Monday, September 15, 2025
"Crawford Stars at TKO's and Turki's Boxing After Bedtime" on No Holds Barred Patreon Page
My latest piece, "Crawford Stars at TKO's and Turki's Boxing After Bedtime", is up on the No Holds Barred Patreon page.
Labels: boxing, Canelo Alvarez, Eddie Goldman, Netflix, No Holds Barred, Terence Crawford
Monday, September 08, 2025
"I Had to Write Something About Canelo vs. Crawford" on No Holds Barred Patreon Page
My latest piece, "I Had to Write Something About Canelo vs. Crawford", is up on the No Holds Barred Patreon page.
Labels: boxing, Canelo Alvarez, Eddie Goldman, Netflix, No Holds Barred, Terence Crawford
Monday, April 29, 2024
"Canelo-Munguia and the Pay-Per-View Pandemic" on No Holds Barred Patreon Page
Labels: boxing, Canelo Alvarez, Eddie Goldman, Jaime Munguia, No Holds Barred, pay-per-view
Monday, September 04, 2017
No Holds Barred: A Sweet But Dysfunctional September for Boxing
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the many important and anticipated fights scheduled for this September, including the September 16 Golovkin-Canelo showdown, the World Boxing Super Series tournaments at cruiserweight and super middleweight starting September 9, and the "SuperFly" card also on September 9 featuring three fights involving the top fighters in the 115-pound division. But also discussed are the problems surrounding the lack of wide TV coverage for these and many other fights, including the pitfalls of pay-per-view, the absence of U.S. and U.K. TV for the World Boxing Super Series, the poor marketing of the "SuperFly" card which should be one of the best this year, why boxing must be seen as a TV sport, and much more.
(Poster from WBC.)
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.
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USA Combat Wrestling, the official U.S. governing body for combat wrestling and U.S. delegate of the International Combat Wrestling Federation (FICW), which was founded by the legendary wrestler Noriaki Kiguchi of Japan. For more information, go to CombatWrestling.us.
Labels: boxing, Canelo Alvarez, Eddie Goldman, Gennady Golovkin, GGG, No Holds Barred, September, SuperFly, World Boxing Super Series
Sunday, May 10, 2015
No Holds Barred: Amir Khan, Chris Algieri, Paulie Malignaggi, PBC Figueroa-Burns and McDonnell-Kameda and HBO Canelo-Kirkland Reviews
(Photo of Omar Figueroa and Ricky Burns by Esther Lin/PBC on CBS, photo of Canelo Alvarez and James Kirkland by Ed Mulholland/Golden Boy/Golden Boy via Getty Images)
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the Friday, May 29, Premier Boxing Champions card at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, by speaking with Amir Khan, Chris Algieri, and Paulie Malignaggi.
On that card, Amir Khan (30-3, 19 KOs) will face Chris Algieri (20-1, 8 KOs) and Paulie Malignaggi (33-6, 7 KOs) will take on Danny O'Connor (25-2, 9 KOs) in welterweight bouts. These fights will be televised live in the U.S. on Spike TV.
We spoke with Amir Khan, Chris Algieri, and Paulie Malignaggi on a media conference call Wednesday.
This past weekend there were several televised fights, and we review Saturday's action on the PBC on CBS card and the HBO card later that evening.
On the PBC on CBS card, which took place at the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, Omar Figueroa of Texas (25-0-1, 18 KOs) got a close and controversial unanimous decision over Ricky Burns of Scotland (37-5-1, 11 KOs), in a super lightweight fight. Also on that show, the U.K.'s Jamie McDonnell (25-2-1, 12 KOs) defended his WBA bantamweight belt by winning a unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Tomoki Kameda (31-1, 19 KOs), who is from Japan but trains in Mexico.
On the HBO card, which took place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, and as many expected, super welterweight Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) knocked out James Kirkland of Texas (32-2, 28 KOs) in the third round of a slugfest.
We compare the PBC on CBS card to the Canelo-Kirkland fight on HBO, discuss more of the fallout over Pacquiao's claim he was injured during his fight with Floyd Mayweather, rip the mainstream and most of the boxing media for not properly discussing this issue and dealing with doping in boxing, and much more.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.
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", 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.
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Labels: Amir Khan, boxing, Canelo Alvarez, CBS, Chris Algieri, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, HBO, James Kirkland, Manny Pacquiao, No Holds Barred, Omar Figueroa, Paulie Malignaggi, PBC, Ricky Burns
Sunday, September 16, 2012
No Holds Barred: King Mo on Martinez-Chavez Jr., Canelo-Lopez, Bellator, Olympic and Pro Wrestling


On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with a true aficionado of all the combat sports, "King" Mo Lawal.
He is set to make his debut with the Bellator Fighting Championships in January, as well as his debut in the TNA pro wrestling company this fall.
We spoke by phone Sunday, starting off by analyzing the two major boxing cards held Saturday, September 15, which we both watched simultaneously. On the Showtime card, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez defeated Josesito Lopez by fifth-round TKO. On the HBO pay-per-view, Sergio Martinez dominated most of the fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., surviving a twelfth-round knockdown to win a unanimous decision. We also discussed the other fights on these cards, as well as what they say about boxing and MMA.
"I heard both arenas sold out," he said during this interview. "So there goes the whole 'boxing is dead' thing' that a lot of these ignorant MMA fans try to use when they try to compare two different sports against each other. MMA is MMA, boxing is boxing. I felt there are two different demographics. But, last night I was highly entertained by both fights."
"King" Mo also watched some of the wrestling at the 2012 Olympics, and we discussed that and whether or not U.S. schools should switch from American folkstyle to freestyle, which is practiced internationally. We also discussed how he will balance his preparations for TNA and for Bellator. In addition, we discussed the different demographics of the fans in various combat sports, in particular the popularity of boxing among African Americans as compared to other combat sports, and more.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.
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", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
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.
MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Renzo Gracie BJJ Open 2012 tournament, the Big Apple No-Gi tournament, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.
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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/.
Labels: African Americans, Bellator, boxing, Canelo Alvarez, Eddie Goldman, Josesito Lopez, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., King Mo Lawal, MMA, No Holds Barred, Olympic, Sergio Martinez, TNA, wrestling
Thursday, September 13, 2012
No Holds Barred: Chavez Jr.-Martinez and Canelo-Lopez Previews with John Perretti

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.
On Saturday, September 15, during the weekend of Mexican Independence Day, the sport of boxing, if you can call it that, will have two major, televised, competing cards taking place in the same city, Las Vegas, at the same time.
The show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena will be headlined by the unbeaten WBC super welterweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez defending his belt against rising star Josesito Lopez, who earned the title shot with an upset TKO win over Victor Ortiz in June. Also on that card, WBC featherweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez fights Daniel Ponce De Leon, Marcos Maidana faces Jesus Soto Karass in a 12-round welterweight fight, and IBF bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz fights Eric Morel. This card will be televised live on Showtime in the U.S., BoxNation in the U.K., and Televisa in Mexico.
Not far away, at the Thomas & Mack Center, recognized linear middleweight world champion Sergio Martinez will fight WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Also on that card, Roman Martinez will fight Miguel Beltran Jr. for the vacant WBO super featherweight title, WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux will defend his belt against Robert Marroquin, and Matthew Macklin will fight Joachim Alcine in a ten-round middleweight fight. This card will be televised live on HBO pay-per-view in the U.S., Primetime pay-per-view in the U.K., and Azteca in Mexico.
We spoke with John Perretti by phone Thursday about these fights.
Asked if he had to choose just one of these cards to watch live, perhaps surprisingly he replied that it was "a no-brainer" that he would choose the one headlined by Chavez Jr. and Martinez.
As for a prediction, he said in this interview, "If, indeed, this Martinez-Chavez fight is real and not a debacle, and not another uproar, a burning at the stake of Pacquiao, if it is real, I will tell you that Martinez will go down from a body shot and it will be a TKO for Chavez."
We also discussed the practice of Top Rank, Chavez Jr.'s promoter, of only booking fights when they are virtually certain that their fighter will win, which is why Chavez Jr. has not fought the 37-year-old Martinez until now. Top Rank boss Arum wants to build Chavez Jr. into a superstar on the level of Mayweather and Pacquiao. We discussed how these plans may or may not factor into what happens in this fight and the possibility of - gasp - another major controversy in boxing.
We also discussed the Canelo-Lopez fight, which John Perretti believes is harder to predict. We talked about how that entire televised card actually is stronger than the one headlined by Chavez Jr. and Martinez, the $100,000 bonus on that card for the best knockout, how he was the one who initiated bonuses when he was a matchmaker in MMA, and much more.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.
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", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
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.
MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 1 and 2 for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, the Renzo Gracie BJJ Open 2012 tournament, the Big Apple No-Gi tournament, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The 2012 MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.
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: boxing, Canelo Alvarez, Eddie Goldman, John Perretti, Josesito Lopez, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., No Holds Barred, Sergio Martinez




