NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with boxers Anthony Joshua and Dominic Breazeale, and Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Showtime Sports, and Eddie Hearn, President of Matchroom Sports, about the June 25 Joshua-Breazeale fight and the future of boxing and the heavyweight division.

The fight between the IBF champ Joshua (16-0, 16 KOs) and the challenger Breazeale (17-0, 15 KOs) headlines a card at The O2 in London, which will be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office in the U.K. and on Showtime in the U.S.

While both fighters are thus far unbeaten as pros, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Joshua is a big favorite in this fight. Joshua is viewed by many as the heir apparent to the title of world heavyweight champion, and as the next major international superstar in boxing.

We spoke with them on a media conference call Wednesday.

With all the hype and prognostications about his future, Anthony Joshua is trying to stay focused on one thing: boxing.

"I only see great things if I stay locked away in the gym," he said.

For his part, Dominic Breazeale is not intimidated by the hoopla surrounding his opponent.

"It's great," he said. "All the distractions are on Anthony. It's something he's got to deal with."

And we discussed when Anthony Joshua might fight in America, his new deal with Showtime, and more.

(Photos by Lawrence Lustig.)

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Labels: Anthony Joshua, boxing, Dominic Breazeale, Eddie Goldman, Eddie Hearn, heavyweight, No Holds Barred, Showtime, Sky Sports, Stephen Espinoza

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents Friday's conference call featuring Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Showtime Sports, and Ken Hershman, President, HBO Sports.

It was just announced Friday evening that what will easily be the biggest fight in decades, Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, has been signed and will take place May 2. Similar to the 2002 Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson fight, this will be a joint pay-per-view by Showtime and HBO.

Many more details need to be announced and in fact settled, but this fight, a welterweight title fight, has now been signed and is official. On this hastily-announced conference call, both Showtime's Espinoza and HBO's Hershman discussed some of what has been agreed upon and what remains to be done, including announcements of who will be the commentators for the joint telecast.

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: boxing, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, HBO, Ken Hershman, Manny Pacquiao, No Holds Barred, Showtime, Stephen Espinoza