NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman comments on the fallout from Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller's reported positive PED test, previews the April 27 Regis Prograis-Kiryl Relikh World Boxing Super Series 140-pound tournament semifinal fight, speaks with amateur boxer Bruce Carrington, discusses the many woes from one of the worst weekends in televised boxing, and once again calls out the destructive role being played by the many mutually exclusive TV and streaming deals and paywalls that fleece the fans and keep top fighters from fighting one another.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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 sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

Labels: Anthony Joshua, boxing, Bruce Carrington, Eddie Goldman, Jarrell Big Baby, No Holds Barred, Regis Prograis

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the Claressa Shields-Christina Hammer women's middleweight unification fight.

On Saturday, April 13, the 24-year-old Shields (8-0, 2 KOs) of Flint, Michigan, USA, who holds the IBF, WBA, and WBC belts, faces the 28-year-old Hammer (24-0, 11 KOs) of Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, who holds the WBO belt and is the WBC "Champion in Recess", never having lost that belt. The winner will be recognized as the undisputed women's middleweight champion of the world. Shields has also held the IBF and WBC super middleweight belts, and is a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

This fight will headline a card taking place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and will be the main event of that card televised live in the U.S. on Showtime.

We spoke with both Claressa Shields and Christina Hammer at a February 26 news conference in New York. Both gave their views on what they each see as their advantages in this fight.

We also spoke with Jill Diamond of the WBC and World Boxing Cares on the advancement in recent years of women's boxing. And we discussed why this is an important fight and what to expect in it with our colleague Kristal Hart, who was shooting video for her show, the Kristal Hart Show.

(Photo of Claressa Shields and Christina Hammer from Marilyn Paulino/Salita Promotions.)

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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 sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

Labels: boxing, Christina Hammer, Claressa Shields, Eddie Goldman, Jill Diamond, Kristal Hart, No Holds Barred, women's

by Eddie Goldman

NEW YORK, April 1 -- At a hastily organized press conference at Yankee Stadium, the trio of top, undefeated heavyweight champion boxers, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Deontay Wilder, announced they had signed to fight in a round-robin tournament beginning next year to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. There will be at least three fights involving them, and perhaps more down the line.

The fights will take place in major stadiums around the world, including Yankee Stadium in New York, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and Wembley Stadium in London.

As for TV, all these fights will be shown for free on NBC in the U.S. and BBC in the U.K., plus on many other networks around the world, as well as being streamed.

"We got rid of all these promoters and networks who where holding back the biggest fights in the world," said Joshua, who holds the IBF, WBA, and WBO belts. "We just do not need them anymore, and negotiated this ourselves through our own managers and lawyers," he added.

"We don't need all these big dossers," said Fury, regarded by many as the lineal heavyweight champion. "They are all a bunch of bloody parasites. The Gypsy King will show the whole world who is really the best!"

"I've said all along that there has to be one face, one champion, one man in the heavyweight division. And now I can show all of you that it is me, and only me," said Wilder, who holds the WBC title. "Bomb squad!"

A worldwide media tour, in which all media will be guaranteed to get one-on-one interviews with all three fighters, will be announced shortly.

Said journalist Eddie Goldman, who played a key role on Twitter in urging the fighters to set up this tournament, "This may just be an April Fool's gag, but any sport with proper governance would already have done exactly what is proposed here."

Labels: Anthony Joshua, April Fools, boxing, Deontay Wilder, Eddie Goldman, heavyweight, No Holds Barred, Tyson Fury