Jamaican boxing had its hay-day in the 70’s and 80’s with legends such as Richard ‘Shrimpy’ Clarke and Mike McCallum. Now Jamaica’s once favourite sport is back on Prime Time Television with the premier of The Wray & Nephew Contender on TVJ this December.

Sixteen professional boxers will compete for a share of nearly $2 million with the winner walking away with a whopping one million dollars and the title of Jamaica’s Ultimate Middleweight Contender.

In conjunction with the Jamaican Boxing Federation, The show producers searched the 14 parishes to find the best fighters and found 16 of the top middleweight boxers. With 8 boxers training at Bruising Gym in Kingston and 8 training at the Hard Knocks Gym in Savana-la-mar, Westmoreland, the fighters were split into two teams — The green team, representing urban Jamaica and the yellow team, representing the rural parishes.

Bruising Gym head trainer and former middleweight boxer, Carl Grant, heads the green team while Andrew Boland, Hard Knocks Gym owner, leads the yellow team.

Over the course of 15 weeks, the two teams will engage in a series of weekly physical challenges. The winning team will then have the advantage as they will nominate a boxer from their camp as well as choose the opposing fighter from the other camp. These two boxers will then fight Live on TVJ to determine who stays and who goes.

Featuring boxing mentors such as former World Heavyweight Champion, Lennox Lewis, motivator and Olympic silver medallist, Juliet Cuthbert and the sexy Wray & Nephew ring girls, The Wray & Nephew Contender will air on TVJ on Wednesdays at 9:30pm starting on December 22.