NO HOLDS BARRED

 

My latest piece, "A Weekend In Front Of The Screen", is up on the No Holds Barred Patreon page.

Labels: boxing, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, streaming, TV, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the November 2 fight between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev, and the ill-conceived decision by streaming service DAZN to delay its start until after a UFC event on another platform was completed. This outraged many in boxing, as the Canelo-Kovalev fight only started after 1 AM Eastern Time. Also discussed are how this was a gross insult to the core audience of boxing fans DAZN has built in the U.S. for the past year, what this might mean for DAZN amidst the very competitive "streaming wars", and much much more.

(Photo of Canelo and Kovalev by Tom Hogan-Hoganphotos/Golden Boy.)

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available at Apple Podcasts.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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 sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

Labels: boxing, DAZN, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, Saul Canelo Alvarez, Sergey Kovalev, streaming

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Scott Coker, president of Bellator MMA.

We spoke with him at the media event announcing the U.S. debut of the streaming service DAZN, which took place in New York Tuesday.

Bellator will provide an important part of DAZN's programming, which in the U.S. at first will feature the combat sports of boxing and MMA.

With DAZN launching September 10, their first live show will be on September 22, and headlined by the heavyweight boxing title fight between unified champion Anthony Joshua and former WBA champion Alexander Povetkin, from London.

DAZN's first live Bellator card will be shown the following week, on September 29, and exclusively in the U.S. on DAZN. It will feature Gegard Mousasi vs. Rory MacDonald in a middleweight title fight, and veterans Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva. Bellator returns to DAZN October 12 with a card headlined by Matt Mitrione vs. Ryan Bader in their heavyweight Grand Prix semifinals, which will be simulcast on the Paramount Network. Bellator, with the new rights fees from DAZN, will be having a ten-man welterweight Grand Prix tournament, also exclusively on DAZN.

Asked about the structure of the arrangement between the Viacom-owned Bellator and DAZN, Scott Coker said, "It's just strictly a license deal, but it allows us to put some of our biggest fights on this platform, because they want to be in the big fight business, and we're going to deliver that. So to me, it was a win-win."

He added, "This is the ground floor. And this will become a full-blown sports channel at some point. But when you talk about combat sports, man, Eddie, what a great value."

By the time DAZN launches in the U.S. in September, it will be available in seven countries.

"I've heard rumors that they're going to expand into another ten countries before the end of next year," he said.

We also discussed the many fights coming up in Bellator, how this deal lets them show pay-per-view level fights on DAZN for the regular monthly fee of US$9.99, Bellator's mix of veteran and up-and-coming fighters including young wrestlers, how Bellator is recruiting top Olympic-level wrestlers, why Fedor Emelianenko is the greatest MMA fighter of all time, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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 sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

Labels: Anthony Joshua, Bellator, boxing, DAZN, Eddie Goldman, MMA, No Holds Barred, Scott Coker, streaming

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with James Rushton, the CEO of the DAZN sports streaming media company.

This week it was announced that DAZN, which is already in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, and Canada, and will soon launch in Italy, would be starting its OTT (over-the-top) streaming service in the U.S. on September 10. The first live offering will be the September 22 card headlined by the heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Alexander Povetkin. About 70 fight nights a year, in both boxing and Bellator MMA, are planned for their U.S. service, with more sports expected to be added in the future. The initial price will be $9.99 a month, with the first month free.

We spoke with James Rushton about DAZN's plans for the U.S. at the kickoff media event in New York on Tuesday.

In addition, we open with a commentary on that media event, and an analysis of what DAZN is offering, why it is impressive, and what they need to do to succeed.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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 sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

Labels: Anthony Joshua, Bellator, boxing, DAZN, Eddie Goldman, James Rushton, MMA, No Holds Barred, streaming

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the new deal reported to be for one billion U.S. dollars between Matchroom Boxing and the Perform Group, the parent company of the sports streaming service DAZN. 32 Matchroom shows will be streamed live in the U.S. exclusively on DAZN, beginning in September.

They claim this will change boxing in the U.S. and around the world. But can it succeed?

The kickoff event for this new venture took place Thursday in New York. To discuss this we spoke with: Simon Denyer, the CEO of Perform Group; undefeated heavyweight contender Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller, who is likely to be featured on these shows; Eddie Hearn, the managing director of Matchroom Boxing; and our colleague Kristal Hart of the "Kristal Hart Show".

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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 sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

Labels: billion dollar deal, boxing, DAZN, Eddie Goldman, Eddie Hearn, Jarrell Big Baby Miller, Kristal Hart, Matchroom, No Holds Barred, OTT, over-the-top, Perform Group, Simon Denyer, streaming

by Eddie Goldman

As a follow-up to my latest show, "No Holds Barred: A Sweet But Dysfunctional September for Boxing", which was posted early Monday, September 4, as anticipated there has been a flurry of announcements Tuesday, September 5. Most of these seem to be quite late in coming.

One of the worst kept secrets in boxing was that on Saturday, October 28, heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will defend his belts against his IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev. That fight has now been officially announced. Joshua had wanted to have a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko, whom he defeated on April 29 in a classic fight by 11th-round TKO, but the 41-year-old Klitschko decided to retire instead.

The Joshua-Pulev fight will take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, and will be shown live in the U.K. on Sky Sports Box Office. Joshua is also contracted to fight on Showtime in the U.S. There was no accompanying announcement about this, so we shall see if they show this fight, and either live or on tape-delay.

While the September 16 Golovkin-Canelo fight was long ago announced as being shown on HBO pay-per-view in the U.S., details of how to watch it in the U.K. on BoxNation have just come out.

From BoxNation:

"'Canelo' Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin on September 16th is exclusively live in the U.K. and Ireland on BoxNation Box Office from just £16.95/€21.95.

"BoxNation's current paying subscribers, and any new customers that wish to subscribe instead of buying it via Box Office, will get the fight as part of their monthly subscription at no extra cost."

The World Boxing Super Series has finally announced a U.K. TV deal, just four days before their first card takes place. These fights will be on ITV, both free-to-air and pay-per-view. But there still is no word on if they will get a TV deal in the U.S.

From the World Boxing Super Series press release:

"MP & Silva are delighted to announce a media rights agreement with ITV to showcase the inaugural 2017/18 season of the World Boxing Super Series starting September 9. ITV will exclusively cover 16 elite boxers competing across 14 different Fight Nights all over the world to see who will claim the Muhammad Ali Trophy.

"The Super Middleweight and Cruiserweight tournaments will be shown on a combination of ITV's free-to-air and pay-per-view platforms with the second Quarter-Final Fight Night featuring Callum Smith vs. Erik Skoglund from Liverpool's Echo Arena to be shown live on ITV4 on September 16.

"The World Boxing Super Series will be of more particular interest to the British audience this season with Chris Eubank Jr. fighting Turkish Avni Yildirim and the all British duel between George Groves and Jamie Cox at The SSE Arena, Wembley in October both being shown on ITV Box Office."

And in an announcement which already has earned the wrath of many fans online, the September 23 fight between WBO heavyweight champ Joseph Parker and Hughie Fury in Manchester, U.K., will be shown in the U.K. and Ireland as a YouTube pay-per-view. Again, there has been no announcement about showing this fight in the U.S.

From the Hennessy Sports press release:

"The blockbuster WBO World Heavyweight Championship title fight between Joseph Parker and Hughie Fury on Saturday 23rd September at the Manchester Arena will be shown exclusively live in the UK and Ireland on YouTube (www.youtube.com/parkerfury) on a pay-per-view basis with further countries to be announced shortly.

"A portion of the undercard will also be streamed for free before the big fight, this is also available live on www.youtube.com/parkerfury. Watch this event anywhere online or on your smart TV, game console, PC, Mac, mobile, tablet and more for a special advance purchase offer price of only £9.99 in the UK and €11.99 in the Republic of Ireland until midnight on Sunday 17th September.*

"youtube.com/parkerfury is the home of Hennessy Sports YouTube Channel which is called The Boxing Channel presented by Hennessy Sports.

"*£14.99 in the UK and €16.99 in the R.O.I from Monday 18th September."

Overall this still seems like a pretty dysfunctional way to get fans to watch boxing. All this reliance on pay-per-view is far inferior to how most other major sports popularize their events through free TV and streaming.

Labels: Anthony Joshua, boxing, Canelo, Golovkin, Hughie Fury, Joseph Parker, Kubrat Pulev, streaming, TV, World Boxing Super Series

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman begins by explaining, once again, how the pay-per-view business model of many boxing and mixed martial arts companies is flawed due to numerous factors, including the growth of streaming on peer-to-peer networks, the declining economy, and more. In particular, the pay-per-view model of the Affliction MMA promotion is critiqued.

In our main interview, which was originally played on SecondsOut Radio, we spoke with the award-winning boxing writer and author, Thomas Hauser of SecondsOut.com.

Recently he wrote a lengthy and sharp critique called "HBO: 2008", which called into question the direction being taken by HBO, the most important television network in boxing.

That article has been widely discussed, and we continued that discussion, both about HBO and the state and future of boxing, on our show this week.

You can listen to No Holds Barred here. Just press the play button on the player. You can also download it here or here.

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

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:

IFL, the International Fight 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. 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: Affliction, Banned, boxing, Eddie Goldman, HBO, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, P2P, pay-per-view, peer-to-peer, SecondsOut Radio, streaming, UFC, ultimate fighting, video