Boxing
Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer 6y

Fighters revealed for "The Contender" series

Boxing

The 16 middleweight fighters who will vie for "The Contender" championship belt in the reboot of the reality boxing series were unveiled on Wednesday.

Premium cable network Epix, which will air 12 hour-long episodes of the Mark Burnett-produced series beginning on Aug. 24 (10 p.m. ET/PT), is re-launching a show that initially ran from 2005 to 2008 with the first season on NBC, followed by two on ESPN and a fourth on the now-defunct Versus.

Now the series, which recently completed filming in Los Angeles, will be on Epix, with retired former super middleweight and light heavyweight world titleholder Andre Ward serving as the host and Freddie Roach and Naazim Richardson serving as the trainers for the fighters, who will live and train together and then fight week after week in elimination matches to determine the champion.

"'The Contender'" takes unscripted TV to its grittiest. It has incredible professional fighters and real professional fights," Burnett, president of MGM Television, said. "The edge-of-your-seat drama and true stories sets a tone that our audiences will be expecting and I love it."

Here's a look at the 16 participants:

• Ievgen Khytrov (16-1, 13 KOs), 29, a native of Ukraine fighting out of Brooklyn. A former top prospect who has won two fights in a row since he was upset by Immanuwel Aleem via sixth-round knockout in 17 months ago.

• Eric Walker (15-1, 8 KOs), 34, of Plaquemine, Louisiana. Incarcerated at 15 years old, he spent 14 years in prison for robbery and attempted murder. He learned to box in prison. He's coming off his first loss, a 10-round decision to Patrick Day last July.

• John Thompson (18-3, 6 KOs), 29, of Newark, New Jersey. He won the 2015 ESPN Boxcino junior middleweight tournament, a win that landed him a vacant world title shot later in the year that he lost by seventh-round knockout to Liam Smith.

• Brandon Adams (17-2, 12 KOs), 28, of Los Angeles. He lost in the final of the 2014 ESPN Boxcino middleweight tournament and then won three fights in a row before losing to Thompson in the final of the 2015 ESPN Boxcino junior middleweight tournament. Adams has not fought since.

• Malcolm McAllister (9-1, 8 KOs), 27, of Long Beach, California. He turned pro in 2014 and is coming off his first loss, an eight-round decision to unbeaten prospect Chordale Booker.

• Quatavious Cash (10-0, 7 KOs), 26, of Las Vegas. The Atlanta native turned pro in 2012 but had a three-year layoff  before  returning in 2017. He's a four-time Golden Gloves state champion.

• Shane Mosley Jr. (10-2, 7 KOs), 27, of Santa Monica, California. He's the son of former pound-for-pound king and three-division champion Shane Mosley. He has not fought since an eight-round split-decision loss in Australia on the Manny Pacquiao-Jeff Horn undercard.

• Daniel Valdivia (14-2, 10 KOs), 25, of Tulare, California. A real estate agent by day, he's moving up in weight after consecutive eight-round decision losses to Vladimir Hernandez in his last two fights.

• Michael Moore (15-1, 7 KOs), 31, of Cleveland. He participated in the 2015 ESPN Boxcino junior middleweight tournament but lost in the quarterfinals. He's fought only twice since, but won both bouts.

• Gerald Sherrell (8-0, 4 KOs), 24, of Pittsburgh. He's a prospect who has been fighting four- and six-rounders. He grew up as a fan of the original "Contender" series.

• Morgan Fitch (18-1-1, 8 KOs), 34, of Pittsburgh. The married father of three lost for the first time when he stepped up in opposition, dropping a 10-round decision to 2012 Brazilian Olympic bronze medalist Yamaguchi Falcao in his last fight 13 months ago.

• Marcos Hernandez (11-1, 3 KOs), 24, of Fresno, California. Hernandez has yet to face any name opposition but he has overcome a lot in life after an accident left him with burns on 30 percent of his body, which led him to be bullied as a child. He's raising an autistic son.

• Tyrone Brunson (26-6-2, 24 KOs), 33, of Philadelphia. He began his career with 19 consecutive first-round knockouts and is one of the most experienced fighters in the field. He knocked out former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron last year.

• Lamar Russ (17-2, 8 KOs), 31, of Wilmington, North Carolina. Began his career 14-0 until losing a decision to longtime contender Matthew Macklin on HBO in 2013.

• John Jackson (21-3, 16 KOs), 29, of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The son of former world titleholder Julian Jackson fought for a vacant junior middleweight world title in 2016 and lost by eighth-round knockout to Jermell Charlo.

• Devaun Lee (10-3-1, 5 KOs), 30, of Queens, New York. Lee turned to boxing and away from the streets when he was 16 and a friend was shot and killed. He's coming off a 10-round decision loss to Vaughn Alexander in March.

"With this new iteration of 'The Contender' the focus is on the gritty, personal stories of the fighters battling for boxing glory," Epix president Michael Wright said. "It was important for us to find individuals who not only displayed the boxing chops and resilience in the ring, but who also showed a depth of heart and humor outside of it. Our 16 fighters are vivacious, tough, funny, sensitive, driven and inspiring, and we are excited for our fans to get to know their stories and root for them inside the ring and out."

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