NO HOLDS BARRED

by Eddie Goldman

For those folks interested in real boxing who are fortunate enough to be spared from all this devastation and tragedy going on around the world, Saturday, September 9, is a busy day.

The World Boxing Super Series has its first card Saturday, featuring the current WBO cruiserweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk, against a former champion, Marko Huck. This fight, the opening round of this event's eight-man cruiserweight tournament, takes place at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin.

While the World Boxing Super Series just recently signed TV deals with networks in several European countries, including Germany and Russia, this fight will not be televised live in the U.K. or at all in the U.S.

The U.S. will host one of the strongest cards of the year, however, as three major fights in the talented super flyweight division take place at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

Headlining this card, which has been dubbed "SuperFly", will be a rematch of a March fight between Wisaksil Wangek AKA Srisaket Sor Rungvisai of Thailand and Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez of Nicaragua. In their first fight, Rungvisai won a controversial majority decision, handing Chocolatito his first loss and capturing his WBC belt. In a battle of two exciting Mexican fighters, former WBA 108-pound champion Juan Francisco Estrada will face Carlos Cuadras, with the winner likely getting a title shot at the Rungvisai-Chocolatito victor. This fight could also be a show stealer. And in his first fight outside his home country, the unbeaten 24-year-old phenom Naoya Inoue of Japan will defend his WBO belt against American Antonio Nieves.

The "SuperFly" card will be shown on HBO in the U.S., WOWOW in Japan, and Sky Sports in the U.K.

I have already discussed these cards and other topics more in depth, including the TV situation, here:

No Holds Barred: A Sweet But Dysfunctional September for Boxing

Joshua-Pulev, Golovkin-Canelo, World Boxing Super Series, Parker-Fury TV News

So please be safe, and watch as many of these fights as you can. And remember, Mens sana in corpore sano.

(Photo of Usyk and Huck from World Boxing Super Series. Photo of "SuperFly" final press conference from Tom Hogan, K2 Promotions.)

Labels: Chocolatito, Eddie Goldman, Marko Huck, Naoya Inoue, No Holds Barred, Oleksandr Usyk, Rungvisai, SuperFly, TV, World Boxing Super Series

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the May 23 Andre Dirrell vs. James DeGale fight, and comments on the May 16 HBO Boxing telecast.

On Saturday, May 23, Andre Dirrell of the U.S. (24-1, 16 KOs) takes on James DeGale of the U.K. (20-1, 14 KOs) at Boston University's Agganis Arena in a fight for the vacant IBF super middleweight belt. This fight, part of the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series, will be shown live Saturday afternoon in the U.S. on NBC, and live Saturday night in the U.K. on Sky Sports.

Both Dirrell, a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, and DeGale, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist, will be trying to capture their first world title. DeGale will also try to become the first British Olympic gold medalist to win a pro world title.

We spoke with both Andre Dirrell and James DeGale on a media conference call Thursday.

On Saturday, May 16, HBO telecast two title fights showcasing undefeated star fighters. Middleweight champ Gennady "GGG" Golovkin of Kazakhstan (33-0, 30 KOs) scored his 20th straight stoppage by dispatching overmatched and light-hitting challenger Willie Monroe Jr. of the U.S. (19-2, 6 KOs) by sixth-round TKO. Another star making his long overdue HBO debut was flyweight champ Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez of Nicaragua, who upped his record to 43-0 with 37 KOs by dominating and stopping the tough former 108-pound champion Edgar Sosa of Mexico (51-9, 30 KOs) with a second-round TKO.

While the HBO card was undoubtedly entertaining to fight fans, we discuss how HBO is primarily showcasing the best fighters signed to that network, instead of primarily having the best fight the best in each weight class. We also contrast this to the past few PBC cards, as well as this coming Saturday's Dirrell-DeGale fight, which should be competitive and intriguing.

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Labels: Andre Dirrell, boxing, Chocolatito, Eddie Goldman, Edgar Sosa, Gennady Golovkin, GGG, HBO, James DeGale, No Holds Barred, PBC, Roman Gonzalez, Willie Monroe