No Holds Barred: The PBC Deluge, Roman Martinez, Orlando Salido, Santa Cruz-Mares Preview

(Photo of Leo Santa Cruz from Suzanne Teresa/Premier Boxing Champions. Photo of Abner Mares from Abel Madrid.)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the deluge of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) shows coming up in the next month, previews the Leo Santa Cruz-Abner Mares fight coming up this Saturday, August 29, and spoke with Roman Martinez and Orlando Salido, who fight on September 12 on the Mayweather-Berto pay-per-view.

According to the PBC's schedule, they will be having a total of ten televised shows in the U.S. between August 29 and September 29, with many more planned in the months to come. All will be live and on non-premium networks, including NBC (2), CBS (1), ESPN (1), Spike (1), Bounce TV (1), and Fox Sports 1 (4), where PBC begins a weekly Tuesday night telecast September 8. Most of these shows are in prime time, with many fights also being shown internationally.

The first of these PBC cards will take place this Saturday, August 29. The feature bout pits Leo Santa Cruz (30-0-1, 17 KOs) against Abner Mares (29-1-1, 15 KOs). This fight will be at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be shown live in the U.S. on ESPN. This will only be the second fight at featherweight for Santa Cruz, who has held belts at bantamweight and super bantamweight. Mares has held belts at bantamweight, super bantamweight, and featherweight, and we discuss the stakes involved in what should be a very competitive fight.

Roman Martinez (29-2-2, 17 KOs), who holds the WBO junior lightweight belt, will have a rematch September 12 with Orlando Salido (42-13-2, 29 KOs) of their April 11, 2015, fight of the year candidate, which Martinez won by unanimous decision. This will be part of the Showtime pay-per-view headlined by the Floyd Mayweather-Andre Berto fight.

We spoke with both Roman Martinez and Orlando Salido on Monday's media conference call.

We also discussed the significance of all this for boxing and televised sports, why this is an important month for PBC, the build-up to the September 12 Mayweather-Berto Showtime pay-per-view, the role of Al Haymon and the future of PBC, 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:

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.

Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

No Holds Barred: Larry Hazzard, Sr. on Why PBC is Good for Boxing

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with the long-time commissioner of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, Larry Hazzard, Sr.

Boxing has been reviving this year, with all-time records being smashed by the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight and overall renewed interest in the sport. In addition to an increase in ratings on the mainly premium TV networks which have telecast boxing in the U.S. for many years, the almost weekly shows in the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series on broadcast and non-premium networks have sparked more awareness of the many boxers featured on these shows.

To discuss these developments, we spoke with Larry Hazzard, Sr. by phone Wednesday. And he is very positive about the PBC, giving it a B+ for its efforts so far.

"These guys are being paid handsome purses," he said, referring to the fighters.

"And it's just a good thing all around. For the fighter, it's a good thing all around for the fans, and it's the greatest thing that has happened to the sport of boxing I would say in the last decade or so."

We discussed how PBC has mainly featured legitimate competition and many fights resulting in upsets, how the use of free TV has helped bring in new sponsors, how fighters are making more money on PBC shows than they ever have, how the focus of the PBC is on the fighters, and more.

As for the critics of the PBC who are bringing legal action against it, and the statement supposedly from the president of the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) calling for U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to investigate the PBC, he minced no words.

"They're full of shit," he said of those in the ABC who oppose PBC. "The ABC doesn't represent New Jersey," he added.

Accusations of violations of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act are baseless, he said, which was a law designed to "stop Don King" a generation ago. The charge that PBC, which is not a promotional entity, uses "sham promoters" is also baseless, as long-time and noted promoters like DiBella Entertainment, Warriors Boxing, TGB Promotions, and even Don King Productions have promoted or co-promoted many PBC shows.

The opposition from rival promoters is because, he said, PBC, with its innovative business plan and use of multiple promoters, has "outsmarted so many of these other promoters." He said he calls PBC "smart business people." And as far as the ABC, he said, "It's all a bunch of b.s., and they know it."

We also discussed what tweaks are needed for the PBC's television presentation and marketing, the possibility of a fight between Floyd Mayweather and Andre Berto, the move to revive boxing in Atlantic City, and much, 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:

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.

No Holds Barred: Keith Thurman, Luis Collazo, PBC at Mid-Year

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs) and former welterweight champion Luis Collazo (36-6, 19 KOs), who fight Saturday, July 11, at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida. This fight will be telecast live in the U.S. on ESPN, and will be the first on that network for the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series.

We spoke with both Keith Thurman and Luis Collazo on Tuesday's media conference call.

We also evaluate the progress of the PBC in the first half of 2015, and conclude that while a number of errors have been made, overall PBC deserves a grade of B or B-, with many more positive accomplishments than negative ones. Still, PBC needs to do more in terms of making stars out of its fighters and creating buzz, as well as utilizing the Internet and social media better than they do now.

While PBC has been running live boxing shows on network and basic cable channels almost every week since March, promoters like Top Rank and Golden Boy, who could not get such exposure despite being around far longer than PBC, have opted to sue PBC, instead of changing their ways. We discuss why these suits are mostly baseless, although the issue of PBC acting as both a promoter and manager for fighters, especially when TV plays such a key role in the business of boxing, will have to be addressed.

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.

No Holds Barred: King Mo on Bellator MMA Dynamite, PBC and Boxing, and Black Lives Matter

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Bellator MMA and American Top Team fighter "King" Mo Lawal.

He will be returning to action on the Bellator MMA: Dynamite!!! card Saturday, September 19, in a four-man, one-night light heavyweight tournament to determine Bellator's number one contender in this division. The other fighters in this tournament are former Bellator champion Emanuel Newton, Linton Vassell, and 2008 NCAA Div. I wrestling champion Phil Davis, who will be making his Bellator debut. This card, which is headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between unbeaten champion Liam McGeary and MMA legend Tito Ortiz, takes place at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, and will be telecast live in the U.S. on Spike.

We spoke with "King" Mo Lawal by phone Friday.

Speaking about potentially, and in his case hopefully, having two fights on the same card, he said that he became aware of this format "when everybody else did, so it still hasn't registered yet. I feel like it will register more when camp starts because I have to maneuver my training a little bit more, because I have to train for two fights, not just one five-round fight."

He continued, "It's just going to be a little different. I have to break my training up differently, so I'm still figuring out how to do that. But I'm looking forward to the challenge. I'm excited there's a possibility of this happening. To me, I always say 'possibility' now, because you never know what's going to happen until the weigh-ins end. So I'm really looking forward to this happening and I'm looking forward to training for it."

"King" Mo is also a big boxing aficionado, having trained with Jeff Mayweather as well as many pro and amateur boxers. He follows boxing very closely, so we also discussed the recent revival of boxing, especially in the U.S., and the role of the controversial Al Haymon and the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series of shows on numerous TV networks.

Saying that in many ways boxing is "the opposite of MMA," he argued that PBC has the "right plan" to build new stars and expose more fans to boxing. Even some of the PBC's fights in which one fighter is heavily favored do not hurt this plan, as he noted that most boxing fans "want knockouts" and that is what will be displayed on PBC's many telecasts on free TV.

He also has taken to social media to comment on the series of racist terror attacks on unarmed Black men and women by police and others which have taken place across the U.S., and the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement. As an African-American and a son of immigrants, he grew up in the American South, he said, and "I've seen it all." We also discussed why many boxers and athletes in other sports have also been outspoken on these issues, while few in MMA have for fear of losing their fan base.

We also discussed how he is helping the legendary Ricardo Liborio prepare for his ADCC superfight with Mario Sperry, how his health is now better than when he had a nasty staph infection and then was taking antibiotics which hindered some of his performances, 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:

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.

No Holds Barred: Andre Berto, Josesito Lopez, PBC on Spike TV

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the Andre Berto-Josesito Lopez welterweight fight and speaks with both fighters about what to expect in their March 13 showdown.

In what is considered a crucial fight in the careers of both men, Andre Berto (29-3, 22 KOs) will face Josesito Lopez (33-6, 19 KOs) on the debut Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) show on Spike TV. This takes place Friday, March 13, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California. The co-feature will have Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs) facing Roberto Garcia (36-3, 23 KOs).

We spoke with both Andre Berto and Josesito Lopez on Monday's media conference call. We also comment on the reception of the PBC's telecasts, how it may plan to recoup the investments made through the various time buys on several TV networks, why PBC is attempting to reduce the usual sleaziness associated with boxing in order to succeed on free TV, and 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.