NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Bellator MMA and American Top Team fighter "King" Mo Lawal.

He will be returning to action on the Bellator MMA: Dynamite!!! card Saturday, September 19, in a four-man, one-night light heavyweight tournament to determine Bellator's number one contender in this division. The other fighters in this tournament are former Bellator champion Emanuel Newton, Linton Vassell, and 2008 NCAA Div. I wrestling champion Phil Davis, who will be making his Bellator debut. This card, which is headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between unbeaten champion Liam McGeary and MMA legend Tito Ortiz, takes place at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, and will be telecast live in the U.S. on Spike.

We spoke with "King" Mo Lawal by phone Friday.

Speaking about potentially, and in his case hopefully, having two fights on the same card, he said that he became aware of this format "when everybody else did, so it still hasn't registered yet. I feel like it will register more when camp starts because I have to maneuver my training a little bit more, because I have to train for two fights, not just one five-round fight."

He continued, "It's just going to be a little different. I have to break my training up differently, so I'm still figuring out how to do that. But I'm looking forward to the challenge. I'm excited there's a possibility of this happening. To me, I always say 'possibility' now, because you never know what's going to happen until the weigh-ins end. So I'm really looking forward to this happening and I'm looking forward to training for it."

"King" Mo is also a big boxing aficionado, having trained with Jeff Mayweather as well as many pro and amateur boxers. He follows boxing very closely, so we also discussed the recent revival of boxing, especially in the U.S., and the role of the controversial Al Haymon and the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series of shows on numerous TV networks.

Saying that in many ways boxing is "the opposite of MMA," he argued that PBC has the "right plan" to build new stars and expose more fans to boxing. Even some of the PBC's fights in which one fighter is heavily favored do not hurt this plan, as he noted that most boxing fans "want knockouts" and that is what will be displayed on PBC's many telecasts on free TV.

He also has taken to social media to comment on the series of racist terror attacks on unarmed Black men and women by police and others which have taken place across the U.S., and the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement. As an African-American and a son of immigrants, he grew up in the American South, he said, and "I've seen it all." We also discussed why many boxers and athletes in other sports have also been outspoken on these issues, while few in MMA have for fear of losing their fan base.

We also discussed how he is helping the legendary Ricardo Liborio prepare for his ADCC superfight with Mario Sperry, how his health is now better than when he had a nasty staph infection and then was taking antibiotics which hindered some of his performances, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Labels: Al Haymon, American Top Team, Bellator MMA Dynamite, Black Lives Matter, boxing, Eddie Goldman, King Mo Lawal, No Holds Barred, PBC, Ricardo Liborio

Travis Newaza rolling with Sambo Steve Koepfer.


Travis Newaza and Adam Roman, West Coast King of Catch Wrestling champions.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with grappler and martial artist Travis Newaza.

Besides competing in numerous tournaments in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and grappling, he has also been training in catch wrestling and many styles of combat sports with Josh Barnett and Erik Paulson.

On January 11, 2015, he was victorious in the absolute and heavyweight divisions of the West Coast King of Catch Wrestling Tournament held in San Diego, California, and won the Outstanding Competitor Award, winning all his matches by submissions.

A serious neck injury, however, has recently sidelined him from competition. He is currently on a national seminar tour, in part aimed at raising funds to help pay for an expensive corrective procedure.

We spoke with Travis Newaza by phone Sunday.

He had just completed a seminar at Sambo Steve Koepfer's New York Combat Sambo, and was himself very impressed.

"It was such an honor to, one, be able to be invited to Sambo Steve's academy," he said. "I'm a big fan of what Sambo Steve has done for the sport of sambo."

And he added, "And two, man, is he just a wealth to be drawn from, so many different styles of grappling that we're not really used to seeing."

He will be continuing his seminar tour across the U.S., with upcoming dates in Florida, Kansas City, Missouri, Los Angeles, and other cities.

The seminars, like his own competitions, do not focus on one style or discipline.

"I've never really been worried about rulesets," he said. "You should be able to adapt."

And that applies to everythng in grappling.

"I love to learn from all the different arts. Nothing's ever been off-limits. I'll put on the kimono. I'll take it off. I'll put on the kurtka. I'll take it off. I do judo. I love all those things," he said.

"It's all wrestling. It's all grappling."

We discussed what got him to start training so seriously in these styles of grappling three years ago, his hopes of bringing grappling training to non-profit youth organizations, his Newaza Apparel company, and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Labels: BJJ, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, grappling, No Holds Barred, Travis Newaza

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with catch wrestler and martial artist Chris Crossan of Legit Pro Wrestling.

On Saturday, June 27, they will be holding their first event, the Legit Pro Wrestling UK Open Catch Wrestling Championship.

This event, under catch wrestling rules where you win by pin or submission, will be held at the Billingham Synthonia, Billingham, TS23 1 Stockton-on-Tees, United Kingdom, and run from about 1 PM to 5 PM.

We spoke with Chris Crossan by Skype Thursday.

"We're just getting together a group of people for an eight-man open tournament, catch-as-catch-can rules. Let's have a knockout quarter-final, semi-final, final, to see who the winner is on the night," he said.

"We plan to do more of these events in separate weight divisions, but for now we thought we'll start with an open weight. I think it's really important to have open tournaments where anybody is allowed to come and enter, regardless of team, affiliation, or anything. We're open to anybody."

We discussed the lineup so far for the eight-man open weight tournament, why he believes that catch wrestling is "a great spectator sport" and in that regard "better than BJJ", the plans of Legit Pro Wrestling to run more events, the need for the catch wrestling community and organizations to work together, and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Labels: Chris Crossan, Eddie Goldman, Legit Pro Wrestling UK Open Catch Wrestling Championship, No Holds Barred

(Photograph of Deontay Wilder and Eric Molina by Bob Mayeri)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews this Saturday's Andre Ward-Paul Smith, Shawn Porter-Adrien Broner, and Errol Spence Jr.-Roberto Garcia fights, and reviews with our correspondent Bob Mayeri this past Saturday's Deontay Wilder-Eric Molina fight.

The 2004 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward, with a spotless record of 27-0 and 14 KOs, and still holding a super middleweight title, will be returning to the ring after an absence of 19 months, due to injuries and legal battles. His opponent in what he refuses to call a tune-up fight is British fighter and TV commentator Paul Smith (35-5, 20 KOs), who is coming off two consecutive close losses to slugger Arthur Abraham. This fight will take place at a catch weight of 172 pounds.

The Andre Ward-Paul Smith fight headlines a Throne Boxing card, presented by Roc Nation Sports, this Saturday, June 20, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. It will be televised live in the U.S. on BET and streamed globally on Tidal.com at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT, as well as shown in the U.K. on Sky Sports.

Earlier the same day, former world champion Shawn Porter (25-1-1, 16 KOs) will face another former world champion, Adrien Broner (30-1, 22 KOs), in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions on NBC (PBC on NBC) card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This fight, also at a catch weight, will be at a limit of 144 pounds. The co-feature will have unbeaten prospect Errol Spence Jr. (16-0, 13 KOs) facing veteran Roberto Garcia (37-3, 23 KOs) in a ten-round welterweight bout.

The PBC on NBC telecast, this Saturday, June 20, begins in the U.S. at 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT, and will also be shown in the U.K. on Sky Sports.

We spoke with Andre Ward, Paul Smith, Shawn Porter, and Errol Spence Jr. on Monday's media conference calls.

In his comments, Andre Ward discussed what needs to happen for him to become a mega-star like Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Paul Smith explained why he is inspired to do his best in this fight, even though the card is aimed at showcasing the return of Andre Ward.

Shawn Porter discussed what he has learned in his career and why he believes he will defeat Adrien Broner. Broner no-showed the conference call. Also, Errol Spence Jr. discussed why Roberto Garcia is the most experienced and one of the toughest fighters he will face. Garcia was unavailable for the conference call.

In addition, we spoke about the ninth-round knockout win by WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder (34-0, 33 KOs) over journeyman Eric Molina (23-3, 17 KOs) this past Saturday, June 13, in Birmingham, Alabama, with Bob Mayeri, who was covering and photographing that fight live in the Bartow Arena. We also discussed what might be next for Wilder, how he might fare against the top heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko, and what might be learned by those running the sport of wrestling from the promotion of this fight.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Labels: Andre Ward, BET, Bob Mayeri, boxing, Deontay Wilder, Eddie Goldman, Eric Molina, Errol Spence Jr., NBC, No Holds Barred, Paul Smith, PBC, Shawn Porter, Sky Sports

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the upcoming catch wrestling tournaments which have been thus far announced for 2015.

Included are:

June 14 -- 2015 Copa Euclydes Hatem de Catch Wrestling in Fortaleza, Brazil

June 27 -- Legit Pro Wrestling UK in Stockton-on-Tees, United Kingdom

June 28 -- Let's Shoot 2015/Mayan World Championships of Catch Wrestling in Guatemala City, Guatemala

July 11 -- Luis Ciraiz Catch Wrestling seminar and tournament in Kingston, Ontario, Canada

July 18 -- 2015 North American Catch Wrestling and Freestyle Sambo Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

August 29 -- 3rd Annual Challenge and PA/NJ State King of Catch Wrestling Tournament, in Hamilton Square, New Jersey, USA

September 17-20 -- Snake Pit USA catch wrestling tournament at 2015 Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness and Performance Weekend, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

There will also very likely be catch wrestling tournaments at the 2015 MMA World Expo in New York when those dates are finalized, and the annual International Week at the Snake Pit in Wigan, England. In addition, more events are expected to be announced, as well as more details provided about the events already set.

In addition, discussed is the need for more and better media coverage and reporting of catch wrestling events, the pitfalls of the absence of a central coordinating body for catch wrestling, why catch wrestling organizations should stay away from the increasingly corrupt and disgraced Olympic movement, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Labels: catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, tournament schedule

(Wilder Photo Credit: Bill Hoffman)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with heavyweight boxers Deontay Wilder and Eric Molina. Wilder (33-0, 32 KOs), who holds the WBC heavyweight belt, will face the huge underdog Molina (23-2, 17 KOs) in Birmingham, Alabama, headlining a card which will be televised live in the U.S. on Showtime.

We spoke with Deontay Wilder and Eric Molina on a media conference call last Wednesday.

While Molina is given almost no chance of defeating Wilder and this fight has been criticized by many, we discuss why these types of fights are typical in boxing, where there is no central governing body. We also discuss the future of the heavyweight division, including the top champion Wladimir Klitschko, undefeated fighters like Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, and what appear to be plans to develop Wilder into a major star. We also discuss the resurgence of interest in boxing this year, how several recent televised mismatches have nonetheless drawn good TV ratings in the U.S., why major premium TV networks are essentially acting as promoters, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Labels: boxing, Deontay Wilder, Eddie Goldman, Eric Molina, heavyweights, No Holds Barred, Showtime

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with martial artist Daniel Machado.

Besides teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he is involved in what will be the first catch wrestling competition in Brazil in about a half-century, the 2015 Copa Euclydes Hatem de Catch Wrestling.

Named in honor of the legendary Euclydes "Tatu" Hatem, who was the father of Luta Livre and a successful catch wrestler, this event takes place Sunday, June 14, at the BNB Clube de Fortaleza in Fortaleza, Brazil.

We spoke with Daniel Machado by Skype Thursday.

Discussing Euclydes Hatem, who lived from 1914 to 1984 and had his most success as an athlete in the 1930s and 40s, he said he was "in 300 wars over almost 40 years of fighting. He's one of the guys that finished George Gracie, which at that time was the Gracie with a lot of victories."

Tatu, he went on, didn't get "the respect that he deserved." He was the "father" of Luta Livre. As for Tatu's competition with the Gracies, Daniel Machado noted that the Gracies "used to do catch."

He stressed: "It comes all together, jiu-jitsu and the catch as well."

We discussed the rules of this event, where you can win by pin or submission, it is best-of-three in three, three-minute rounds, there are no points, but there are judges to avoid draws. There will also be both men's and women's competition.

Re-establishing an understanding of the history of catch wrestling in Brazil is also a task being carried out by the people involved in this event. Christiano Martins Milfont has been working with Tatu's family to develop media about catch wrestling in Brazil and Tatu's role, and to popularize it.

We also discussed the plans to hold two more catch wrestling events in Brazil this year, future plans to hold international events and work toward holding a world championship, and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Labels: Brasil, Brazil, catch wrestling, Copa Euclydes Hatem, Daniel Machado, Eddie Goldman, jiu-jitsu, No Holds Barred, Tatu

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with investigative journalist, academic, and expert on match-fixing in international football, Declan Hill.

We have just seen the arrests on corruption charges of numerous top officials of FIFA, the international governing of football, the world's most popular sport, which is known as soccer in North America and elsewhere. More arrests and indictments are expected, all of which has led to the resignation of FIFA president Sepp Blatter, just four days after having been re-elected for a fifth term.

The ongoing public exposures of FIFA's wrongdoing and the subsequent arrests have raised the questions of where else in sport is corruption so rampant, and what needs to be done to fight it.

To discuss all this, we spoke with Declan Hill by phone Thursday.

"We definitely need an international anti-corruption agency for sport," he stated.

A number of combat sports athletes in recent years have said they have been approached to fix fights and matches "for large sums of money" but have turned these attempted bribes down, he said.

"But they've almost inevitably never gone forward, because they don't trust the authorities in their own sport, not to either be behind it, or who would in some ways try to punish them for blowing the whistle," he noted.

"We need an agency where good, honest fighters can go and report what's happened, where an honest administrator working for a sports organization can go and blow the whistle on something. And also an agency that can set the standard, set the standards of transparency, say, 'This is what a good sports organization should do. Here are the basic protocols, just the basic business practices, here's the basic guidelines of what a true sporting organization should do.'

"It's not all that difficult. There have been a lot of studies on it. There have been a lot of reports and a lot of stuff. But this is what needs to happen."

We discussed more on the "surreal" story of FIFA's widespread corruption scandal and the arrests last week; the crucial role of freelance and independent journalists like Andrew Jennings and Jens Weinreich in relentlessly exposing FIFA's corruption, and the failure of the mainstream media in this regard; the "desperate" need for an international anti-corruption agency for sport; the crisis in SportAccord and the pressure from the IOC which led to the resignation of SportAccord president Marius Vizer, also shortly after being unanimously re-elected; the crisis in world sport, which is reaching a boiling point where open rebellions are taking place against sporting institutions which were once viewed as untouchable and revered; and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Labels: Andrew Jennings, anti-corruption agency, arrests, Declan Hill, Eddie Goldman, FIFA, football, freelance, Jens Weinreich, journalists, Marius Vizer, No Holds Barred, scandal, Sepp Blatter, soccer, sport, SportAccord

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with boxers Robert Guerrero, Aron Martinez, Dominic Breazeale, and Yasmany Consuegra, who will be featured on the PBC on NBC broadcast this Saturday, June 6.

In the main event, the veteran Guerrero (32-3-1, 18 KOs) takes on the underdog Martinez (19-3-1, 4 KOs) in a welterweight bout scheduled for ten rounds. In the co-feature, two unbeaten heavyweight prospects, U.S. Olympian Breazeale (14-0, 13 KOs) and Cuban native Consuegra (17-0, 14 KOs) face off, also in a bout scheduled for ten rounds.

This card takes place Saturday, June 6, at the StubHub Center In Carson, California. It will be televised live and for free in the U.S. on NBC, starting at 3 PM EDT/noon PDT. This is the latest card in the Premier Boxing Champions series, which airs on several TV networks.

We spoke with Robert Guerrero, Aron Martinez, Dominic Breazeale, and Yasmany Consuegra on a media conference call Tuesday.

We also comment on how the PBC series, with some exceptions, has been putting on many competitive match-ups, how they have featured several high-profile upsets and fights which have developed in unexpected ways, how their plan is to build the stars of the future through exposure on free TV rather than through the much smaller audiences watching premium cable networks, and why the PBC cards overall have become must-see television.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Labels: Aron Martinez, boxing, Dominic Breazeale, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, PBC on NBC, Robert Guerrero, Yasmany Consuegra