the promoter protecting his investment.
The article also mentioned that Lange, Joey Gilbert and Ahmed Kaddour were also released. But what it doesn't mention is ToC getting Gilbert (and Lange) a $90,000 payday for a fight against each other, when Gary Shaw (who had paper on Gilbert at the time) wasn't even willing to put up $10k a piece for the same fight.
If ToC is guilty of anything, it's failing to live up to the bullshit they spouted about changing the way the game is played... which again, is the same bullshit every other new jack shouts the moment they're ready to join the fray. Wasn't DiBella supposed to reinvent the wheel? Golden Boy?
Again, I have no love for them and the sooner Wald is chased out of the game, the better. He's done nothing but cash out what's left of his stable for the past three years and I never considered him a promoter to begin with.
Salmaci having his contract terminated and re-worked is no different than any other fighter with any other promoter losing a fight (much less two fights). The first contract is based on the fighter's value when he signs; the opt out clause is for the sake of the promoter protecting his investment.
The article also mentioned that Lange, Joey Gilbert and Ahmed Kaddour were also released. But what it doesn't mention is ToC getting Gilbert (and Lange) a $90,000 payday for a fight against each other, when Gary Shaw (who had paper on Gilbert at the time) wasn't even willing to put up $10k a piece for the same fight.
If ToC is guilty of anything, it's failing to live up to the bullshit they spouted about changing the way the game is played... which again, is the same bullshit every other new jack shouts the moment they're ready to join the fray. Wasn't DiBella supposed to reinvent the wheel? Golden Boy?
Again, I have no love for them and the sooner Wald is chased out of the game, the better. He's done nothing but cash out what's left of his stable for the past three years and I never considered him a promoter to begin with.
Sounds right to me, would Sergio Mora & Peter manfredo be constantly on TV without the contender? Alfonso Gomez? Those guys got paid.
QUOTE(JakeNDaBox @ Nov 2 2009, 08:22 PM)
Alright as I was saying...
Salmaci having his contract terminated and re-worked is no different than any other fighter with any other promoter losing a fight (much less two fights). The first contract is based on the fighter's value when he signs; the opt out clause is for the sake of the promoter protecting his investment.
The article also mentioned that Lange, Joey Gilbert and Ahmed Kaddour were also released. But what it doesn't mention is ToC getting Gilbert (and Lange) a $90,000 payday for a fight against each other, when Gary Shaw (who had paper on Gilbert at the time) wasn't even willing to put up $10k a piece for the same fight.
If ToC is guilty of anything, it's failing to live up to the bullshit they spouted about changing the way the game is played... which again, is the same bullshit every other new jack shouts the moment they're ready to join the fray. Wasn't DiBella supposed to reinvent the wheel? Golden Boy?
Again, I have no love for them and the sooner Wald is chased out of the game, the better. He's done nothing but cash out what's left of his stable for the past three years and I never considered him a promoter to begin with.
Well said and based on what you said I'm starting to look at Hauser's articles on the subject a little more closer. It does seem he has an agenda in most of his most popular work. I seem to fall for it every time, though, haha.
For one, he goes and all but just says that The Contender caused Najai Turpin to kill himself [in about 500 more than necessary words, in typical Hauser fashion] and even went as far to say that The Tournament of Contenders went as far as to try and talk the mother of his child in taking a paternity test to figure out if Najai was even the real father. I'm not even sure that is necessarily a terrible thing, for all I know it could be part of procedure involving insurance or the establishing of trust funds if the kid is really his. But the way Hauser writes it is as if the guys in charge are accusing the mother of being a slut and they are really curious if the kid was his.
I must say that Hauser is pretty effective in his writing because more of the response on him is positive. But now I'm talking about something completely different in this thread.
Bika is the flip side to some degree. After Contender he had two rd 1 blow outs on club shows down here and his win against Manfredo where he picked up a vacant IBO belt.
Probably happy to see the ass end of the Contender people.
QUOTE(Dynamic Hispanic @ Nov 3 2009, 02:26 AM)
Well said and based on what you said I'm starting to look at Hauser's articles on the subject a little more closer. It does seem he has an agenda in most of his most popular work. I seem to fall for it every time, though, haha.
For one, he goes and all but just says that The Contender caused Najai Turpin to kill himself [in about 500 more than necessary words, in typical Hauser fashion] and even went as far to say that The Tournament of Contenders went as far as to try and talk the mother of his child in taking a paternity test to figure out if Najai was even the real father. I'm not even sure that is necessarily a terrible thing, for all I know it could be part of procedure involving insurance or the establishing of trust funds if the kid is really his. But the way Hauser writes it is as if the guys in charge are accusing the mother of being a slut and they are really curious if the kid was his.
I must say that Hauser is pretty effective in his writing because more of the response on him is positive. But now I'm talking about something completely different in this thread.
don't get me wrong... as recent as a couple of years ago, the distance between Hauser and the rest of the industry was massive. He's still an incredible writer, especially as an investigator. But for my own personal taste, his agenda gets in the way far too often these days. Not sure if it was always that way, but more so in recent years.
No question that the TOC was a black eye of boxing, especially as the Ultimate fighter made MMA credible in the US.
QUOTE
"Ishe's grievances against The Contender fall into several categories. First, he believes that several of the show's producers played favorites throughout the taping and undermined the fairness of the process. In that regard, he is infuriated by the decision that went against him in his fight with Sergio Mora.
"I won that fight," Smith says. "You know there was something phony about the decision because one judge gave it to me 49-46 and another judge had it 50-45 for Mora. How can two judges score a fight that differently? How can one judge score every round for Sergio when I had him out on his feet at the end of the fight? They didn't show the crowd booing when the decision was announced. They didn't show the way Sergio staggered around the ring at the end of the fight. To this day, they won't let me see a tape of the whole fight. My own fight! If there's nothing to hide, show me the tape. Show everyone the tape. There's no way Sergio beat me, but the producers are protecting him. I've pleaded with them to let me fight Sergio again, and they say 'no way.' Instead, they wanted me to fight Jesse Brinkley in their next show at 165 pounds. That's not my weight. If they said 154, fine; but not 165. So I told them 'no,' and then they said, 'Well, bring your own opponent and you can fight him at 154 pounds but it will be an off-TV fight. The only way you get on TV is if you fight Jesse at 165.'"
"And that's the way it is," Smith continues. "Under the contract, as long as they pay me my minimum [ $50,000 a fight for two fights a year], they can keep me from ever getting exposure or fighting a world-class fighter. They can keep me from ever testing myself to see if I can be a world champion. I don't want to fight five-round fights against bring-your-own opponents. I don't want to be a carnival act like Butterbean. I want an opportunity to be recognized as a great fighter. I want to be a world champion, not a make-believe Contender champion. How do I know if I can fight a Winky Wright when they won't let me fight more than five rounds? David Estrada just fought Shane Mosley. I beat David Estrada. These guys have no respect for fighters. They're playing with fighters' lives as a hobby and I don't want to be part of it anymore. I want to fight real fights; not Contender nonsense. I want to be a real fighter, not a TV-reality-show guy. The people who are running The Contender don't know the difference."
"I won that fight," Smith says. "You know there was something phony about the decision because one judge gave it to me 49-46 and another judge had it 50-45 for Mora. How can two judges score a fight that differently? How can one judge score every round for Sergio when I had him out on his feet at the end of the fight? They didn't show the crowd booing when the decision was announced. They didn't show the way Sergio staggered around the ring at the end of the fight. To this day, they won't let me see a tape of the whole fight. My own fight! If there's nothing to hide, show me the tape. Show everyone the tape. There's no way Sergio beat me, but the producers are protecting him. I've pleaded with them to let me fight Sergio again, and they say 'no way.' Instead, they wanted me to fight Jesse Brinkley in their next show at 165 pounds. That's not my weight. If they said 154, fine; but not 165. So I told them 'no,' and then they said, 'Well, bring your own opponent and you can fight him at 154 pounds but it will be an off-TV fight. The only way you get on TV is if you fight Jesse at 165.'"
"And that's the way it is," Smith continues. "Under the contract, as long as they pay me my minimum [ $50,000 a fight for two fights a year], they can keep me from ever getting exposure or fighting a world-class fighter. They can keep me from ever testing myself to see if I can be a world champion. I don't want to fight five-round fights against bring-your-own opponents. I don't want to be a carnival act like Butterbean. I want an opportunity to be recognized as a great fighter. I want to be a world champion, not a make-believe Contender champion. How do I know if I can fight a Winky Wright when they won't let me fight more than five rounds? David Estrada just fought Shane Mosley. I beat David Estrada. These guys have no respect for fighters. They're playing with fighters' lives as a hobby and I don't want to be part of it anymore. I want to fight real fights; not Contender nonsense. I want to be a real fighter, not a TV-reality-show guy. The people who are running The Contender don't know the difference."
Ishe Smith is a hypocritical a$$.
Ishe's first contract was with Gary Shaw and after Shaw got him his first televised fight on Shobox he declared bankruptcy to get out of his contract and sign elsewhere.
He has a non-friendly style and yet thinks he is God's gift to boxing.
How many times has he changed promoters now? Isn't he on like his 4th one now over his last 10+ fights? Shaw, ToC, GB and now Dibella?
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