No Holds Barred: Michael Marley on Manny Pacquiao Conference Call, Mayweather-Pacquiao, and the Media

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with veteran boxing journalist Michael Marley.

Marley, who currently writes for the Examiner.com, also tried to speak by asking a question on Monday's media conference call featuring Manny Pacquiao, trainer Freddie Roach, and promoter Bob Arum, to publicize the May 2 Mayweather-Pacquiao mega-fight. But just minutes into the call, and after apparent confusion and general disorganization on it, Arum abruptly ended the call, and only right after the call's operator announced that the first question would be from Michael Marley. Arum interrupted the operator with an expletive, and said they should "reorganize" and that the call should be rescheduled. So the call was stopped prematurely.

We spoke with Michael Marley by phone Monday shortly after this abbreviated conference call, which we also play on this show.

"I wasn't looking to make a scene or anything. I just had a question I have in mind which I think is a valid question," he said.

"I wanted to ask Manny Pacquiao how he could believe or think or say that he can knock out or stop Mayweather, because the fact is that, all due respect to Pacquiao, a great champion, he'll be fighting one of the greatest defensive fighters ever. And that's coupled with the fact that Manny hasn't knocked anybody out since November 14th of 2009, when he stopped Miguel Cotto in the 12th round."

We went on to discuss what might happen in the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight and why he expects that this will be the first of what will become a trilogy of fights.

We also discussed the reduction of free access for the media to cover and interview fighters compared with the past, how this has only hurt boxing, his many years of experience in working with promoter Don King and in the media, 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:

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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No Holds Barred: John Perretti on the Pacquiao-Bradley Debacle and Scandal

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our senior correspondent and the veteran martial artist John Perretti.

This past Saturday, June 9, once again we saw an outrageous decision in a major boxing match held in Las Vegas, Nevada. With about 99 percent of those watching the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight agreeing that Pacquiao had clearly won the 12-round fight, two of the three judges incredibly gave it to Bradley, giving him a split decision victory, and again exposing the horrific governance in the sport of boxing.

We spoke with John Perretti Monday afternoon by phone about boxing's latest debacle and scandal. We discussed the issue of whether this absurd verdict was the result of incompetence or corruption, and what we actually know now. We examined the role of gambling in fixing results in sports in general. We discussed why having the Nevada authorities investigate this, as promoter Bob Arum has called for, is, in John Perretti's words, like having "Hitler investigate Mussolini."

We also discussed the role of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the need for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate this matter, and the need for a U.S. National Combat Sports Commission to oversee professional boxing, mixed martial arts, and kickboxing. We noted the importance of social media in recording and mobilizing popular outrage about this scandal, why this will make it much harder for this debacle to be forgotten with time, and much more.

In addition, we open by presenting an update on the memorial activities for Grand Master Roger Clark, who passed last week at age 47 from a heart attack. In his honor, there will be a free memorial martial arts seminar this Saturday, June 16, at I.S. 292 at 301 Vermont Street in Brooklyn, New York.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

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", by Ian Carpenter.

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/.