‘The Contender’ set for fall relaunch

Late last year it was reported that ‘The Contender,’ a reality boxing series, was being considered for a return to television. Well, it’s now been confirmed that the EPIX network has picked up the show which will relaunch this fall, starting with a 12 episode season according to RingTV.

This season will feature sixteen fighters duking it out for prize money as well as a chance to capault their career with the media exposure. The series previously brought notoriety to fighters like Sergio Mora, Peter Manfredo Jr., and Ishe Smith.

“Boxing belongs on premium pay television and there is no better home for The Contender than EPIX,” said series producer Mark Burnett, a guru of reality TV responsible for shows like Shark Tank and The Apprentice. “We will tell stories of the fighters, the families and their difficult journeys in the emotionally compelling Contender style so that viewers get to vicariously walk a mile in the boxers’ shoes.”

The president of EPIX, Michael Wright, then described his vision for the so as such:

“This is not only real boxing, but real, raw human storytelling from the best unscripted television production team in the world.”

The weight class this season will focus on has no been released but it has been said that the show will feature less censorship now that it will be airing on premium cable, instead of mainstream NBC where it all began.