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SINGAPORE: It was a first for Asia when Hollywood producer Mark Burnett decided to bring his successful formula to Singapore.
‘The Contender Asia’ was shot entirely on the island and produced into a 15-episode TV series distributed globally.
Now some of the fighters in the series will be in action live at ‘The Contender Asia - A Final Showdown’ finale on Saturday at the Indoor Stadium. They will be vying for a total pool prize of US$250,000.
All eyes will also be on Singaporean Kim Khan Zaki as he gets a chance for a rematch against rival Zidov Domnik.
The Singaporean Muay Thai fighter lost due to a dislocated shoulder but won praise for his valiant effort.
And he's been spending the last six weeks getting into shape with a special training regime called Fight Shape.
He said: "Fight Shape is awesome because they have actually been doing strategic exercises on my shoulder because obviously if people have been watching the show, (they) would have seen my left shoulder dislocate during the fight. So they have been working on my shoulders a lot and trying to strengthen it."
The show has made Zaki a household name and has also popularised the sport in Singapore.
Stephen Fox, Organiser of ‘The Contender Asia- A Final Showdown’, said: "(In) Singapore itself the sport has grown very big. Singapore won three medals at the last SEA Games so with the upcoming Youth Olympic Games in Singapore I think this is going to be a great sporting event. And I really hope Singapore is going behind this one."
Channel NewsAsia understands that about 80 per cent of the seats for the 8,000 capacity stadium have already been snapped up. - CNA/vm
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