Anthony "The Bullet" Bonsante (born October 28, 1970) is a professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and competitor on

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show The Contender. He also works overnight as a supervisor at a distribution center.

Personal life

Bonsante is a father of two children.

Boxing career

On TV's "The Contender"

He was a contestant on

show The Contender, shortly before which he fought future contestant

Peter Manfredo Peter Manfredo Jr. (born November 26, 1980) is a former American professional boxer and former IBO middleweight champion. He has challenged twice for upper-level world titles, at middleweight and super middleweight, as well as having won the ...

and lost. That fight was Manfredo's first defence of the WBO and NABA Light Middleweight Titles. Bonsante had previously won a fight for the vacant IBU Super Middleweight Title. On the show, he was placed on the West Coast team and fought Brent Cooper in the sixth First Round fight. He won in his characteristic aggressive style. However, he was meant to fight

Jimmy Lange Jimmy Lange (born August 25, 1975) is an American professional boxer. Early life He began boxing at the age of five in Arlington, Virginia when his father who became his manager first brought him to Olympia Boxing Gym in Falls Church. Boxing im ...

, and an argument ensued over his choosing not to do so -

Ishe Smith Ishé Oluwa Kamau Ali Smith ( ; born July 22, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2019. He held the IBF junior middleweight title in 2013, and is the first boxer from Las Vegas to become a professional world ...

in particular become infuriated at his conduct.

Tarick Salmaci Tarick Salmaci (born February 28, 1972) is a Lebanese-American former professional boxer and North American Boxing Organization (NABO) middleweight champion. He was one of 16 boxers chosen worldwide to participate on season 1 of NBC's reality t ...

was the only boxer to accept that he had fought well. After running into an uppercut from Jesse Brinkley in the quarter finals despite having had the upper hand with his characteristically aggressive boxing style was knocked into a daze, and found himself flat on the canvas. His feud with Ishe continued as they fought in a Fans Favourite Fight on finals night - trying an illegal move on him before going on to lose. Bonsante fought a rematch with Jesse Brinkley on The Contender Rematch Reality Show. Though the ringside announcers gave the fight to Bonsante, the judges awarded the victory to Brinkley.

After "The Contender"

In July 2006, he was beaten by

super middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...

prospect

Allan Green Allan Lamar Green (born September 20, 1979) is an American professional boxer. He is a former NABO super middleweight champion, and has challenged for world titles at both super middleweight and light heavyweight. Amateur career Green had a ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. He injected new life in his career on January 12, 2007, with a ten-round unanimous decision win over archrival

Matt Vanda Matt Vanda (born October 16, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2014. Professional career Vanda's made his professional debut on March 30, 1996 in the welterweight division against Ed Fuller in Kearney, Nebr ...

for the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

state middleweight title and vacant IBA Americas belt, before a big crowd of 8,872 at the

Target Center Target Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Minneapolis that opened in 1990. It hosts major family shows, concerts, sporting events, graduations and private events. Target Corporation, founded and headquartered in Minneapolis since 1902, ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. Bonsante dropped Vanda in the tenth on the way to a 98–92, 98–91, 98–91 win. He lost a technical decision to

John Duddy John Francis Duddy (born 19 June 1979) is an Irish actor and former professional boxer who fought from 2003 to 2010. He challenged once for the vacant WBC Silver middleweight title, losing in his final fight to Julio César Chávez Jr.

on March 16 at Madison Square Garden, after referee Steve Smoger judged him unable to continue after the ninth round due to a cut from an earlier accidental headbutt. On July 31, 2008, Bonsante lost a controversial 1st-round KO to

Adonis Stevenson Stevenson Adonis (born 22 September 1977), best known as Adonis Stevenson, is a Haitian Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 2006 to 2018. He won the WBC, '' Ring'' magazine and lineal light-heavyweight titles in 2013 by defeati ...

when Bonsante was caught with a sharp left just 46 seconds into the first round. Bonsante went down on his back, with his eyes shut. Veteran and WBC appointed referee (Gerry Bolen) began counting but stopped at a count of six as it appeared that Bonsante had been knocked out. As Bolen was waiving off the fight, Bonsante rapidly got up and appeared to be completely alert. Nonetheless, the referee refused to allow the fight to continue. ESPN boxing analyst

Teddy Atlas Theodore A. "Teddy" Atlas Jr. (born July 29, 1956) is an American boxing trainer and fight commentator. Early life The son of a doctor, Atlas grew up in a wealthy area of Staten Island, New York City, New York. His mother, Mary Riley Atlas, w ...

commented that Bonsante may have been playing possum by pretending to be knocked out, but miscalculated the referee's reaction. On January 20, 2009, it was announced that Bonsante would defend his Minnesota middleweight title against challenger Andy Kolle at Grand Casino Hinckley on March 27 of the same year. Andy Kolle wins by a TKO in round 3 after which Anthony Bonsante announces retirement from the sport.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonsante, Anthony 1970 births Living people People from Crosby, Minnesota American boxers of Italian descent Boxers from Minnesota The Contender (TV series) participants American male boxers People from Shakopee, Minnesota Middleweight boxers