The Contender, Episode 7: The Young and the Restless

Four fighters remain. Joey and Juan are both young and eager to prove themselves, while Tarick is coming out of retirement for a final shot at greatness. Jimmy (and pretty much everyone else) is still hopped up about Anthony’s deception last week. The winner of this week’s challenge will dictate both of the remaining fights in the first round. Who ‘s got what it takes?

Previously:

• Both teams agreed that the next fight would be Anthony vs. Jimmy
• Anthony asked his team to win the challenge so he would have the ability to call out his opponent
• Team West won the challenge, involving hauling medicine balls up a dam
• Anthony shocked everyone by calling out Brent instead of Jimmy
• Lead by Ishe and Joey, most of Team West rooted for Brent
• Anthony received a boost when his kids unexpectedly showed up to watch his fight
• In an obviously uneven fight, the refs had to intervene, awarding Anthony the victory by knockout

We start with Anthony enjoying his victory with his two kids. However, Team West is less than pleased, as many of them, perhaps lead by Ishe and Joey, had been cheering against their teammate. Ishe voices his opinion of Anthony’s underhanded tactics to Sly, announcing that he won’t go on the reward with the team before storming off with the rest of Team West in tow.

Anthony realizes that he hurt Brent during the fight, but doesn’t seem too broken up about it. As he returns to the locker room, Ishe and Alfonso’s storm blows into the loft, doors swinging wide in their wake. “A cat like that you don’t even knock out,” Ishe says. “Cats like him—you make ‘em pay.” Ishe feels that the fight was unfair, and Alfonso and Juan agree. It’s hard to disagree after watching last week’s one-sided fight. Juan tells us that he thinks Anthony did the wrong thing in picking an easier fight, and he wants to beat tough opponents to make it to the next round.

While the Anthony-hating party is going on in the living room, Joey collects his things and moves out of the room he shares with Anthony to another Team West room. “I just felt bad that I was duped,” he tells us.

Also on the guest list are Peter and Jesse. Peter says that he tried to give Brent advice in his corner, but Jesse feels that it was just “a big cat on a mouse.”

But this is still Ishe’s party, and he’ll cry if he wants to. “I can’t believe this coward got a knockout!” he yells, throwing a perfectly good bunch of bananas against the wall. Hearing this, Jesse and Peter are both afraid of what will happen when Anthony returns to the loft and don’t plan to leave the room they’re lounging in.

Speak of the devil… here comes Daddy himself. Somehow, everyone disappears, and the only person around is Tarick, who wasn’t there a minute ago. Tarick congratulates Anthony and tells us he has no problems with his behavior. Anthony tells us for the eleventeenth billion time that he’ll do whatever he has to for his two kids.

At this point, Ishe and Alfonso return (where did they go?), and give Anthony a combination of the evil eye and the silent treatment. Anthony tells the camera that whoever wants to fight him will have to put him in a body bag to beat him, and he doesn’t think anyone can do it.

The following morning, the dramatics are suspended so training can occur. As we see Tarick practicing with Sugar Ray, he tells us in an interview that a few years previously, he was ranked in the top ten by two different organizations. He had a signed contract for a world championship fight, but the champion backed out and he never got another chance. He became frustrated with the sport and gave it up soon after. Sugar Ray tells us that for Tarick, The Contender is his second chance. Is it just me, or does Sugar Ray sound like he’s reading from a script?

Jimmy also gets some practice in, this time with trainer Tommy. Watching from outside the ring, Jesse and Ishe agree that Jimmy punches well and suspect that he might be a “sleeper.” Jimmy tells us that planning on a certain fight before set him up for disappointment, so now he’s not counting on anything. Still, he is confident that he could beat either Tarick or Joey, the only remaining possibilities.

Meanwhile, Joey talks to Sly about his leg, which he might have injured in last week’s medicine ball challenge. He says that he pulled a muscle, and that there’s nothing he can do but rest it.

Juan, the other remaining fighter from Team East, gets some advice from Ishe, who suggests that he not fight Joey if he feels it won’t do anything for his career. Sugar Ray informs us that Juan, who just turned 18, went to Mexico so he could turn pro at 15 and doesn’t appear to be looking for an easy way out. “I feel that everybody should try to go their hardest route,” says Juan. “That’s how you build greatness.” Imagine someone saying that on Survivor!

Convinced that Joey’s inexperience won’t make him much of a challenge, Juan finds “Baby Stallone” on the side of the ring, and informs him that he doesn’t want to fight him. He claims no disrespect, but Joey still seems offended, citing his three NCAA tournament victories as evidence that he is not the weak link on his team.

With everyone back up in the loft, Sly arrives to give Anthony his golden gloves, assuring him a place in the next round of competition. Anthony announces that he’d like to give his golden gloves to Brent Cooper. And where is this coming from?! Wow… this doesn’t make any sense! How did Anthony go from sneaky, abusive liar to ring-giver? Sadly, NBC has no intention of letting us know. As touching as this gesture is, it takes very little convincing from Sly to get Anthony to apparently decide to keep his golden gloves. I’m totally confused that the show handled this so casually.

I’m not completely convinced that Anthony isn’t just saying this to try to save face, but there’s really not a lot of evidence either way. If it was an act, it at least worked on Alfonso, who claims that after getting caught up in the emotion of the house, he’s back on good terms with Anthony. He can’t, however, convince Ishe to come with the team on their reward. Ishe feels it would be hypocritical of him to go along.

A limo arrives outside the gym, and out steps Ja Rule! He comes into the loft, and opens a case containing an assortment of high-end watches, gifts for Team West, which Tommy tells us cost $2,500 apiece. Ishe admires the watches from a distance, but doesn’t take one. Ja Rule then informs them that they’re going out to a club for the night, prompting Jesse to shout, “I’m gonna puke tonight!” Apparently Joey, too, has buried the hatchet with his former roommate, as he is also going along for the ride.

At the very uncrowded club, the guys of Team West (minus Ishe) sip drinks and dance. Ja Rule shares that he would have loved to be a boxer. I guess he’ll just have to settle for being an international music sensation. As champagne is poured, Sergio calls the event one of the best nights of his life. Everyone toasts Anthony’s win. No word on if or when Jesse made it home.

Apparently the guys get back from the club early enough for Joey to call his family. Sounds like a wild night to me! He is surprised to hear his dad answer the phone. Why surprised? Well as far as Joey knew, his dad, who works with the Marines recon unit, was stationed in Afghanistan. After thinking for a moment that he has the wrong number, Joey is overjoyed to realize that his dad is safe at home. Armed with this information, Joey feels invincible, and looks forward to his upcoming fight.