NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the news about real boxing taking place the weekend of July 15, which has been mostly drowned out by the contrived propaganda in the 'media' about the August 26 circus fight.

This Saturday, July 15, Chris Eubank Jr. fights Arthur Abraham in London to secure a spot in super middleweight tournament of the World Boxing Super Series. This will be shown on ITV pay-per-view in the U.K.

In the U.S., the unbeaten Omar Figueroa Jr. returns from an extended injury layoff to face veteran Robert Guerrero in Uniondale, New York. This will be shown on PBC on Fox and Fox Deportes.

There will also be an HBO tripleheader from the Forum in Inglewood, California. WBC super featherweight champ Miguel Berchelt will fight former champ Takashi Miura, WBA super featherweight champ Jezreel Corrales will fight Robinson Castellanos, and light heavyweight Joe Smith Jr. will face Sullivan Barrera.

We also discuss the press conference announcing the September 23 fight between WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker and Hughie Fury, and the announcement by Hayemaker Ringstar, the joint venture between David Haye and promoter Richard Schaefer, of their TV rights deal with UKTV, the biggest multichannel broadcaster in the UK, for its entertainment channel Dave.

(Photo of Chris Eubank Jr. and Arthur Abraham courtesy of Poxon Sports. Photo of Miguel Berchelt and Takashi Miura card from Golden Boy Promotions. Photo of Omar Figueroa and Robert Guerrero from Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment.)

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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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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: Arthur Abraham, boxing, Chris Eubank Jr., Eddie Goldman, Hayemaker Ringstar, Hughie Fury, Joseph Parker, Miguel Berchelt, No Holds Barred, Omar Figueroa, Robert Guerrero, Takashi Miura

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses this coming Saturday's welterweight title fight between Danny Garcia and Robert Guerrero, and the urgent need for tournaments in boxing, particularly in the welterweight and heavyweight divisions.

This Saturday, January 23, Danny Garcia (31-0, 18 KOs) faces Robert Guerrero (33-3-1, 18 KOs) for the vacant WBC welterweight title. This fight takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and will be televised live in the U.S. on Fox in English and Fox Deportes in Spanish. This will be the first time the Premier Boxing Champions series (PBC) airs on the Fox network.

We spoke with both Danny Garcia and Robert Guerrero on their January 7 media conference call to get their views on how this fight will go, including their predictions.

With the retirement of Floyd Mayweather and the loss by Wladimir Klitschko to Tyson Fury, both the welterweight and heavyweight divisions are wide open right now. Yet boxing's Wild West anarchy of rival and uncooperative TV networks, promoters, and sanctioning bodies make it very difficult if not impossible for one fighter in each division to emerge as the universally-recognized champion. We discuss why tournaments are especially important now, why the PBC in particular needs to feature them in order to build up stars and bolster mediocre ratings, the reaction to this past Saturday's Wilder-Szpilka and Martin-Glazkov heavyweight title fights, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

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, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free 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 free to listen to and is sponsored by:

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: boxing, Danny Garcia, Eddie Goldman, heavyweight, No Holds Barred, PBC, Premier Boxing Champions, Robert Guerrero, tournaments, welterweight

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with boxers Robert Guerrero, Aron Martinez, Dominic Breazeale, and Yasmany Consuegra, who will be featured on the PBC on NBC broadcast this Saturday, June 6.

In the main event, the veteran Guerrero (32-3-1, 18 KOs) takes on the underdog Martinez (19-3-1, 4 KOs) in a welterweight bout scheduled for ten rounds. In the co-feature, two unbeaten heavyweight prospects, U.S. Olympian Breazeale (14-0, 13 KOs) and Cuban native Consuegra (17-0, 14 KOs) face off, also in a bout scheduled for ten rounds.

This card takes place Saturday, June 6, at the StubHub Center In Carson, California. It will be televised live and for free in the U.S. on NBC, starting at 3 PM EDT/noon PDT. This is the latest card in the Premier Boxing Champions series, which airs on several TV networks.

We spoke with Robert Guerrero, Aron Martinez, Dominic Breazeale, and Yasmany Consuegra on a media conference call Tuesday.

We also comment on how the PBC series, with some exceptions, has been putting on many competitive match-ups, how they have featured several high-profile upsets and fights which have developed in unexpected ways, how their plan is to build the stars of the future through exposure on free TV rather than through the much smaller audiences watching premium cable networks, and why the PBC cards overall have become must-see television.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

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, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free 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 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.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Labels: Aron Martinez, boxing, Dominic Breazeale, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, PBC on NBC, Robert Guerrero, Yasmany Consuegra

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleague, correspondent, and award-winning boxing writer, Charles Farrell, who is also co-editor of The Boxing Standard.

The return of boxing to network TV in the U.S. and the announcement that the long-awaited mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will take place May 2 have sparked much interest and discussion about the state of boxing.

Saturday's debut PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) on NBC show featured an exciting decision victory by Keith Thurman over Robert Guerrero and a not-so-exciting decision victory by Adrien Broner over John Molina Jr.

According to the Nielsen Ratings, the PBC on NBC telecast averaged 3.4 million viewers, ranking as the most-watched professional boxing broadcast in 17 years (Oscar De La Hoya’s Fight Night on FOX, 5.9 million, Mon., March 23, 1998). Viewership increased every half hour through the telecast and peaked at 4.2 million from 10:30-11 p.m. ET during the final six rounds of the Keith Thurman-Robert Guerrero fight. The PBC on NBC also led NBC to a Saturday primetime victory among adults 18-49, with a 1.08 rating in that demographic. Also, according to NBC Sports, more than 575,000 minutes (576,435) of PBC on NBC coverage was live streamed via NBC Sports Live Extra to desktops, tablets and mobile devices. The show thus has to be considered a ratings success.

We spoke with Charles Farrell by phone Sunday.

"I do think the idea of making competitive fights is a very good idea. I think star-building is a very good idea," he said.

"There's probably interest in trying to resurrect Adrien Broner. I dont think that that happened, and I think maybe they have to think about what to do with Adrien Broner at this point."

He continued, "But they probably did pretty well by Keith Thurman. And my guess is that people who were watching who were casual fans will be inclined to watch the next one. So you give it a passing grade, and I would say at this point we sort of have to wait and see."

As for the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, where Mayweather puts his 47-0 record on the line, we discussed potential outcomes, including one possibility that the fight will end in a highly controversial and disputed decision, thus leading to much antipathy for boxing but also a highly lucrative rematch.

We also discussed the announcing and overall production of the debut PBC on NBC show, the need to present boxing "as boxing" on TV, the decision loss by Chinese fighter Zou Shiming to IBF flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng of Thailand in Macao in China, why boxing seems to rebound after each period of decline, and much, 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.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Adrien Broner, boxing, Charles Farrell, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, John Molina, Keith Thurman, Manny Pacquiao, NBC, No Holds Barred, PBC, Robert Guerrero

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the audio from the inaugural news conference for the new Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series on NBC.

This news conference took place Wednesday, January 14, at NBC's studio 8H, the home of "Saturday Night Live", at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York.

The return of major boxing shows to network television in the U.S. will start with a card on Saturday, March 7. Thus far announced are matches featuring Keith Thurman (24-0, 21 KOs) vs. Robert Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KOs), and Adrien Broner (29-1, 22 KOs) vs. John Molina Jr. (27-2, 22 KOs). On April 11, Danny Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs) will face Lamont Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs).

For this year, there will be 20 live "PBC on NBC" events. This will include five Saturday primetime shows on NBC, six Saturday afternoon shows on NBC, and nine Saturday primetime shows on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), with specific dates and times to be announced.

There will also be Spanish-language audio and video coverage of these cards, as well as video streaming on NBC Sports Live Extra via their TV Everywhere service.

In this Premier Boxing Champions venture, NBC is working with Haymon Boxing and its head, boxing manager Al Haymon.

The news conference featured Jon Miller, the President of Programming for NBC Sports and NBCSN; a video from sportscaster Al Michaels, who will be the host of these prime time shows on NBC; boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, who will be the lead analyst on these shows; award-winning composer Hans Zimmer, who will be in charge of composing the music for these shows; Lamont Jones, Vice President of Operations for Haymon Boxing Management; introductions of the fighters; and a short video on the history of boxing on NBC radio and TV.

Of particular note were these announcements by Lamont Jones: "With the support of the United States Anti‑Doping Agency, each boxer who competes in a PBC bout will be subjected to rigorous Olympic‑style random drug testing. With the involvement of the Cleveland Clinic, each boxer who competes in a PBC bout will benefit from evaluations by staff physicians from the clinic. And the PBC series will support the clinic's important Professional Fighter’s Brain Health Study."

We will also have several individual interviews from this news conference posted shortly.

We also open with a commentary on how this can all be a game-changer for the oft-beleaguered sport of boxing.

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.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia, Eddie Goldman, John Molina Jr., Keith Thurman, Lamont Peterson, NBC. Al Haymon, No Holds Barred, PBC, Premier Boxing Champions, Robert Guerrero

(Photo by Tom Casino/Showtime)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the major fights in boxing held Saturday, May 4, and why, despite some brilliant performances, they were all showcase fights, and the fighters who were supposed to win all won, one way or another.

In those fights, welterweight and pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. won a unanimous decision over Robert Guerrero in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, while heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko scored a sixth-round knockout over Francesco Pianeta in Mannheim, Germany. Also in Las Vegas, Abner Mares won by a somewhat controversial ninth-round TKO over Daniel Ponce De Leon, Leo Santa Cruz stopped veteran Alexander Munoz with a TKO in the fifth round, and J'Leon Love survived a knockdown to win a controversial split decision over Gabriel Rosado.

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.

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Labels: boxing, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, No Holds Barred, Robert Guerrero, Wladmir Klitschko

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our colleague, correspondent, and award-winning boxing writer, Charles Farrell.

Charles is also co-editor of The Boxing Standard.

The eyes of the combat sports world and the sports world in general will be focused on boxing this weekend, as two of the top fighters in the world are in action Saturday, May 4. Welterweight and pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. will face Robert Guerrero in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, while heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko will fight Francesco Pianeta in Mannheim, Germany.

Charles, however, reserved his highest praise for the top 122-pound fighter in the world, Guillermo Rigondeaux, who won an impressive decision victory over Nonito Donaire April 13 in New York.

"I was more than impressed," Charles said of this fight, in an interview recorded Thursday by phone. "I'm comfortable saying that it's the best performance I've seen by anybody in the last half-decade." He added, "That was a performance for the ages. It was a virtuoso performance."

We discussed why and how Rigondeaux was so brilliant in this fight, as well as the myriad of supposed boxing experts and writers who panned it and just did not understand what Rigondeaux was doing to dominate Donaire.

Neither of us expect anything close to an upset in the Mayweather-Guerrero or Klitschko-Pianeta fights, which we also discussed, as well as the careers of both Mayweather and Wladimir and his brother, Vitali Klitschko. We also discussed whether more people will watch Mayweather-Guerrero or Klitschko-Pianeta, why the Abner Mares-Daniel Ponce de Leon featherweight fight might steal the show featuring Mayweather, a relatively impressive performance by heavyweight Bermane Stiverne against Chris Arreola last week, why the best TV boxing commentary in the U.S. is by present and former fighters, 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.

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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: boxing, Charles Farrell, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Klitschko, No Holds Barred, Robert Guerrero

SecondsOut Radio with Eddie Goldman

On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman provides a show chock full of fighter interviews about the major fights coming up next weekend, which will be one of the busiest in boxing this year.

Before speaking with the fighters who are entering the ring in the coming week, we got comments from Floyd Mayweather (38-0, 24 KOs), who takes on Ricky Hatton (43-0, 31 KOs) December 8 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. We asked him how he would like the boxing media to improve its coverage of the sport. Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, which is co-promoting this fight along with Golden Boy Promotions, also commented on Floyd's coverage in the mainstream media. Mayweather-Hatton will be shown in the US on HBO Pay-Per-View.

This coming Saturday, November 3, the long-awaited showdown between the two undefeated super middleweight champions, Joe Calzaghe (43-0, 32 KOs) from Newbridge, Wales, and Mikkel Kessler (39-0, 29 KOs) from Copenhagen, Denmark, takes place at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. We spoke with Joe Calzaghe about his approach to technique and what to expect in this fight. Calzaghe-Kessler will be shown live in the US on HBO and on the subscription channel Setanta in Britain.

Saturday, November 3, will also see an important title doubleheader coming from the Desert Diamond Casino, n Sahuarita, Arizona, near Tucson. On that card, which will be shown live in the US on Showtime, another one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (47-3-1, 35 KOs) defends his belt against Rocky Juarez (27-3, 19 KOs). Also on that card, IBF featherweight champion Robert Guerrero (20-1-1, 13 KOs) defends his belt against Martin Honorio (24-3-1, 12 KOs).

We spoke with Juan Manuel Marquez, Rocky Juarez, Robert Guerrero, and Martin Honorio to hear what they expect to happen this coming Saturday night.

The night before these competing HBO and Showtime telecasts, a heavyweight crossroads fights takes place between the undefeated Eddie Chambers (29-0, 16 KOs) and former world title challenger Calvin Brock (31-1, 23 KOs). This will be shown live in the US on the ShoBox: The New Generation series on Showtime Friday, November 2, from the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash. We got comments from both Eddie Chambers and Calvin Brock about what to expect Friday night.

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, Calvin Brock, Eddie Chambers, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, HBO, Joe Calzaghe, Juan Manuel Marquez, Martin Honorio, Ricky Hatton, Robert Guerrero, Rocky Juarez, SecondsOut Radio, Showtime