Internet stories say a Contender tournament will be held July 5 in Las Vegas featuring the four finalists, including Manfredo.

01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, May 28, 2005

BY ANDY SMITH
Journal Television Writer

Providence boxer Peter Manfredo Jr. may have lost the big fight, but he doesn't feel like a loser.

Manfredo returned to Providence on Thursday night, still sore after his $1-million bout in Las Vegas on Tuesday during the finale of the NBC reality boxing show, The Contender. Manfredo lost the fight to Sergio Mora.

"Winning and losing is part of life," Manfredo said. "The important thing is getting back up again. Just because I lost that fight doesn't make me a loser."

In the meantime, there are reports on the Internet that a Contender tournament is being planned for July 5 in Las Vegas featuring the four finalists on the show -- Manfredo, Mora, Alfonso Gomez and Jesse Brinkley.

Manfredo's father and trainer, Peter Manfredo Sr., said he'd seen the reports but hadn't heard anything from either NBC or Mark Burnett, the show's creator.

Manfredo Sr. said he thought that July 5 was too soon for his son to get back in the ring.

A spokesman for Mark Burnett Productions said the company had no comment at the moment on the reports, but might have some information to release next week.

Peter Manfredo Jr. says he's confident he could beat Mora if the two met again. "I know I can beat him. I'm a better fighter than him," Manfredo said. "He was the better fighter on that night."

Manfredo said he got "dead tired" by the fourth round of the seven-round finale.

"I don't know what happened. I'm still trying to figure it out," Manfredo said. "Maybe it was the altitude, maybe the heat, maybe the excitement of a million-dollar fight."

Manfredo, who earned $250,000 for being a Contender finalist, said his strategy was to move in close, get Mora against the ropes and rough him up, a plan that would negate Mora's advantage in reach. (Mora is 6 feet tall; Manfredo is 5-foot-9.)

Mora did fight with his back to the ropes, but it didn't seem to bother the 25-year-old fighter from East Los Angeles.

"My father taught me you can never win a fight with your back against the ropes," Manfredo said. "He proved my father wrong."

Manfredo Jr. said Mora was "talking smack" during the fight, taunting Manfredo and his corner. "I lost a little respect for him in there. He was swearing . . . it was very unprofessional," Manfredo said.

Local boxing icon Vinnie Paz said he watched the fight from Newport, where he is making a movie. As Paz saw it, it was a matter of size.

"The good big guy always beats the good little guy, and Sergio is a good big guy," Paz said.

"I'm proud of Peter -- he kept pressing and he gave it his all. Sergio is just a real good fighter," Paz said.

Paz said that after his loss to Greg Haugen in 1988, he was so embarrassed he basically didn't leave his house for months. But he thinks Manfredo will be OK.

"Peter will be fine. He's a good fighter with a lot of talent and a lot of heart. Fighters go down. It's the champions that get up."

Manfredo said his first order of business was to take a vacation with his family.

"I've been training hard since January," he said. "There's been a lot of pressure; I've had to keep a lot of secrets; it's been hard to sleep. . . . I need a break."

As for future fights, Manfredo said his contract is with Burnett, the reality-TV mastermind behind Survivor and The Apprentice. "I'm in the hands of Mark Burnett right now," Manfredo said.

Despite his loss, Manfredo said he had no regrets about The Contender. For one thing, he won $250,000 and (in one of the earlier competitions) a car. Then there's the publicity.

"I went to the airport in Las Vegas -- everyone knew me. I got to Providence and people were telling me, 'We love you, you're still the champion to us.' " Manfredo said.

"To get the exposure I got on the show, to meet all the people I met, it was a great experience."

The Contender had about 6 million viewers a week, not successful by network TV standards. But show's two-hour finale averaged about 8 million, and about 10 million watched during the final hour, when Manfredo and Mora fought.

Digital Extra: Share your reaction to the outcome of The Contender finale, view more photos from the bout, take a multimedia look at Providence's Peter Manfredo Jr. and more, at:

http://projo.com