Friday, June 30, 2017
No Holds Barred: John Perretti on the Mayweather-McGregor Scam
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.
Our topic was the absurd boxing match planned for August 26 between the recent top pound-for-pound boxer, Floyd Mayweather, who is 49-0, and UFC fighter Conor McGregor, who is 0-0 in boxing.
We spoke with John Perretti by Skype Thursday.
While most people in boxing circles see this fight as a disgraceful spectacle and money grab with zero chance for McGregor to win, there are many people in MMA circles, who have little or no familiarity with boxing, who actually are true believers that it could be a competitive fight. It was mainly to dispel such notions that we focused our discussion.
"The beauty of boxing is in the rules," he said, "because you cannot hit from the waist down. With not hitting from the waist down, that creates the ability of somebody like Sugar Ray Robinson to be able to do the things that he could do in the ring because he had the mobility of his legs and he had no worries about anybody attacking his legs.
"Now that's where mixed martial arts and kickboxing change the world. And when you land elbows on a guy in boxing, it's illegal. But when you land elbows on a guy in muay Thai, it's perfectly legal.
"So I don't know what this is about," he continued, "but I will tell you that if this goes more than six rounds, there's a reason for it, and it's not because of the prowess of Conor McGregor."
We discussed the possibility that "something odd" may occur in this spectacle, why most boxing people see this fight as a joke but many MMA people don't, the ignorance of boxing and misinformation spread about it by many MMA commentators, why the Nevada commission approved a fight between 49-0 and 0-0 boxers, and much, 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 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.
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.
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: boxing, Conor McGregor, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, John Perretti, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, scam, spectacle
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
No Holds Barred: Heavyweight Waiting
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the long wait for the next moves of boxing's top heavyweights, including Anthony Joshua, Wladimir Klitschko, Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, Joseph Parker, and Luis Ortiz.
(Photo of James Corden, Anthony Joshua, and Russell Brand on "The Late Late Show" courtesy of CBS.)
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 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.
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.
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.
Thanks, Eddie Goldman
EddieGoldman.com
Labels: Anthony Joshua, boxing, Deontay Wilder, Eddie Goldman, heavyweight, Joseph Parker, Luis Ortiz, No Holds Barred, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko
Sunday, June 18, 2017
No Holds Barred: Ward Wins, But Chaos Reigns in Vegas
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses Saturday's controversial stoppage victories of Andre Ward over Sergey Kovalev and Guillermo Rigondeaux over Moises Flores, and how the blundering of the Nevada State Athletic Commission obscured the great performances of these two top-level fighters.
(Photos of Andre Ward and Guillermo Rigondeaux-Moises Flores by Tom Hogan - Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports.)
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 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.
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.
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: Andre Ward, boxing, Eddie Goldman, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Moises Flores, Nevada State Athletic Commission, No Holds Barred, Sergey Kovalev
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
No Holds Barred: Curran Jacobs on 2017 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with the captain of the 2011 Michigan State University wrestling team and current catch wrestler, Curran Jacobs.
His next competition will be at the 2017 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament.
He will be wrestling in the men's 199-pound division and, if he wins that, also in the absolute division.
This event, which had its inaugural edition last year, has emerged as the biggest and most important tournament in the world in catch wrestling.
This year's edition will take place Saturday, July 15, at Humboldt High School in Humboldt, Iowa. Humboldt is the hometown of the legendary wrestler Frank Gotch, who was world heavyweight champion in the early 1900s when professional wrestling was still a real sport.
We spoke with Curran Jacobs by phone Monday.
Catch wrestling, where you win by pin or submission, is an art making a comeback. It can appeal to wrestlers and grapplers from every style, discipline, and ruleset.
"I encourage everybody to learn all aspects of grappling, whether it's catch, whether it's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, judo. It doesn't matter. If you want to be a well-rounded grappler, I encourage everyone to learn it all," said Curran Jacobs.
"However, catch wrestling has a specific ruleset. So for all these Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu guys complaining about the rulesets, the pinning rule, listen, if you don't like it, you don't have to compete in catch wrestling. There are BJJ tournaments out there."
But the potential of catch wrestling has largely been squandered since professional catch wrestling turned completely fake almost a century ago.
"Catch wrestling has the potential to be THE most exciting style of wrestling in the world," he said.
"It's important to me, it's important to everyone involved with the Catch Wrestling Alliance that we bring it back, and we create an NFL for collegiate, high school wrestlers alike, after they graduate, who don't have Olympic aspirations or who don't want to go through with the MMA scene.
"I think catch wrestling is the best outlet for wrestlers."
We also discussed his match at last year's Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament where he defeated Travis Newaza, the role of both pins and submissions in this style of wrestling, why top-level college wrestlers are better suited for catch than MMA, how the best catch wrestlers in the U.S. will be in this tournament, Jon Strickland's online catch wrestling program, plans for the Catch Wrestling Alliance to hold regional tournaments, the need for drug testing in catch wrestling, keeping greed and the antics seen in other combat sports out of catch, the drama and art of catch wrestling, and much, 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 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.
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.
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: catch wrestling, Curran Jacobs, Eddie Goldman, Frank Gotch, Humboldt, Iowa, No Holds Barred, tournament
Tuesday, June 06, 2017
No Holds Barred: Jonny Coleman and Anne Orchier of NOlympics LA
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Jonny Coleman and Anne Orchier, who are organizers from NOlympics LA.
NOlympics LA is a coalition leading a campaign to oppose the 2024 Olympic bid of Los Angeles. It was launched by members of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, and includes and is supported by a growing number of organizations and individuals.
We spoke with Jonny Coleman and Anne Orchier by phone Monday.
"A few of the key issues that we've called out on our platform include accelerated gentrification and displacement," said Anne Orchier. "L.A. has one of the worst affordable housing crises in the nation. Our homelessness crisis is at pretty much an all-time high. We just found out in the last few days, the latest counts for homelessness came out. And we're up 23 percent from last year." Hosting the Olympics, she said, would shift "away attention and resources from dealing with those issues" and "would exacerbate and accelerate those issues."
She also explained how the Olympics has been used to increase the "militarization of police" and "beefing up surveillance capacities and weaponization of the local police forces."
In addition to these issues, Jonny Coleman explained how they are not opposed to Los Angeles hosting the Olympics because they oppose sports, but because they oppose "the money, and the power, and the abuse of power that goes with the billions of dollars that come with the Olympics and that's changing hands."
It is "unchecked capitalism where there is literally no regulation, that corrupts the sports," he said. While such corruption has been well documented in major sports organizations like FIFA and the NFL, "I think the Olympics does it on a much, much grander scale than either of those two."
We also discussed the growth of the international movement against the Olympics; how hosting an Olympics does not benefit youth sports; the exploitation of many athletes who are not paid while sports organizers profit from their efforts; the many criminal elements running international sport; the myth that the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was successful for the people of L.A.; the hundreds of millions of dollars which the taxpayers of Los Angeles and California will be on the hook for with the inevitable cost overruns; why the Olympics has become "historically unpopular" and its "brand is failing"; why they do not want to "dump" the Olympics on the other 2024 bid city of Paris; models for alternative sporting events; what people can do; and much, 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 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.
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.
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: Anne Orchier, Eddie Goldman, Jonny Coleman, Los Angeles, No Holds Barred, NOlympics LA, Olympics
Sunday, June 04, 2017
Muhammad Ali, One Year After His Passing
Muhammad Ali
January 17, 1942 - June 3, 2016
A year after his passing, I have been startled to see the type of new tributes to Muhammad Ali that have appeared. It is not just that these tributes have come now, but that they are so passionate and emotional. There is the tribute by the Syrian hip-hop group Black Bannerz, and the video by Andre Ward, to cite the most impressive ones I've seen.
Yeah, we thought we had seen and heard it all about Ali, right?
But then the filthy Trump got elected, and all sorts of hatred and bigotry burst forth into public view and was made acceptable by very powerful forces. Add to this the regular reports of mass killings, terrorist attacks, and unending wars, and the humanity and humor of Muhammad Ali seem like they were from another world. Maybe, in a sense, they were.
We also have few real heroes in sport or anything else today, so we mourn his loss even more than we might in different circumstances, in a world which was appearing to resolve its crises without compounding them.
It is not so much that we haven't healed from his long-expected death, but that the world today seems to lack anyone like him, or, more importantly, the hope and love he embodied.
The world sure needs you today, champ.
Ali VT - Master (Non TX) from David Finch on Vimeo.
Labels: Eddie Goldman, Muhammad Ali, One Year After His Passing
Thursday, June 01, 2017
No Holds Barred: Raul Ramirez on 2017 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Raul Ramirez of the Catch Wrestling Alliance.
Our main topic was the 2017 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament.
This event, which had its inaugural edition last year, has emerged as the biggest and most important tournament in the world in catch wrestling.
This year's edition will take place Saturday, July 15, at Humboldt High School in Humboldt, Iowa. Humboldt is the hometown of the legendary wrestler Frank Gotch, who was world heavyweight champion in the early 1900s when professional wrestling was still a real sport.
We spoke with Raul Ramirez by phone Wednesday.
This event will feature "authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling, like the way it was done in the 1800s and early 1900s. You can go back and see the old rulebooks," he said. "Basically there are no points, and you can win by pin or submission."
Competition is planned for five men's weight classes and a women's division whose format will be determined depending on how many women sign up for the event.
In addition, this year there will be an absolute division open to the winners in each men's weight class. The winner of the absolute division will take home a $500 cash prize.
Matches will be one fall each with a 20-minute time limit. If time expires before there is a pin or submission, to keep the tournaments going, a winner will be chosen by officials based on who was the most dominant wrestler.
Among the wrestlers so far slated to compete are Curran Jacobs, Travis Wiuff, Christopher Morales, Nicholas "The Giant" Caggia, and Qin Yunquan.
We discussed the development of this event, the differences and similarities between catch wrestling and other styles like American folkstyle and freestyle, plans to live stream and record the video of this event, how more schools and wrestlers are training in catch wrestling than previously, the need to revive real professional wrestling with catch rules, his teaching catch wrestling to many grapplers and wrestlers in Singapore, the involvement of many members of the wrestling community in Iowa in this event, the need for drug testing in catch wrestling, 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 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.
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.
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: catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, Frank Gotch, Humboldt, Iowa, No Holds Barred, Raul Ramirez, tournament