Contender, Week One - Experience Shows

By Barb Pinnella

Finally, after many changes which saw a new channel in VERSUS, two new trainers in Tommy Brooks (who has trained such notables as Evander Holyfield, Pernell Whitaker and Mike Tyson), and John Bray (a former fighter in the Heavyweight division), a new host in Tony Danza, and some change to the format of the show, Contender, season 4 has begun. As is Murphy’s Law, my computer decided to play games, and this first weeks’ coverage is a day later than I would have liked. Regardless, as has been the case for seasons one and two, I will be speaking with the loser of each fight every week to get their thoughts on their fight, the show, and their overall Contender experience.

There is still a blue team, which is headed up by Bray, and a gold team, led by Brooks. The teams are not chosen, but rather the fighters are told to find their bags and whatever color shirt is in there, that is their team. So let’s meet the Cruiserweight participants of this season:

Brooks’ Gold Team – Joell Godfrey (9-0-1, 5 KO’s), Deon Elam (9-0-0, 5 KO’s), Rico Hoye (20-2-0, 15 KO’s), Akinyemi Laleye (9-1-0, 4KO’s), Ehinomen Ehikhamenor (12-3-0, 7 KO’s), Tim Flamos (20-4-1, 8 KO’s), Troy Ross (17-1-0, 12 KO’s), and Jon Schneider (7-2-1, 5 KO’s).

Brays’ Blue Team – Mike Alexander (12-2-0, 8 KO’s), Felix Cora, Jr. (18-2-2, 9 KO’s), Ryan Coyne (8-0, 2 KO’s), Alfredo Escalera, Jr. (15-1-1, 11 KO’s), Richard Gingras (9-0-0, 4 KO’s), Lawrence Tauasa (30-5-1, 17 KO’s), Erick Vega (8-2-1, 6 KO’s), and Darnell Wilson (23-7-3, 20 KO’s).

Each fight will be five rounds. There will be eight first round fights. The winning team will have all the power. They will not only choose the fighter for their team, they will also pick the opponent from the other side. Going into round two, there will be no more teams, and it really becomes every man for himself.

Very soon after entering the house there was some friction between Godfrey and Vega. They had some words, and it seemed as if the first fight would be between those two men. But while Joell was the one to step forward for the Gold Team, it was Cora who was given the first fight for Blue. Trainer Bray made it clear that personal issues did not matter; at this point it was one team against the other.

The first round of the fight went Joell’s way, but round two saw a more determined Felix. Round three brought more of the same. Cora kept Godfrey on the ropes for most of the time, and made good use of his strong body shots.

Brooks kept telling Joell to stay off the ropes, but that didn’t happen. The last two rounds continued to find Godfrey leaning on those ropes and being almost continuously on the defensive rather than offensive. In the end the fight was scored as a unanimous decision, 49-46, 50-45, 50-45, all for the winner, Felix Cora, Jr.

I was curious about some things, and was looking forward to speaking with Joell. First, I wondered if he was disappointed with having to fight Cora, since he was really gunning for Erick Vega. “I wasn’t that disappointed. Our team had already figured that it would either be Felix or Lawrence. We thought they would put their best fighters out first, and then Erick would probably be third or fourth. So we’d already predicted that they would put out Felix or Lawrence.”

It seemed to me as I watched the fight that Godfrey really didn’t listen to what Tommy was telling him during the fight, and I wanted to ask him about that. “Everything Tommy told me was correct,” he said. “It was more like stage fright. Everything got to me at the last minute. The first round and a half was alright, but then that’s when it really shocked me. That’s when I realized, ‘I’m really here, the people are really here, I’m going to be on TV,’ things like that. Those were the thoughts that were going through my head. I lost focus, and that was my fault.”

He did say that Felix never hurt him. “No, he didn’t hurt me at all. He did hit me with a couple of body shots but I was prepared for that. But no, he never really hurt me. It stung a little bit, but I regrouped.”

This was the first loss for Joell, and I asked how that affected him. “I’ve taken it well. I took a loss to someone who’s very experienced. Felix came from a big amateur background and he’s a good pro fighter. I’m still green, I’m still learning. I’ve only been pro now about two-and-a-half years. A more experienced fighter won that week. I learned a lot from fighting more competitive fighters that were more experienced than I was. I can look at the tapes and realize the things that I need to take in the ring with me.

“Also, I got the idea with regard to exposure to the lights, the camera, and the action of everything that goes on as far as the entertainment part. I got used to being in front of a camera for interviews, autographs, and just having people around.”

Godfrey took something else away with him from Singapore. “I had the experience of meeting new people that I never thought I’d meet, as far as Tommy Brooks and the like, and also meeting the guys themselves. It was a good time, whether I lost or not. I talked with Hino (Ehikhamenor) the other day, and I keep in contact with a lot of the other fighters.”

Joell does not know when his next fight will be, but he would like to fight soon. “My promoters are going to talk to The Contender and see what’s going on. I’d like to get a fight in January. I don’t need to stay out of the ring as long as I did before I came to The Contender. I hadn’t fought in about six months. I’ve got to stay active.”

As far as the 15 other men left in the Contender tournament, we already have a little bit of insight, and stories to follow. Just how far will the forty-one-year-old Tim Flamos go in this, probably his last quest for boxing fame? Will Darnell Wilson face Cora? They have in the past, resulting in a victory for Felix. We also have Troy Ross, who made two Olympic appearances for Canada; Darnell Wilson, with many title fights, and in the top 10 by Ring Magazine; Lawrence Tauasa, with an amateur record of 130-13, with 30 amateur titles and ranked in the top 10 by the WBO; and Richard Gingras, who is trained by the father of season one runner-up, Peter Manfredo, Sr.

I look forward to next week to see what comes next. I want to thank Joell for taking time to speak with me, and I look forward to seeing him in the ring in the near future.

Be safe and God Bless,

Viva La Raza,

Barb.