Monday, December 20, 2021
"Richard McLaren, Umar Kremlev, and the IOC on the Crisis in Olympic Boxing" on No Holds Barred Patreon Page
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The article is at https://www.patreon.com/posts/richard-mclaren-60147403.
Labels: AIBA, boxing, corruption, Eddie Goldman, Gazprom, IBA, International Boxing Association, International Olympic Committee, IOC, No Holds Barred, Olympic, Richard McLaren, Thomas Bach, Umar Kremlev
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
No Holds Barred: Probellum Problems, Olympic Boxing Reform, Katie Taylor's Close Win, on The WAAR Room with Chris Baldwin and Malissa Smith
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleagues Chris Baldwin of the WAAR Room and Malissa Smith of Girlboxing on the WAAR Room. A video of this discussion has also been posted on the WAAR Sports YouTube page.
We spoke with them Sunday, December 12.
This past week saw major developments in the attempt by the Olympic boxing federation -- formerly AIBA and now renamed as the International Boxing Association (IBA) -- to regain its place on the Olympic program.
On December 9, IOC president Thomas Bach said in a press conference that AIBA, along with the International Weightlifting Federation, were the IOC's "problem children". AIBA would remain suspended from the IOC until at least 2023, and needs to correct ongoing problems in governance, financial transparency and sustainability, and the integrity of their refereeing and judging processes. Boxing also was not included on the list of sports set for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, although it was not ruled out that it could be added back if AIBA demonstrated that it had corrected these problems to the IOC's satisfaction.
On December 10, another report was released about corruption in AIBA by the team led by Professor Richard McLaren. This report, issued at AIBA's behest, concluded that the corruption in the officiating at AIBA events did not end with the 2016 Rio Olympics, but has continued through this year. The report noted that "the people are the problem, even when the rules and regulations are of the highest quality. The sport will need to ensure that it cultivates individuals with integrity to run the organisation." It did also praise the efforts of current AIBA president Umar Kremlev and his associates to end this corruption, stating, "a genuine attempt at reform and progress has been made under Kremlev's leadership." McLaren then discussed this report on an international online press conference.
On December 12, before we were able to discuss it, AIBA held its "Extraordinary Congress" and adopted all the extensive reforms which had been proposed by the Governance Reform Group, which was led by Professor Ulrich Haas. These reforms included the establishment of an independent Boxing Integrity Unit. AIBA also officially changed its name to IBA at this congress. And on December 13, IBA president Umar Kremlev also held an international online press conference. We will discuss these developments on our upcoming shows.
Besides the crisis in Olympic boxing, we discussed the debut show of the new Probellum promotion, which took place December 11 in Dubai in the UAE. This show was plagued by numerous major governance problems, and we discussed the significance of these and the lack of proper regulation.
Also on December 11, there were several major boxing cards around the world. We mainly focused on the Matchroom/DAZN card in Liverpool in the U.K., and in particular on the successful defense of her lightweight belts by Katie Taylor against Firuza Sharipova. Taylor clearly won a decision, but this fight was closer than many had anticipated. We discussed what this means, what is next for Taylor, and the latest news in women's boxing.
All this is part of our in-depth coverage of the corrupt world of boxing and sports governance in general.
(Photo of Prof. McLaren from screenshot of press conference. Probellum logo. Photo of Katie Taylor vs. Firuza Sharipova from WBC.)
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Now you can also support our independent, No Holds Barred journalism by purchasing items such as T-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, mugs, pillows, masks, and even mini-skirts at the new No Holds Barred with Eddie Goldman shop on Redbubble. (It has also been recommended to me that people choose sizes on the large side, as some items may run small.) You can browse all the items for sale and then place an order here.
You can play or download No Holds Barred on Anchor, Podomatic, Patreon, and the Internet Archive. If one link does not work, please try another.
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:
LenneHardt.com, the home of Lenne Hardt, the legendary MMA and sports announcer, voice actor, singer, actress, and comedienne. Lenne is also known for her jazz vocals with her Lenne Hardt Jazz Cabaret Band. For more information, to book her, or to order a custom message from her, go to LenneHardt.com.
Skullz Fight Shop, home of the Skullz Double-End Bag, the perfect punching bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve speed, distance, and timing skills. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. Skullz Fight Shop - Advancing combat sports equipment for the next generation of fighters. For more information, go to https://skullzfightshop.com.
Adolphina Studios. Original art prints and handcrafted fine jewelry. For more information, go to https://www.etsy.com/shop/AdolphinaStudios.
Labels: AIBA, boxing, Chris Baldwin, Eddie Goldman, Girlboxing, IBA, IOC, Katie Taylor, Malissa Smith, No Holds Barred, Olympic boxing, Probellum, Richard McLaren, Thomas Bach, Umar Kremlev, WAAR Room, WAAR Sports
Sunday, December 05, 2021
"Can Anybody Clean Up Pro or Olympic Boxing?" on No Holds Barred Patreon Page
A subscription is required to read it, so subscribe today to support independent journalism.
The article is at https://www.patreon.com/posts/can-anybody-up-59565073.
Labels: AIBA, boxing, corruption, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, Olympic
Monday, October 04, 2021
No Holds Barred: The Fight Against Fixed Fights In Olympic Boxing, Women's Boxing News, on the WAAR Room with Chris Baldwin and Malissa Smith
Our discussion took place Sunday, October 3.
We finally have proof of what many already knew or suspected: Much of Olympic boxing has been fixed.
On September 30, an independent report, mainly focusing on boxing at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was released by an investigative team led by Professor Richard McLaren. His team also had helped document the Russian state-sponsored doping program in the Olympics.
This report documented how officials in AIBA, the Olympic boxing federation, fixed the selection of referees and judges at the fights in the 2016 Olympics, how they manipulated results, the culture of corruption and bribery in Olympic boxing, and how these corrupt practices were carried out and enabled by the top leadership in AIBA at the time.
As the report stated, in AIBA,"The people are the problem." It should also be added that what corrupt governments have done in the Olympic movement has been a key reason why Olympic boxing has been so corrupt.
The full report can be read here.
While this investigation was undertaken at the behest of the current, new leadership of AIBA, many questions remain as to whether or not corruption has been sufficiently rooted out in this organization. The International Olympic Committee suspended AIBA as boxing's Olympic governing body in June 2019, and thus far has not indicated if or when it will be reinstated. The IOC organized the boxing competition at the recently completed Tokyo Olympics without AIBA.
We discussed what we know about how the Olympic boxing bouts were manipulated, some of the fights that may have been fixed, the obvious and not-so-obvious motives for this rampant corruption, the implications of this crisis in amateur and Olympic boxing for professional boxing, how this type of corruption in the overall Olympic movement is far from unique, and much more.
Malissa Smith also brought us the latest news from women's boxing, including multi-divisional champ Amanda Serrano signing with Jake Paul's newly-formed promotional company. We discussed what this might mean for a potential showdown between Serrano and undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor, what is next for unbeaten middleweight and super welterweight champion Claressa Shields who has been fighting in MMA as of late, and much more.
Plus, we discussed the postponement of the 2022 Gay Games in Hong Kong to 2023, the latest Triller Trash news and why they are the frontrunner for the 2021 Roger Mayweather "You Don't Know Shit About Boxing" Award, and more.
All this is part of our in-depth coverage of the corrupt world of boxing and sports governance in general.
Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content.
Now you can also support our independent, No Holds Barred journalism by purchasing items such as T-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, mugs, pillows, masks, and even mini-skirts at the new No Holds Barred with Eddie Goldman shop on Redbubble. (It has also been recommended to me that people choose sizes on the large side, as some items may run small.) You can browse all the items for sale and then place an order here.
You can play or download No Holds Barred on Anchor, Podomatic, and the Internet Archive. If one link does not work, please try another.
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:
LenneHardt.com, the home of Lenne Hardt, the legendary MMA and sports announcer, voice actor, singer, actress, and comedienne. Lenne is also known for her jazz vocals with her Lenne Hardt Jazz Cabaret Band. For more information, to book her, or to order a custom message from her, go to LenneHardt.com.
Skullz Fight Shop, home of the Skullz Double-End Bag, the perfect punching bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve speed, distance, and timing skills. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. Skullz Fight Shop - Advancing combat sports equipment for the next generation of fighters. For more information, go to https://skullzfightshop.com.
Adolphina Studios. Original art prints and handcrafted fine jewelry. For more information, go to https://www.etsy.com/shop/AdolphinaStudios.
Labels: AIBA, Angry Afro Radio, Chris Baldwin, corruption, Eddie Goldman, fixed fights, Girlboxing, Malissa Smith, No Holds Barred, Olympic boxing, WAAR Room, women's boxing
Sunday, August 05, 2012
No Holds Barred: Olympic Boxing Corruption, Teddy Riner Superstar, Combat Sports at London 2012 Olympics So Far
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman comments on some of the developments at the 2012 London Olympic regarding the combat sports after the first full week of competition.
Among the topics discussed are the latest Olympic boxing scandal involving the Satoshi Shimizu-Magomed Abdulhamidov fight whose verdict was overturned, the need for a World Anti-Corruption Agency for sport, Olympic heavyweight gold medalist judoka Teddy Riner of France as an international superstar, doping at the Olympics, the disgraceful Olympics coverage by NBC, the xenophobia and narrowness in American sport, amateur MMA and the Olympics, the role of social media, and much more.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.
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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 http://americantopteam.com/.
Among the topics discussed are the latest Olympic boxing scandal involving the Satoshi Shimizu-Magomed Abdulhamidov fight whose verdict was overturned, the need for a World Anti-Corruption Agency for sport, Olympic heavyweight gold medalist judoka Teddy Riner of France as an international superstar, doping at the Olympics, the disgraceful Olympics coverage by NBC, the xenophobia and narrowness in American sport, amateur MMA and the Olympics, the role of social media, and much more.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.
Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.
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 http://americantopteam.com/.
Labels: AIBA, combat sports, corruption, Eddie Goldman, judo, London Olympics, NBC, No Holds Barred, Olympic boxing, Satoshi Shimizu, Teddy Riner
Sunday, August 24, 2008
SecondsOut Radio: Johnny Bos on the Decline of Olympic and Amateur Boxing
On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman speaks with the legendary matchmaker and boxing personality Johnny Bos.
We open with a discussion of what has been the biggest sporting disgrace of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: the boxing competition. Besides the almost universally condemned scoring system utilized in Olympic boxing, there has been a general decline of boxing in the Olympics, and in particular a sharp decline in the amateur boxing program in the U.S.
All that and more is examined in this lengthy and fascinating interview.
Plus, Johnny offers his bleak assessment of the future of professional boxing, and ends by giving his advice to those already in boxing.
It is free to listen to SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, and listen, learn, and enjoy.
Labels: 2008 Summer Olympics, AIBA, amateur boxing, Beijing, boxing, Eddie Goldman, Johnny Bos, No Holds Barred, Olympic boxing, Olympic Games, Olympics, USA Boxing
