On Friday (Aug. 30), a California Superior Court judge gave FOX's boxing reality show "The Next Great Champ" another big win, clearing the way for a Sept. 7 premiere date.

Judge Lisa Hart Cole denied a request from the producers of NBC's similarly themed "The Contender" to halt the release of the FOX series, which will now get a two month head-start.

Earlier this month, "Contender" producers DreamWorks and Mark Burnett filed for an injunction against "Champ" alleging that the show had violated the rules and regulations governing boxing in the state of California and that allowing the show an early premiere would let producers Endemol and Lock & Key profit from those violations. The "Contender" team cited a report from Sanford Michelman, a former chair of the California State Athletic Commission.

While Judge Cole said on Friday that DreamWorks and Burnett were welcome to seek other, presumably financial, recourses against FOX's reality hopeful, the First Amendment prevented her from stopping the show's premiere.

A Sept. 7 hearing was scheduled in which Cole was expected to determine whether or not to grant a temporary restraining order on "Champ," but that appears unnecessary now.

Saying that "he court clearly recognized that this action constituted an improper prior restraint," FOX attorneys said they planned to try to get the entire action dismissed. Meanwhile, according to media reports, lawyers on the "Contender" side were looking at options for appeal.