Fox8 wants to be a Contender

Foxtel has picked up the third series of The Contender which features two Aussie boxers, Sakio Bika (pictured) and Sam Soliman.

The MarkBurnett series is currently airing overseas, but will start here on October 1 on Fox8.

Sugar Ray Leonard serves as a mentor in the contest which offers $1M.

Press Release:

FOX8 today announced it has secured the exclusive Australian television rights for the third season of hit US reality series The Contender from Mark Burnett Productions, ESPN and DreamWorks Television. Featuring two champion Australian boxers, the exciting new season will launch October 1, premiering Mondays at 9.30pm, on FOX8.

The Contender is an unscripted drama about the lives, fears and hopes of 16 professional boxers as they compete for the chance to win the US$1million prize purse. Boxing legend and five-time world champion Sugar Ray Leonard will return as host and mentor, guiding the boxers through the most intense training period of their careers and the most challenging experience of their lives.

The third season of The Contender will feature Australian boxing champions Sakio Bika and Sam Soliman, who will go up against 14 others in a bid to win the title. Sam Soliman, 33, from Melbourne held the Commonwealth Title in 2001 and is a master of martial arts. Sydney based Sakio Bika, 28, represented his native country Cameroon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and has held the Australian Middleweight Title and New South Wales State Middleweight Title.

Also joining the show this season will be special guests Oscar de la Hoya and Adam Corolla, as well as world class trainers James “Buddy” McGirt [a two-time welterweight World Champion] and Jose “Pepe” Correa who has worked as a trainer in boxing for over 40 years.