NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the May 23 Andre Dirrell vs. James DeGale fight, and comments on the May 16 HBO Boxing telecast.

On Saturday, May 23, Andre Dirrell of the U.S. (24-1, 16 KOs) takes on James DeGale of the U.K. (20-1, 14 KOs) at Boston University's Agganis Arena in a fight for the vacant IBF super middleweight belt. This fight, part of the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series, will be shown live Saturday afternoon in the U.S. on NBC, and live Saturday night in the U.K. on Sky Sports.

Both Dirrell, a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, and DeGale, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist, will be trying to capture their first world title. DeGale will also try to become the first British Olympic gold medalist to win a pro world title.

We spoke with both Andre Dirrell and James DeGale on a media conference call Thursday.

On Saturday, May 16, HBO telecast two title fights showcasing undefeated star fighters. Middleweight champ Gennady "GGG" Golovkin of Kazakhstan (33-0, 30 KOs) scored his 20th straight stoppage by dispatching overmatched and light-hitting challenger Willie Monroe Jr. of the U.S. (19-2, 6 KOs) by sixth-round TKO. Another star making his long overdue HBO debut was flyweight champ Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez of Nicaragua, who upped his record to 43-0 with 37 KOs by dominating and stopping the tough former 108-pound champion Edgar Sosa of Mexico (51-9, 30 KOs) with a second-round TKO.

While the HBO card was undoubtedly entertaining to fight fans, we discuss how HBO is primarily showcasing the best fighters signed to that network, instead of primarily having the best fight the best in each weight class. We also contrast this to the past few PBC cards, as well as this coming Saturday's Dirrell-DeGale fight, which should be competitive and intriguing.

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Labels: Andre Dirrell, boxing, Chocolatito, Eddie Goldman, Edgar Sosa, Gennady Golovkin, GGG, HBO, James DeGale, No Holds Barred, PBC, Roman Gonzalez, Willie Monroe