NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews one of the most innovative and welcome developments in boxing, the Super Six World Boxing Classic, a round-robin, six-fighter tournament in the super middleweight division featuring the best fighters in the world at that weight.

Competing in this tournament are the unbeaten WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch (25-0, 20 KOs) of England, the WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (41-1, 31 KOs) of Denmark, the former undisputed middleweight world champion Jermain Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) of Little Rock, Ark., the now-former and still-unbeaten IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs) of Germany, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist and unbeaten WBC number one contender Andre Ward (19-0, 12 KOs) of Oakland, Calif., and the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and unbeaten WBC number two contender Andre Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) of Flint, Mich.

The winner of this tournament is certain to be regarded as the true super middleweight champion of the world.

The opening round will have three fights, beginning this fall, on dates and at locations to be announced. Carl Froch will face Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler will face Andre Ward, and Arthur Abraham will face Jermain Taylor.

At the kickoff news conference at Madison Square Garden in New York this Monday for this history-making event, we had a chance to speak with fighters Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, and Andre Dirrell about this tournament and their fights. We also spoke with promoters Lou DiBella and Dan Goossen, with boxing writer and television analyst Steve Farhood, and with Ken Hershman, senior vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports, which is the key force behind this tournament and will televise it in the U.S.

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.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.

Make sure to visit the official boxing forum for No Holds Barred, the MySpace Boxing Forum.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

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/.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Wrestling 411, providing coverage of the sport of wrestling on TV, the Internet, and radio. Wrestling 411 is produced by Media Sports Productions, whose sole mission is the marketing and promotion of the sport of wrestling.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Labels: Andre Dirrell, Arthur Abraham, boxing, Carl Froch, Dan Goossen, Eddie Goldman, Jermain Taylor, Ken Hershman, Lou DiBella, Mikkel Kessler, No Holds Barred, Showtime, Steve Farhood, World Boxing Classic

SecondsOut Radio with Eddie Goldman

On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman begins by reviewing this past Saturday's unanimous decision victories by Joe Calzaghe (44-0, 32 KOs) over Mikkel Kessler (39-1, 29 KOs) to unify three super middleweight belts, and by WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (48-3-1, 35 KOs) over Rocky Juarez (27-4, 19 KOs). With these superb performances, both Calzaghe and Marquez have to be considered as candidates for 2007 Fighter of the Year.

Next, we preview the big card coming up this Saturday, November 10, at Madison Square Garden in New York, to be shown on HBO Pay-Per-View in the U.S.

On that card will be the showdown between the undefeated WBA welterweight champion, Miguel Cotto (30-0, 25 KOs), and the former world champion, Shane Mosley (44-4, 37 KOs). As a co-feature, lightweight champion Joel Casamayor (34-3-1, 21 KOs) takes on Jose Armando Santa Cruz (25-2, 14 KOs).

We spoke with Shane Mosley and his trainer and father, Jack Mosley, about what they see happening in the fight with Cotto. We also spoke with Joel Casamayor about what he expects to happen in his fight with Santa Cruz.

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: boxing, Eddie Goldman, Jack Mosley, Joe Calzaghe, Joel Casamayor, Jose Armando Santa Cruz, Juan Manuel Marquez, Miguel Cotto, Mikkel Kessler, Rocky Juarez, SecondsOut Radio, Shane Mosley

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this special edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Jay Larkin, the new president and COO of the International Fight League.

Jay Larkin headed the acclaimed boxing telecasts on Showtime for two decades. He still is involved in boxing and will oversee HBO’s broadcast of the super middleweight title unification fight between Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler in Cardiff, Wales, this Saturday, November 3. While in Wales, he also will be on the phone to run the first-ever live MMA event on primetime network TV, when the IFL holds its World Grand Prix broadcast live on MyNetworkTV from the Sears Centre near Chicago. Both events will air live at 9 PM ET/8 PM CT.

We spoke with him Monday at his IFL office in New York as he was preparing for both events. We discussed the latest news on the Calzaghe-Kessler fight; the IFL Grand Prix; the major changes that are in store for the IFL's team concept; and much more.

To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, click here or here and just press the play button on the player.

You can also listen to it through this blog and my MySpace page, also by pressing the play button on the player.

Also, NO HOLDS BARRED is available through iTunes.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

If you want to leave a comment on the show, you can do so on this blog.

The NO HOLDS BARRED theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter.

NO HOLDS BARRED is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Art of War, the undisputed arena fighting championship, promoted by SUN Sports and Entertainment, producing world class mixed martial arts events. For more information, check out their web site, ArtOfWarLive.com.

IFL, the International Fight League, the world's first professional mixed martial arts league. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the U.S. and to check your local listings for dates and times. You can also catch IFL Battleground on MyNetworkTV. Check out the IFL web site, ifl.tv, for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule.

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Labels: boxing, combat sports, Eddie Goldman, Grand Prix, IFL, International Fight League, Jay Larkin, Joe Calzaghe, Mikkel Kessler, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, UFC, ultimate fighting

SecondsOut Radio with Eddie Goldman

On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman begins by previewing the megafight between the undefeated WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe (43-0, 32 KOs) and the undefeated WBC/WBA champion Mikkel Kessler (39-0, 29 KOs). This long-awaited title unification fight will take place November 3 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, near Calzaghe's home.

We spoke with both champions, Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler, at a New York news conference this past week to get their takes on what to expect in this fight.

On September 1, WBO 140-pound champion Ricardo Torres (32-1, 28 KOs) defended his title with a highly controversial 11th-round TKO win over Kendall Holt (22-2, 12 KOs). This fight took place at the Salon Jumbo del Country Club in Barranquilla, Colombia, Torres's home country. Subsequent reports questioned many aspects of the conduct of this fight, including the stoppage, interference from fans and others during the fight, and more. Videos of both the final round and the entire fight have appeared online, with many who have seen them, along with those in attendance, agreeing that justice was not done that night.

We got a chance to speak with Kendall Holt about all this when he attended the Calzaghe-Kessler news conference, and we have that interview for you this week.

Also, as many already know, the scheduled September 15 fight between WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez and Rocky Juarez has been cancelled. The reported reason is that Marquez suffered a cut on his right hand which led to an infection and swelling, thus leading to the fight's cancellation. We discuss this situation this week.

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: boxing, Eddie Goldman, Joe Calzaghe, Juan Manuel Marquez, Kendall Holt, Mikkel Kessler, Rocky Juarez, SecondsOut Radio