Thursday, November 08, 2012
No Holds Barred: The Continuing Battle of Sport vs. Spectacle
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We note the re-election of California Assembly Member Luis Alejo, who had introduced AB 2100, also known as the Professional Bill of Rights for MMA Athletes, earlier this year in the California State Assembly. While this bill did not pass this year, expect another round in this battle to extend the provisions of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act to professional MMA fighters.
We also read parts of a letter from Paul Johnson, head of the Boxers Organizing Committee, to U.S. President Barack Obama calling on him to support efforts to unionize boxers, and outlining the call for an "an industry summit meeting" in boxing to lay the foundations for structural reform in boxing.
The battle to organize mixed martial arts as a sport and not a spectacle has been raging for a long time now, and is related to the current discussion about the origins of the sport and the term "mixed martial arts" itself. We read a message sent by author Dr. Peter Maguire about some of his experiences training with John Perretti. In this message, Dr. Maguire wrote, "Like contemporary history under the Soviet Union, Perretti has simply been airbrushed out of the present history of MMA."
Another step in organizing MMA as a real sport is being taken with the growth of amateur MMA and the FILA World Championships in grappling, Pankration, and amateur MMA. This event takes place November 15-18 at the Hala Widowiskowo-Sportowa, ul. ks. Stanislawa Poletka 34, 32-043 Skala, Poland, near Kraków.
We will be covering this event from matside. This trip to Poland, and also to visit the FILA headquarters in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, will mean that it is highly unlikely that an edition of No Holds Barred will be produced and posted until after the trip is over. So sit tight because there should be some interesting commentary and interviews from this trip.
As many already know, because of the effects of Hurricane Sandy, one of the many events which has been postponed is the MMA World Expo. The new dates are February 16-17, 2013, at the same location, the Jacob Javits Center in New York. While some part of the Expo program may have to be changed due to the postponement, the FILA North American Invitational in amateur MMA will go on during these new dates. Also, the postponement actually makes it more likely that the Expo will feature some matches in catch wrestling, as well as a demonstration of that sport.
So these battles continue, on many fronts and in many countries, all for the betterment of the combat sports.
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 February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, 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: amateur, boxing, Eddie Goldman, FILA, grappling, John Perretti, Luis Alejo, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, Pankration, Paul Johnson, spectacle, sport, World Championships
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
No Holds Barred: Paul Johnson on Protesting Solitary Confinement of Floyd Mayweather
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with former boxer and long-time activist for boxers' rights, Paul Johnson.
Although based in Minnesota, Paul Johnson is now in Las Vegas, Nevada, holding a one-man protest in front of the Clark County Detention Center, where boxer Floyd Mayweather is serving a three-month sentence for domestic violence. Even though the charge for which Mayweather was convicted is only a misdemeanor, Mayweather has been placed in solitary confinement, which Paul Johnson calls "unfair and inhumane treatment."
We spoke with Paul Johnson by phone Wednesday afternoon about why he feels so strongly on this issue that he has traveled to Las Vegas to protest in front of this facility.
Paul Johnson also has long been involved in the struggle to form a boxers' union. We discussed the prospects for that, and his views on the proposal by U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to form a United States Boxing Commission (USBC) to oversee professional boxing in the U.S.
The view of Paul Johnson is that what is needed instead of a USBC is the formation of a corporation like the NFL, NBA, etc., which would involve promoters, boxers, trainers, managers, sanctioning bodies, and officials, and have collective bargaining for boxers. We thus discussed how that could occur and how likely it is to happen.
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/.
Although based in Minnesota, Paul Johnson is now in Las Vegas, Nevada, holding a one-man protest in front of the Clark County Detention Center, where boxer Floyd Mayweather is serving a three-month sentence for domestic violence. Even though the charge for which Mayweather was convicted is only a misdemeanor, Mayweather has been placed in solitary confinement, which Paul Johnson calls "unfair and inhumane treatment."
We spoke with Paul Johnson by phone Wednesday afternoon about why he feels so strongly on this issue that he has traveled to Las Vegas to protest in front of this facility.
Paul Johnson also has long been involved in the struggle to form a boxers' union. We discussed the prospects for that, and his views on the proposal by U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to form a United States Boxing Commission (USBC) to oversee professional boxing in the U.S.
The view of Paul Johnson is that what is needed instead of a USBC is the formation of a corporation like the NFL, NBA, etc., which would involve promoters, boxers, trainers, managers, sanctioning bodies, and officials, and have collective bargaining for boxers. We thus discussed how that could occur and how likely it is to happen.
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: boxers union, boxing, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, Las Vegas, No Holds Barred, Paul Johnson, solitary confinement
Boxer Protests Unfair Treatment of Floyd Mayweather
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Paul Johnson
June 14, 2012
Former middleweight boxer Paul Johnson feels so strongly about the treatment of Floyd Mayweather by correction officials in Las Vegas that he left his home in Minnesota to protest in front of the Clark County Detention Center.
Mr. Johnson believes that Floyd Mayweather should serve the full three month sentence imposed by the court for domestic violence. However, the court determined that his actions were a misdemeanor and Mr. Johnson says he should be treated the same as other misdemeanor offenders. He is not. Floyd Mayweather is put in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, which Mr. Johnson believes is unfair and inhumane treatment. His protest is designed to urge the Clark County Detention Center to find an alternative.
Correction officials in Las Vegas say that Floyd Mayweather is in solitary confinement for his own protection from other inmates in the general population. Johnson’s response is that if the Clark County Detention Center can’t facilitate Mayweather’s isolation other than solitary confinement they should transfer him to a facility which can. After all, the bird man of Alcatraz was isolated from the general population and was not put in the solitary confinement.
Johnson also says that he has been informed that inmates have died while in solitary confinement because of the conditions.
CONTACT: Paul Johnson
June 14, 2012
Former middleweight boxer Paul Johnson feels so strongly about the treatment of Floyd Mayweather by correction officials in Las Vegas that he left his home in Minnesota to protest in front of the Clark County Detention Center.
Mr. Johnson believes that Floyd Mayweather should serve the full three month sentence imposed by the court for domestic violence. However, the court determined that his actions were a misdemeanor and Mr. Johnson says he should be treated the same as other misdemeanor offenders. He is not. Floyd Mayweather is put in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, which Mr. Johnson believes is unfair and inhumane treatment. His protest is designed to urge the Clark County Detention Center to find an alternative.
Correction officials in Las Vegas say that Floyd Mayweather is in solitary confinement for his own protection from other inmates in the general population. Johnson’s response is that if the Clark County Detention Center can’t facilitate Mayweather’s isolation other than solitary confinement they should transfer him to a facility which can. After all, the bird man of Alcatraz was isolated from the general population and was not put in the solitary confinement.
Johnson also says that he has been informed that inmates have died while in solitary confinement because of the conditions.
Labels: boxer, boxing, Clark County Detention Center, Floyd Mayweather, Las Vegas, Paul Johnson, solitary confinement
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
No Holds Barred: Freddie Roach on Pacquiao-Cotto, Paul Johnson on Boxers Organizing Committee
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman begins by discussing why upcoming fights like Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Juan Manuel Marquez, Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto, and the Showtime super middleweight tournament certainly do feature worthy matchups, they still are far from enough for boxing to shed its designation as the "red light district of sports". With highly controversial decisions happening seemingly every week, such as in the August 22 Paulie Malignaggi-Juan Diaz fight in Texas and the John McDermott-Tyson Fury fight in England September 13, perhaps that designation should be modernized so that boxing would become known as the "spam of sports".
There is some movement, however, to attempt to reverse the decline of boxing, particularly in the U.S. While what role in all this the newly-formed Boxing Promoters Association will play remains to be seen, their second meeting, held September 14 in New York, did mark a step forward in at least one respect. A special presentation was made by Paul Johnson, head of the Boxers Organizing Committee, which has been seeking to form a union for boxers for several years. He stated that such a union and the establishment of collective bargaining in boxing would not only provide much-needed security, insurance, etc., for the fighters, but would also help build the credibility of the sport, and thus improve its marketability.
Right after that meeting, we spoke with Paul Johnson about what the goals of the Boxers Organizing Committee are, how his presentation was received by the boxing promoters he addressed, what the election of Rich Trumka as president of the AFL-CIO at their convention this week might mean for boxers, what the fans can do to assist this process, and more.
At the news conference last Thursday, September 10, at Yankee Stadium for the November14 Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight in Las Vegas, we joined several members of the media is speaking with Freddie Roach, who trains Pacquiao. We discussed what strategy Pacquiao is likely to use in this fight, why he believes that Cotto is such a dangerous opponent for Pacquiao, why this will be the toughest fight of Pacquiao's career, the issue of fighters drinking their own urine, the effect of fighting Cotto at a catch weight of 145 pounds, why they will begin their training for this fight in the Philippines, 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.
You can also order tickets for the 2009 ADCC World Championship, which will be held September 25-27 in Barcelona, Spain, through Ticketmaster.
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/.
MMA WORLD EXPO, an event designed for the mixed martial arts community offering hands-on instruction from professional trainers and athletes, educational sessions with the who's who of the MMA world, and an exhibit hall filled with the industry's top suppliers and services. MMA WORLD EXPO takes place Saturday, October 24th, and Sunday, October 25th, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.
GRACIEMAG, the most reliable source of information on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. GRACIEMAG represents Jiu-Jitsu philosophy and features news, profiles, history, photos, videos, and tips and secrets of the mother of all martial arts. Published since 1996 in Brazil, GRACIEMAG: The Jiu-Jitsu Lifestyle, is in both English and Portuguese, and is also online at GRACIEMAG.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.
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There is some movement, however, to attempt to reverse the decline of boxing, particularly in the U.S. While what role in all this the newly-formed Boxing Promoters Association will play remains to be seen, their second meeting, held September 14 in New York, did mark a step forward in at least one respect. A special presentation was made by Paul Johnson, head of the Boxers Organizing Committee, which has been seeking to form a union for boxers for several years. He stated that such a union and the establishment of collective bargaining in boxing would not only provide much-needed security, insurance, etc., for the fighters, but would also help build the credibility of the sport, and thus improve its marketability.
Right after that meeting, we spoke with Paul Johnson about what the goals of the Boxers Organizing Committee are, how his presentation was received by the boxing promoters he addressed, what the election of Rich Trumka as president of the AFL-CIO at their convention this week might mean for boxers, what the fans can do to assist this process, and more.
At the news conference last Thursday, September 10, at Yankee Stadium for the November14 Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight in Las Vegas, we joined several members of the media is speaking with Freddie Roach, who trains Pacquiao. We discussed what strategy Pacquiao is likely to use in this fight, why he believes that Cotto is such a dangerous opponent for Pacquiao, why this will be the toughest fight of Pacquiao's career, the issue of fighters drinking their own urine, the effect of fighting Cotto at a catch weight of 145 pounds, why they will begin their training for this fight in the Philippines, 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.
You can also order tickets for the 2009 ADCC World Championship, which will be held September 25-27 in Barcelona, Spain, through Ticketmaster.
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/.
MMA WORLD EXPO, an event designed for the mixed martial arts community offering hands-on instruction from professional trainers and athletes, educational sessions with the who's who of the MMA world, and an exhibit hall filled with the industry's top suppliers and services. MMA WORLD EXPO takes place Saturday, October 24th, and Sunday, October 25th, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.
GRACIEMAG, the most reliable source of information on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. GRACIEMAG represents Jiu-Jitsu philosophy and features news, profiles, history, photos, videos, and tips and secrets of the mother of all martial arts. Published since 1996 in Brazil, GRACIEMAG: The Jiu-Jitsu Lifestyle, is in both English and Portuguese, and is also online at GRACIEMAG.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: Boxers Organizing Committee, boxing, boxing promoters, Eddie Goldman, Freddie Roach, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, No Holds Barred, Paul Johnson, union
Sunday, January 25, 2009
SecondsOut Radio: The Life and Legacy of Jose Torres, with Paul Johnson
On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman presents a tribute to the late former light heavyweight champion and Hall of Fame fighter, Jose "Chegui" Torres, who passed away January 19. He was 72.
Jose Torres retired in 1969 with a record of 41-3-1 with 29 KO's after fighting in 45 fights and 300 rounds. He won the world light heavyweight championship in 1965 by stopping Willie Pastrano in the ninth round in Madison Square Garden. After three successful defenses, he lost that title to Dick Tiger in 1966 by decision, also in Madison Square Garden.
He was also known as an author and writer, a former chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, and a fighter for social justice and many causes, including the movement for boxers to form a union.
To remember and honor Jose Torres, we spoke with his long-time colleague and friend, Paul Johnson, the chairman of the Boxers Organizers Committee. He attended the funeral for Jose Torres held this past week in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
We spoke about Jose's life, his legacy, and a project in which he was involved, to call a conference of the major players in boxing, including the fighters, to create some unified structure for the sport.
It is free to listen to or download SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, and listen, learn, and enjoy.
Labels: Boxers Organizing Committee, boxing, Chegui, Eddie Goldman, Jose Torres, light heavyweight, New York State Athletic Commission, Paul Johnson, Ponce, Puerto Rico, SecondsOut Radio
