Rumors are some if not all of the bouts have been fought and they will be showing videos of the fights. Since they are not held on live cards but in a studio one bout at a time that is a possibility.

Ten of the sixteen boxers haven’t fought this year such as Eric “Baby Face Assassin” Walker, 15-1 (8), of Plaquemine, La., whose last fight was July of 2017 and he lost for the first time. Malcolm “The Punisher” McAllister, 9-1 (8), of Long Beach, CA, last fought in October of 2017 and like Walker lost his last fight and suffered his first loss.

Quatavious “Cash” Cash, 10-0 (7), of Las Vegas, NV, last fought in June of 2017 and came back from being inactive in 2015-16 to have two bouts in 2017 against a pair of opponents with losing records. Shane “Sugarman” Mosley, Jr., 10-2 (7), of Santa Monica, CA, last fought in July of 2017 and lost his last fight.

Michael “The Silverback” Moore, 15-1 (7), of Cleveland, OH, last fought in March of 2017 and is 2-1 in the last five years. Morgan “Big Chief” Fitch, 18-1 (8), of Pittsburgh, PA, last fought in May of 2017 and lost that fight which was his first loss. Gerald “G5” Sherrell, 8-0 (4), of Pittsburgh, PA, last fought in November of 2017.

John “The Rock” Jackson, 21-3 (16), of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, last fought in July of 2017 defeating an opponent making his debut. He’s had three fights in the last three years. Brandon “The Cannon” Adams, 17-2 (12), of Los Angeles, CA, lost his last fight in May of 2015 and that was to John Thompson in the second round. That’s over three years ago.

Tyrone “Young Gun” Brunson, 26-6-2 (24), of Philadelphia, PA, last fought in December of 2017 and was put on indefinite suspension by the California commission until pending completion of “The Contender” series. His last two fights were for the vacant USA Pennsylvania State Super Welterweight title and the vacant UBF International Super Welterweight title though he came in at 155 instead of the 154 limit.

John “Apollo Kid” Thompson, 18-3 (6), of Newark, NJ, last fought in In April of 2018 and by the time the series starts in October will have fought three times in three years. Devaun “Unique” Lee, 10-3-1 (5), of Jamaica Queens, NY, lost his last fight in March of 2018.

Daniel “El Chapulin” Valdivia, 14-2 (10), of Tulare, CA, lost his last two fights to Vladimir “24K” Hernandez, 10-2, of Denver, Colorado, so why isn’t Hernandez in the tournament instead of Valdivia? The favorite in the series is Ievgen “The Ukranian Lion” Khytrov, 16-1 (13), of Brooklyn, NY, last fought in December of 2017.

Marcos “Mad Man” Hernandez, 11-1-1 (3), of Fresno, CA, last fought in February and was put on suspension by the California commission in April pending completion of The Contender series.

Lamar “Omega” Russ, 17-2 (8), of Wilmington, NC, is another boxer in the series whose last loss was to John Thompson in April of 2018 being stopped at the end of the second round. Box Rec also has it as “fight aired as part of The Contender” Series. It shows no promoter and the only bout on the “card” at the LADC Studios.

So it looks like “The Contender” series did start in April but must have been pushed back to October. Nine of the fighters haven’t recorded fighting in 2018 and one not fighting since 2015. Maybe they should call it the “Return of the Contenders” instead.