NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the heavyweight maze which so many fighters want to get through to get a title shot at the division's best and most popular fighter, IBF and WBA champion Anthony Joshua.

This past week, the 41-year-old former champion Wladimir Klitschko announced his retirement from boxing. We discuss the positives and negatives from his lengthy career.

The scramble to get big money title fights is often inhibited or even prevented by the various rival sanctioning bodies naming undeserving and little known fighters as mandatory challengers for their champions. We discuss the mess with the various heavyweight mandatories put forth by the WBA, WBC, and IBF, a mess which has gotten worse since Klitschko's retirement.

We also discuss what may be ahead for WBC champ Deontay Wilder, who wants to fight Joshua next; for Luis "King Kong" Ortiz, now Joshua's WBA mandatory, while no one seems to want to fight him; for Joshua, who seems to be set to face his IBF mandatory, Kubrat Pulev; what this all means for the heavyweight division and for boxing; and much more.

(Photo of Deontay Wilder by Ryan Hafey, Premier Boxing Champions. Photo of Luis Ortiz by Rosie Cohe, Showtime. Photo of Tyson Fury from Frank Warren.)

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Labels: Anthony Joshua, boxing, Deontay Wilder, Eddie Goldman, heavyweight maze, Joseph Parker, Luis King Kong Ortiz, No Holds Barred, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko