PROVIDENCE– The Contender, Season Two winner, “Bad Boy” Grady Brewer, and third-place finisher, Cornelius “K9” Bundrage, developed a strong friendship when they were teammates on the 2006 television reality series. The bond remains but has been temporarily put aside because Brewer and Bundrage will battle November 13 in a 10-round IBO light middleweight eliminator on the “Tough & Tested” card at the newly renovated Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
The 12-round main event for the vacant IBO super middleweight title pits two-time world title challenger “The Pride of Providence” Peter Manfredo, Jr., runner-up in Season One of The Contender, against Sakio “The Scorpion” Bika, winner of The Contender, Season Three.
“Tough & Tested,” promoted by the Tournament of Contenders in association with Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc. (CES), will air nationally live on Versus television. The co-promoters have called for a ‘Pink Out’ (everybody wearing something colored pink) to show support for the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation. A portion of the proceeds from ticket and T-shirt sales will benefit the Gloria Gemma Foundation for research into early breast cancer detection.
Brewer (23-11, 13 KOs), fighting out of Lawton, Oklahoma, sports a misleading pro record because he took numerous short-notice fights in the backyards of his opponents prior to joining The Contender. Never-the-less, “Bad Boy” has registered impressive victories against former world champion Steve Forbes in The Contender II finale, as well as Anthony Thompson and Michael Stewart.
“We became good friends on The Contender and still are today,” Brewer spoke about his relationship with Brundage, “but we’re not talking until after this fight. I’ll wish him luck when I see him at the weigh-in and I’m sure that he’ll wish me good luck, too. But our friendship can’t interact with boxing until after this fight.
“I plan to use angles against him to stay away from his big right hand. That’s his favorite punch. I’m sure he knows we’ve watched a lot of types and he’s going to come out trying to prove that he’s more than a one-handed fighter. But I think he’ll resort to his big right hand after four or five rounds. We both were on The Contender and people are intrigued by this match-up because we didn’t fight each other on the show. We both have something to prove and fans are going to have a lot of fun watching us fight. This is a great opportunity for both of us and a big stepping-stone for the winner’s career. People don’t know who is going to win but he will go on to the next level and fight for the IBO title.”
Detroit native Bundrage (28-3, 16 KOs), rated No. 14 by the IBF, is coming off of a win by 10-round decision last March against former IBF title-holder Kassim Ouma. “K9” has also defeated Chris Smith and Michael Clark, among the more notables.
“This was a tough fight to take because we’re such good friends,” Bundrage commented. “We talked a little before The Contender, but then we became friends. Grady took it first (the fight against Bundrage), so I took it, too. He’s a proven veteran and good fighter. Grady’s a much better fighter than his record may indicate. I’m always the underdog; I’m motivated to prove that I’m one of the best fighters out there.
“This is definitely the biggest fight of my life, especially following my win against Ouma. This fight is business and afterwards we’ll still be good friends. I’ve prepared very hard for him. This is an IBO title eliminator and we’ll let the chips fall where they may. The winner is going to go on to even bigger things. Hey, I’m hungry and he already won $500,000 (the winner’s purse for The Contender II). Now it’s my time.”
Manfredo (31-5, 16 KOs), the reigning NABF Interim champion, is the WBC No. 13 rated super middleweight. Fighting in front of his hometown fans, “The Pride of Providence” sports a perfect 16-0 (10 KOs) record in Rhode Island, including 3-0 (3 KOs) in the same Providence building as his Nov. 13th showdown against Bika. Manfredo’s five pro career losses have all come at the hands of world champions.
IBF Pan Pacific super middleweight title-holder Bika (26-3-2. 16 KOs), a 2000 Cameroon Olympian now fighting out of Australia, won The Contender III with a dramatic eighth round stoppage of Bridgeport, Connecticut native Jaidon Codrington in the finale a year ago in Boston. Bika, rated No. 4 by the IBF and No. 8 by The Ring magazine, hasn’t been stopped in 31 pro fights.
Codrington (18-2, 14 KOs), runner-up in Season Three of The Contender, also is fighting on the card in a super middleweight Special Attraction.
Some of New England’s most talented and popular fighters are scheduled to fight on the undercard including WBC World Youth and USNBC featherweight champion Matt “Sharp Shooter” Remillard (15-0, 8 KOs), super flyweight Isander “Peachy” Beauchamp (5-0, 2 KOs), Providence light welterweight Jesus Caro (2-0, 2 KOs), and Pawtucket light welterweight Diego Periera (1-0, 1 KO). All fights and fighters are subject to change.
Tickets, priced at $18.00, $23.00, $58.00, $79.00, $107.00 and $222.00, are on sale at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center Box Office (401.331.6700) or through CES Boxing at 401.724.2253/2254 or www.cesboxing.com. Tickets will also be on sale through www.Ticketmaster.com, at all local Ticketmaster outlets by calling Ticketmaster direct at 401.331.2211 or 617.931.2000, as well as Manfredo’s Gym in Pawtucket (401.723.1359), 401
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Super middleweight Jaidon Codrington (20-2, 16 KOs) will face Alvaro Enriquez (11-8-2, 3 KOs) on July 15 at the Buckhead Theater in Atlanta. Codrington lost to Sakio Bika in the finals of the TV reality series “The Contender” in what many called the fight of the year for 2007. Now working for the Atlanta Police Dept., he has only fought twice since against marginal opposition. Also on the card is a clash of former IBF title challengers as Paul Delgado (25-10-1) meets Osrael “Pito” Cardona.
