Episode 2
Setting the bar high for the rest of the fighters, Felix “Bad News” Cora Jr. gives a solid first match performance, out-boxing Joell Godfrey in 5 rounds of cruiserweight action. Felix’s victory now gives the Blue Team the first win of The Contender Tournament and the upper hand.
In the victorious Blue Room, the Blue Team members argue with each other, jostling for the chance to fight next. Heated words are exchanged between team mates Alfredo Escalera Jr. and Mike Alexander, who both want to fight, hoping to have first pick of the weaker Gold Team members. Feeling underestimated, Alfredo loses his cool when team mates criticise his lacklustre performance during training. The power of choice, leaves the Blue Team divided over who will fight next.
The next day, Mike sneaks into the Gold Team’s room and tries to make off with eliminated fighter Joell’s mattress. Complaining about a sore back, Mike hopes to double up thee mattress on his bed to make sleep more comfortable. However his excuse doesn’t fly with Ehinomen “Hino” Ehikhamenor from the Gold Team, who puts up a fight to keep Joell’s bed intact. Other boxers watch on, laughing hysterically, as Mike and Hino battle it out for Joell’s mattress.
The laughter soon dies down when trainer Tommy Brooks for the Gold Team marches in and sets them straight. Not happy with their loss, Tommy reminds the fighters, “This is the Contenders, not the Pretenders”. He tells them he can teach them to beat anybody, but they have to listen.
Subdued and shaken, the Gold Team head to the gym to train hard, determined to take back control from the Blue Team. During training, Tony Danza gets bitten by the boxing bug and decides to climb in the ring with Jon Schneider to spar. For a 58 year-old man, Tony impresses the Contender boxers who are half his age.
Hoping for an easy first fight to advance to the next round, Mike Alexander eyes Tim “The Hammer” Flamos and Jon Schneider. Both boxers are considered the weak links of the Gold Team. 41 year-old Tim is the oldest boxer in the tournament, and Jon has the least boxing experience.
With a chip on his shoulder, Alfredo Escalera Jr., son of former world champion Alfredo “Salsero” Escalera, is determined to show his team mates that when it comes down to it, he’s the one who’s ready to fight. With much to prove to the Blue Team, Alfredo puts up a solid performance during sparring, putting to rest some of the doubts his team has had regarding his conditioning.
As the Blue Team sparring continues, Ryan “The Irish Outlaw” Coyne receives as accidental head butt from his sparring partner. With blood pouring down from his eye, Ryan’s cut looks bad and he freaks out, cursing and swearing, untill he’s calmed down and brought to the hospital. With the scent of blood in the air, the Gold Team immediately starts licking their chops and as Rico “Suave” Hoye points out delightedly, “We’ve got a bleeding lamb”.
Tony Danza brings all the remaining boxers to the living room to go over the rules of the Tournament, and introduce the Bracket Board. He familiarizes them with the system by which each boxer who wins his first round can choose where he would like to place himself in Round 2. Felix is the first boxer to place his name on the board and he picks the very first fight in the 2nd Round – signalling to everyone that he’s ready to go! With the “power of choice” with the Blue Team, the Gold Team sits nervously awaiting their fate. Jon Schneider feels that he’s the likely pick, while AK predicts they will be calling out Tim because he’s the oldest. Meanwhile, the Blue Team is no closer to deciding and leave it to fate with the flip of a coin. When the call-out happens, it’s Alfredo Escalera Jr who steps forward to pick who he perceives to be the weak link in the Gold Team - Jon Schneider. Starring down Alfredo, Jon feels confident he can win and surprise everyone. Jon may have the least experience as a boxer, but this former Marine wrestler has the most experience as a fighter bar none. Rico Hoye on the Gold Team voices his concern about the pick and feels Jon’s lack of experience in the ring could hurt him.
The next night, Alfredo & Jon square off in the Fight Night Arena. In the first 30 seconds of round one, Alfredo stuns Jon with a well-timed blow that keeps Jon’s legs wobbly throughout the round. Round 2 and 3 are much the same, with Alfredo’s powerful right hand keeping Jon off-balanced and barely holding on. Jon suffers a knock-down in round 3, and despite a stronger showing in round 4, the final round is a test of Jon’s will and determination just to make it to the final bell.
The next morning, John Bray confronts Darnell Wilson about his weight. Feeling Darnell looked out of shape, he weighs him in and discovers his instincts were right. Darnell is ten pounds over the weight limit: “He’s going to have problems if he gets called out”, John explains. Darnell keeps a positive attitude on the issue and focuses on getting his weight down as soon as possible.
At training, Tommy Brooks acknowledges Deon Elam’s hard work and determination since the start of the competition, and admires Deon’s focus on winning the entire tournament. Deon, meanwhile, continues to observe the weaknesses he sees in both Richard Gingras and Mike Alexander, and he’s further convinced they’ll be easy fights for him. Meanwhile, Rich impresses his trainer, John Bray, by utilizing his new “secret weapon”, the right hook. Rich knocks down his sparring partner with his ferocious blows, and professes that although being inexperienced makes him the underdog, his heart will take him a long way. Later, Troy Ross notices that “the ding-a-ling man” Darnell Wilson seemed sluggish and out of shape during sparring. Darnell notices the Gold Team eying him, and begins to get nervous about being called out too soon. As training wraps up, Hino Ehikamenor stares down Ryan, and makes it very clear he has not forgotten about the disrespect Ryan had shown him. “He’s not a Contender, he’s a Pretender”, Hino states, “Ryan’s definitely put a target on himself.”
When Tony assembles the teams in front of the bracket board, AK is honored for his impressive victory the night before, and is called up to select his place in the 2nd round. AK chooses the 2nd fight vs. Alfredo Escalera. When asked by host Tony Danza why he chose Alfredo, AK says he knows Alfredo’s missing his family, therefore, he wants to send him home “as soon as possible”. Alfredo, unpleased with AK’s remarks, begins making fun of AK in retaliation. AK doesn’t back down and the two nearly come to blows in the living room. “Alfredo doesn’t belong in this tournament, and I’ll make sure he leaves ASAP!” predicts AK.
When asked who should fight during deliberation, Troy Ross immediately shows his support for Deon Elam, stating that Deon’s size and strength will surely allow him to advance and keep power on the Gold Team. Hino agrees with Troy, and confesses he doesn’t want a cheap victory fighting an injured Ryan Coyne just yet. Deon is happy with his team’s support, and reiterates his original plan of going after either Richard Gingras or Mike Alexander.
At the Callout, the fighters line up in the Contender gymnasium. As Tony Danza asks the fighter representing the Gold Team to step forward, Deon toes the line and calls out the smaller Richard Gingras. Richard immediately professes he will test Deon’s heart in the fight, and make his family proud: “I’m going to be a hard guy to beat.” Deon feels his height and reach advantage will make the fight an easy one for him.
In the locker room before the fight, Richard admits that being the underdog takes the pressure off his shoulders. Furthermore, Richard confesses that he does this all for his children, and they motivate him to fight his heart out. In the Gold locker room, Tommy Brooks reminds Deon that this tournament is a dream opportunity. Deon then admits everything he does is for his mom, and that his drive to do well in the tournament is to better her life.
The first round begins with each fighter not holding anything back. The fighters establish from the first round that it will be an all-out brawl, with a flurry of exchanges. Deon hurts Richard first, by catching him with multiple hooks. In the second round, Deon continues imposing his will on Richard, cutting him just below the eye. The cut doesn’t slow Richard down one bit, as he comes back with a ferocious uppercut, stunning Deon along with the entire arena to close out the exciting 2nd round. The fight is back and forth leading up to the fifth and final round. Deon begins shaky, getting caught by a right hook from Richard, however, he finishes the fight with impressive combinations to hurt Richard leading up to the final bell, putting an exclamation point on one of the most exciting fights of the season. Although the scores were close, the judges unanimously give the decision to Deon Elam, and the power of choice is kept with the Gold Team. Deon is overwhelmed with happiness to have made it to the 2nd round, but admits that he was surprised with how tough the fight was: “Richard came out like a bull, and I take my hat off to him.”
