A reality check for TV show contender

Boxing has a reality television star fighting for a world championship today.

Peter Manfredo Jr. of Providence, R.I., who finished as runner-up in the first season of the former NBC boxing series “The Contender,” becomes the show’s first product to get a title shot. He fights unbeaten International Boxing Federation super-middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe (42-0, 31 knockouts) at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. HBO will televise the bout.

Manfredo (26-3, 12 KOs) has used “Contender” advisor and former world champion Sugar Ray Leonard as a strategist for the Calzaghe fight. Leonard was expected to attend today’s fight, sitting behind Manfredo’s father, who is also his trainer.

Calzaghe made light of Manfredo’s participation in the series during a recent conference call.

“He’s done well fighting in a reality series,” Calzaghe said. “Let’s see how well he does when reality hits him back.”

Said Manfredo: “If it wasn’t for ‘The Contender,’ this fight would have never happened. ‘The Contender’ gave me the star quality where I’m known all over the world.”

Jeff Wald, one of Manfredo’s promoters, defended the fighter’s appearance in the title bout.

“I don’t think anybody chose him because they thought it would be easy,” Wald said. “They chose him because he had the widest audience appeal to expose their fight in America and around the world.

“And they knew that Peter would go in there and go toe to toe.”

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Matt Serra takes on newly crowned Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight belt holder Georges St. Pierre tonight in Houston for UFC 69.

As a graduate of Spike TV’s popular cable reality series “The Ultimate Fighter,” Serra, 32, also takes on the task of stopping the Ultimate Fighters’ winless showings in UFC title fights when he walks into the Octagon.

For more on the UFC, go to latimes.com/sports.

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lance.pugmire@latimes.com