PROVIDENCE (October 6, 2006) – Ten members of recently concluded television reality series, “The Contender – Season 2 (C2),” plus original Contender champion Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora, will attend a private solidarity dinner Friday night, October 13 – on the eve of “The Contender Special – Put Up or Shut Up” – to support their fellow Team TOC (Tournament of Contenders) members Peter “The Pride of Providence” Manfredo, Jr. and Jerson “SuperJerz” Ravelo at Camille’s on Historic Federal Hill in Providence, Rhode Island.
“The Contender Special – Put Up or Shut Up,” promoted by the Tournament of Contenders in association with Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, features four of the top young super middleweight boxers in the world. Manfredo (25-3, 11 KOs) battles Providence cross-town rival Joey “KO Kid” Spina (19-0-1, 14 KOs) in the 12 round main event on October 14, while Ravelo (17-1, 12 KOs) takes on Allan “Sweetness” Green (22-0, 15 KOs) in the eight-round co-feature, at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in downtown Providence. These bouts will be televised on ESPN2 from 10:30PM – 12:30 AM/ET on a tape-delayed basis with the main event beginning LIVE at 9:00 PM/ET.
Mora (19-0, 4 KOs) will join Manfredo and Ravelo at the Friday the 13th dinner at Camille’s, along with C2 fighters such as champion Grady “Bad .Boy” Brewer (22-12, 11 KOs), runner-up Steve “2-Pounds” Forbes (32-4, 9 KOs), third-place Cornelius “K9” Bundrage (24-2, 14 KOs), Providence hometown favorite Gary “Tiger” Balletto (30-3-2, 25 KOs), Mike “No Joke” Stewart (39-5-2, 23 KOs), Nick Acevedo (17-2, 9 KOs), “Furious” Freddy Curiel (16-6-2, 6 KOs), Jeff “Hell’Raza” Fraza (17-3, 10 KOs), Noberto “Nito” Bravo (22-12-3, 12 KOs) and Walter “2 Guns” Wright (12-2, 6 KOs). The 13-fighter dinner party sports a combined professional record of 274-54-7 with 207 knockouts.
“It’s great to have the rest of the Contender team with me in Providence,” Manfredo said. “They’re guys from all over the U.S., but I know they’re going to love New England and New England will love them.”
The attending C2 fighters also will sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans on fight night (Saturday, Oct. 14) starting at 7 PM for 45 minutes in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
The promoters hope to parlay the success of the recent finale of The Contender 2 series at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which drew more than 12,000 fans and earned a 1.9 rating on ESPN, representing more than 1.7 million house holds and 2.3 million viewers. It was the highest rated boxing telecast on ESPN in nine years dating back to January 1, 1997.