Review: Contender Episode 14

In episode 14 of NBC's "The Contender", Sergio Mora advanced to the finals with a seven round decision over Jesse Brinkley. One thing that was unique about this series was that the taping schedule (as opposed to the TV air-date schedule) often required the participants to enter the ring at less than 100% and this week was no exception. Brinkley suffered a cut above his left eye in his last bout and it was obviously not even close to being healed for this fight. As expected, the cut re-opened shortly into the bout. However, it wasn't the cut so much as Mora simply outworking Brinkley that decided the outcome. Mora now advances to Tuesday night's live final bout against Peter Manfredo Jr. for the $1 million grand prize. Manfredo has an advantage in power and experience but don't be surprised if Mora's speed and higher activity level is enough to win on points. Either way, Tuesday night marks the end of "the Contender" as NBC has elected not to bring the series back for another season.