Joey Gilbert vs. Peter Manfredo Jr.
Peter Manfredo 161 lbs beat Joey Gilbert 160 lbs by TD at 2:34 in round 5 of 5
- Air Date: May 1, 2005 as part of NBC's The Contender television series
- Weights: Manfredo 161 | Gilbert 160½
- Referee:
- Judges:
- Scores: 49-47 | 49-46 | 49-46
- Time: 2:34
The first two rounds of the fight are clearly won by Peter Manfredo, Jr. Joey Gilbert doesn’t appear to be able to connect with his punches and complains to his corner that he thinks one of his ribs is broken. Just when it looks like Peter is going to have a cakewalk in this match, Joey finds his heart big time in the third round. Suddenly, it is Peter who looks like he has no gas left in his tank, and it is Joey who looks to be dominating the fight. Joey’s domination continues into the fourth round, and the fight looks to be fairly even going into the fifth round. Both fighters go on the offense in the fifth round, and it looks to be a close fight. Unfortunately, an accidental headbutt puts a deep cut above Joey’s eye. The doctors look at the cut and are forced to call the fight. By boxing rules, the decision is then made by the judge’s scorecards at the time the fight is called. Peter Manfredo, Jr. wins the fight in a split decision.
After the fight, Joey Gilbert tells the doctor that “everything hurts, my whole face hurts.” The doctors call in an ambulance to take Joey to the hospital. Joey refuses to be put on a gurney and walks to the ambulance under his own power. In there after fight discussion, Sylvester Stallone, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Tommy Gallagher talk about how they were amazed by Joey’s heart and determination. They also guess that it will take forty or fifty stitches to close the gash above Joey's eye.