Fake Boxing Now As Fake As Real Boxing

We were too busy trying to clear our head after a crushing Game 3 Cardinals loss on Saturday — we had no idea how bad it would get — so we missed ESPN's reintroduction of "The Contender," but, if everything we're hearing is correct, the whole thing was a disaster of Old Testament proportions. Apparently the judges were blatantly wrong in every match and the fans were ready to tear the place apart by the end.

A sampling of views from around the Web:

• "Now 'The Contender' really IS a reality show. It s just as corrupt as regular boxing." [ East Side Boxing] • "Mark Burnett attempted to give an interview, but the crowd continued booing and chanted "this is bullshit" in the background." [ Reality TV Magazine] • "Every boxing fan has seen his or her share of awful decisions (and heard Teddy Atlas rant - entirely justifiably - about the corruption and incompetnence that is killing the sport) but this one ranks right up there among the worst." [ About Boxing]

Honestly, boxing has gotten so bad at this point that it's corrupt even when there's absolutely no need to be corrupt. We think lunchroom fights are fixed now.

The Contender Self Destructs [East Side Boxing]