Monday, November 09, 2020
No Holds Barred: Martin Stark on World Gay Boxing Championships
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Martin Stark, the founder and CEO of the World Gay Boxing Championships.
The plan is for the inaugural World Gay Boxing Championships to take place in Sydney, Australia, in February 2023, coinciding with Mardi Gras and World Pride in that city. The World Gay Boxing Championships are open to all LGBTQ people but are also straight-friendly, and thus open to anyone.
We spoke with him by Skype Monday (Sunday in the U.S.).
The origins of the World Gay Boxing Championships are directly related to Martin Stark's own story.
"It literally started last year when I was in the hospital. I have the rare autoimmune condition Addison's disease, which basically means my adrenal glands do not produce cortisol, which is the same condition that President JFK had," he said.
"Now, last year I had hospitalization because of my disease. And to motivate myself, I contacted the Gay Games in Hong Kong to inquire about the boxing program. And they came back saying unfortunately boxing didn't make the list of sports for the next Gay Games" in 2022.
"So I came up with the idea with, well, I've been boxing for a period of time now and I wanted to compete. But I wanted to compete in an LGBTQ sporting environment. So I decided to create the first world, the world's first-ever LGBTQ boxing tournament, and called it the World Gay Boxing Championships."
Next he had to see if there was significant interest in this idea.
"It was just an idea. I started sharing my idea on LinkedIn, and friends started supporting me," he said.
"So that's how it all started."
Since then, the World Gay Boxing Championships was set up as an Australian not-for-profit organization.
In October of this year, Boxing Australia, the national federation for amateur boxing in Australia, announced that they are supporting the World Gay Boxing Championships and will assist with the organization of their events. The amateur boxing rules of AIBA, the Olympic boxing federation, will be used in these fights.
But the goals of the World Gay Boxing Championships go much farther than just organizing another boxing competition.
Part of what they are doing, said Martin Stark, "is to disrupt homophobia, biphobia, interphobia, and transphobia, so that people feel safe to compete in the beautiful sport of boxing, an amazing sport of boxing.
"And I have said repeatedly that by the end of this decade," he added, "I set up the organization to no longer exist. There is less hatred in sports."
Of course, he realizes that this goal remains to be achieved.
"We're not there yet. And we've made some great progress this century, but there's more work to do."
We also discussed plans to increase funding for the World Gay Boxing Championships, plans to develop more grassroots boxing clubs and participation, plans for smaller fight nights leading up to the event itself, and much more.
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No Holds Barred is also available on these sites and apps:
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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.
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Labels: Australia, Eddie Goldman, LGBTQ, Martin Stark, No Holds Barred, Sydney, WGBC, World Gay Boxing Championships
Wednesday, July 05, 2017
No Holds Barred: Pacquiao-Horn and ESPN Leave A Rotten Odor
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the raging controversy about the Jeff Horn-Manny Pacquiao fight, which took place July 2 in Brisbane, Australia. The fight was telecast on pay-per-view in Australia and New Zealand and shown in many countries, including as a debut of the new Top Rank series on ESPN in the U.S.
The controversies over the scoring of the fight and Horn's being awarded a unanimous decision, the idiotic and rude screaming of commentators Teddy Atlas and Stephen A. Smith on ESPN, the scoring controversies on Friday's PBC on Bounce TV card, and the Pacquiao-Horn fight and ESPN telecast overall leaving many people with a rotten taste, as well as much more about Pacquiao, are discussed.
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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 2017 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Saturday, July 15, 2017, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance (CWA) and co-sponsored by City of Humboldt Chamber of Commerce, Sprout Living (official protein powder of the CWA), and Ultima Replenisher (official electrolyte drink of the CWA), the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.
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Labels: Australia, boxing, Brisbane, Eddie Goldman, ESPN, Jeff Horn, Manny Pacquiao, No Holds Barred
Sunday, July 22, 2012
No Holds Barred: Gustavo Falciroli
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with mixed martial arts fighter and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach Gustavo Falciroli.
Originally from Brazil and now based in Melbourne, Australia, Gustavo Falciroli currently holds the CFC (Cage Fighting Championship) bantamweight title. He made his debut in ONE FC on February 11, 2012, submitting Soo Chul Kim by rear aked choke in just 1:12 of the first round.
His next fight will be at ONE FC: Pride of a Nation, which will take place Friday, August 31, at the historic Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, the Philippines. In another of ONE FC's champion vs. champion matches, his opponent will be the internationally-ranked Bibiano Fernandes, who holds the Dream bantamweight title.
We spoke with Gustavo Falciroli by Skype Sunday (Saturday New York time) about what could be his toughest MMA fight.
"I'm definitely going into that fight as the underdog. That's the natural way. He made the name for himself. You can't take that from him," said Gustavo Falciroli in this interview about his fight with Bibiano Fernandes. But he added, "And now it's my time to make my name. So I'm going to the big leagues and trying to show what I am to the world. So that's the way. Step-by-step the world's going to get to know me."
We discussed with Gustavo Falciroli what to expect in his fight with Bibiano Fernandes, his training and background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, his move from Brazil to Australia, why he likes the rules of ONE FC, 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/.
Originally from Brazil and now based in Melbourne, Australia, Gustavo Falciroli currently holds the CFC (Cage Fighting Championship) bantamweight title. He made his debut in ONE FC on February 11, 2012, submitting Soo Chul Kim by rear aked choke in just 1:12 of the first round.
His next fight will be at ONE FC: Pride of a Nation, which will take place Friday, August 31, at the historic Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, the Philippines. In another of ONE FC's champion vs. champion matches, his opponent will be the internationally-ranked Bibiano Fernandes, who holds the Dream bantamweight title.
We spoke with Gustavo Falciroli by Skype Sunday (Saturday New York time) about what could be his toughest MMA fight.
"I'm definitely going into that fight as the underdog. That's the natural way. He made the name for himself. You can't take that from him," said Gustavo Falciroli in this interview about his fight with Bibiano Fernandes. But he added, "And now it's my time to make my name. So I'm going to the big leagues and trying to show what I am to the world. So that's the way. Step-by-step the world's going to get to know me."
We discussed with Gustavo Falciroli what to expect in his fight with Bibiano Fernandes, his training and background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, his move from Brazil to Australia, why he likes the rules of ONE FC, 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: Australia, Bibiano Fernandes, BJJ, CFC, Eddie Goldman, Gustavo Falciroli, MMA, No Holds Barred, One FC, Philippines
