Aug 28, 2018 By Bill Hughes for The 3 min read

The second episode of the rebooted reality show “The Contender” will air on Epix Friday night, and boxing fans can catch a local fighter on the show.

Morgan “Big Chief” Fitch, a native of Louisiana who has resided in Charleroi since 2006, is one of the 16 contestants looking to outlast his competitors and win the $250,000 purse.

How did the opportunity come about for Fitch?

“My advisor, Mark Yankello, reached out and asked me if I was interested,” Fitch said. “I told him, ‘Let’s go for it.'”

Fitch has a professional record of 18-1-1. His lone loss came in his last fight, a 10-round unanimous decision setback to Yamaguchi Falcao in Las Vegas on May 5, 2017.

After the fight, Fitch had his fifth surgery and he looked at his future.

“I thought, I have three kids who are getting older and I am tired of going under the knife,” he said with his three kids being 12, nine and two. “It used to be boxing and family for me, but now it is family, and then boxing.

“I decided to open up my business.”

Fitch owns and operates AYL Window Cleaning.

“It stands for All Year Long and we also do gutter work and pressure cleaning,” he said.

This new opportunity, which has already been filmed in its entirety except for the Las Vegas fight to decide who wins the purse, has reinvigorated Fitch’s boxing career.

“The experience was a life-changer and an eye-opener,” he said. “It got me back into training full-throttle and wanting to fight again.

“It has changed my (professional) life and I am ready to see what it offers.”

The 16 fighters are broken down into a pair of teams, the Blue Team and the Red Team with each squad having a professional trainer.

Fitch is a member of the Blue Team and his coach is Freddie Roach.

Ironically, Roach was once the trainer for former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer from Monessen.

The fighters are not allowed to discuss the results of the show to anyone and signed a confidential agreement.

Despite that, Fitch spoke with a glow in his tone about the experience and what lies ahead.

“I am ready to start the second part of my (boxing) journey and finish something that was started 12 years ago,” he said. “The light at the end of the tunnel is brighter than it was back then, but it is brighter in a much different way.

“People say that this is my last shot, but I haven’t said that.”

The series was produced by Mark Burnett and executive producer Eric Van Wagenen.

The fighters will push themselves to their respective limits on the show while sharing stories about their families and hardships that they have dealt with.

Andre “Son of God” Warn, who retired as an undefeated champion, is the host of the show which airs on Fridays at 9 p.m.

The first episode can be seen On Demand, and Fitch is excited for people to see how it plays out on TV.

“The older we get, the wiser we get and you appreciate things more,” he said. “I think people will like the show and I can’t cut corners.

“I am blessed to have this opportunity and I will give it my all.”