No Holds Barred: Amir Khan, Chris Algieri, Paulie Malignaggi, PBC Figueroa-Burns and McDonnell-Kameda and HBO Canelo-Kirkland Reviews

(Photo of Omar Figueroa and Ricky Burns by Esther Lin/PBC on CBS, photo of Canelo Alvarez and James Kirkland by Ed Mulholland/Golden Boy/Golden Boy via Getty Images)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the Friday, May 29, Premier Boxing Champions card at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, by speaking with Amir Khan, Chris Algieri, and Paulie Malignaggi.

On that card, Amir Khan (30-3, 19 KOs) will face Chris Algieri (20-1, 8 KOs) and Paulie Malignaggi (33-6, 7 KOs) will take on Danny O'Connor (25-2, 9 KOs) in welterweight bouts. These fights will be televised live in the U.S. on Spike TV.

We spoke with Amir Khan, Chris Algieri, and Paulie Malignaggi on a media conference call Wednesday.

This past weekend there were several televised fights, and we review Saturday's action on the PBC on CBS card and the HBO card later that evening.

On the PBC on CBS card, which took place at the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, Omar Figueroa of Texas (25-0-1, 18 KOs) got a close and controversial unanimous decision over Ricky Burns of Scotland (37-5-1, 11 KOs), in a super lightweight fight. Also on that show, the U.K.'s Jamie McDonnell (25-2-1, 12 KOs) defended his WBA bantamweight belt by winning a unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Tomoki Kameda (31-1, 19 KOs), who is from Japan but trains in Mexico.

On the HBO card, which took place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, and as many expected, super welterweight Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) knocked out James Kirkland of Texas (32-2, 28 KOs) in the third round of a slugfest.

We compare the PBC on CBS card to the Canelo-Kirkland fight on HBO, discuss more of the fallout over Pacquiao's claim he was injured during his fight with Floyd Mayweather, rip the mainstream and most of the boxing media for not properly discussing this issue and dealing with doping in boxing, and much more.

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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: Chris Baldwin on the Mayweather-Pacquiao Debacle

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with trainer and fight manager Chris Baldwin.

Based in Los Angeles, she is the head trainer at Baldwin Rocks Fitness.

She was also in Las Vegas to watch the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight on May 2, won by Mayweather by a clear-cut unanimous decision, and had a lot to say about it.

We spoke with Chris Baldwin by phone Wednesday.

For the first few rounds, she said, "Floyd came out and did what people thought he wasn't going to do. He stood in front of Manny and shot jabs at him. He pretty much controlled the center of the ring. And Manny for some odd reason wasn't his normal typical, bouncy, let-me-throw-a-thousand-punches-in-a-fight."

Pacquiao's uncharacteristic lack of effective offense, however, was likely not due to a shoulder injury which after the fight he blamed for his performance, she argued.

"Not once did I hear Manny complain about his shoulder. Not once did I hear [trainer] Freddie [Roach] ask Manny about his shoulder. So that to me was kind of an indication that maybe there wasn't really an injury and that they're just saying this stuff now," she said.

"They make themselves look bad to even say one, you're a sore loser, you didn't congratulate Floyd that he beat you fair and square, I thought. You said you won the fight. And now the excuse is, 'I have this shoulder injury.'"

And, she noted, "Now your integrity is shot. You have no honor. Everything is done for the love of money. To me, it's just a sad, pathetic case."

She also knows quite a bit about Pacquiao and Roach, as for two years she had trained fighters at Roach's Wild Card Gym, and when Pacquiao was training there as well.

We discussed why this fight should have been postponed had Pacquiao really had a serious shoulder injury, her experiences training fighters, how her "passion is boxing", domestic violence and combat sports, the issues of concussions and head trauma, her varied martial arts background, police murders and brutality against Black people, and much, 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.

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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: Charles Farrell on Mayweather-Pacquiao and the Black Code of Fighting

(Photo of Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao by Esther Lin/Showtime)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleague, correspondent, and award-winning boxing writer, Charles Farrell.

He is also co-editor of The Boxing Standard.

We spoke with him by phone Sunday.

Our kickoff, of course, was Saturday's mega-fight, where Floyd Mayweather outpointed and outboxed Manny Pacquiao to win a deserved unanimous decision by scores of 118-110 and 116-112 twice. Mayweather, now the holder of three major welterweight belts, increases his record to 48-0 with 26 KOs, while Pacquiao falls to 57-6-2 with 38 KOs.

Besides evaluating Mayweather's successful neutralizing of Pacquiao's offense and his greater accuracy and volume of punches landed in this fight, we discussed the art of boxing and how Mayweather's performance measured up in this category.

While Charles Farrell said he is "a real advocate of art in boxing," he added that Mayweather "fell short of art" while having a "highly efficient performance." He also said his favorite fighter today is the super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba, whom he called a "supreme artist."

We refuted those who claimed that this fight showed that "boxing is dead" because it was not a bloody brawl with multiple knockdowns ending in one fighter sprawled on the mat.

This fight was a prime example of what Charles Farrell calls the "Black code of fighting". He explained this in depth in his recent pre-fight article "Why Floyd Mayweather Is The Last Of A Kind".

Black code fighting is, he said, "a style that Black fighters developed starting around the turn of the twentieth century. It hit its heyday probably from the 1930s right through the 1950s. And this is a style that Black fighters developed among themselves to keep themselves healthy, to not get hurt, to be able to stay busy because they had to fight a lot to make a living. So it was a style based on efficiency, tremendous defensive skill, the ability to set traps, to lure people into situations where they couldn't do their work. It's a very subtle style."

In it, "You don't do much."

And he said, "In many ways, Floyd Mayweather is just about the last of a long line of fighters who are really proficient at it. And what we saw last night was a good example of that style of fighting."

We also discussed Pacquiao's post-fight excuses about having an injury; his absurd claim that he won the fight; how the many technical problems with the pay-per-view telecast along with the emergence of many streaming video apps will further weaken boxing's pay-per-view model; what may be next for Mayweather in what he says will be the final fight of his career; and much, much more.

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No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

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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: Keisha Morrisey on Expecting the Unexpected in Mayweather-Pacquiao

(Photo of Floyd Mayweather Sr., Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, and Freddie Roach by Esther Lin/Showtime)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleague and correspondent Keisha Morrisey.

She will be traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao mega-fight this Saturday, May 2.

We spoke with her by phone Wednesday.

While the unbeaten Mayweather, at 47-0, goes into this fight the favorite, it is far from a given that he will win this long-awaited battle.

"I'm expecting the unexpected," she said. "Actually I'm a bit nervous. I have butterflies in my stomach, because I think that you have two great fighters here. Manny Pacquiao was really great in the beginning of his career when he first started in boxing. And then he took the loss to [Juan Manuel] Marquez, which was really unexpected to everyone. Sometimes things happen in boxing, so you just never know."

She added, "Floyd is training really hard. Manny has always been a one-sided fighter. So I think that again, anything could happen, but I'm really expecting the unexpected."

We discussed possible scenarios for this fight, including the rendering of a controversial verdict which would set the stage for a lucrative rematch.

While she did not offer a prediction about who will win this fight, she did say, "Something is just not going to be right."

We also discussed her long history of correctly predicting fights through the years including many upsets, the importance of proper training for fighters, the role of trainers Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Freddie Roach in this fight, and much, much more.

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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: Floyd Mayweather Conference Call

(Photo by Esther Lin/Showtime)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman plays the media conference call recorded Wednesday, April 22, featuring Floyd Mayweather. The unbeaten Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) faces Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) in a welterweight title unification mega-fight Saturday, May 2, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. This fight, boxing's most anticipated in years, will be shown live in the U.S. on pay-per-view and televised all around the world, and is expected to shatter all records for revenue and viewership for any pay-per-view event.

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.

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.

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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: Charles Farrell on Stevenson-Bika, Mayweather-Pacquiao Scenarios, and PBC So Far

(Photo credit: Amanda Kwok / PBC on CBS)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleague, correspondent, and award-winning boxing writer, Charles Farrell, who is also co-editor of The Boxing Standard.

The Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series made its debut on CBS in the U.S. on Saturday, April 4, headlined by a fight from Quebec City's Pepsi Coliseum featuring WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson (26-1, 21 KOs) winning a 12-round unanimous decision over Sakio Bika (32-7-3, 21 KOs). This followed PBC cards on March 7 on NBC and March 13 on Spike TV, with many more scheduled in the coming weeks and months.

To discuss these, as well as the May 2 mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas and other upcoming bouts, we spoke with Charles Farrell by phone Sunday.

Regarding the progress of the PBC in its first month of televised cards, he said, "I certainly think that putting them on NBC, CBS, even Spike, opens up the door for a lot of potentially interesting things." While there has been "some but not great success" in the quality and presentation of these cards, there are still numerous problems.

"The one thing that you can't do is you can't necessarily guarantee that you're going to get great fights. And yesterday they had a problem," referring to the Stevenson-Bika fight.

Part of it was "not very good matchmaking" pitting Stevenson against Bika, who has never been knocked out and is known as an awkward and sometimes dirty fighter.

"Adonis Stevenson underperformed in a way that they didn't expect and probably was hard to predict, and he didn't do what he needed to do," he said.

Commentary, much of it ill-informed, is already filling up the sports media about the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. But already there has been some open speculation about one possible scenario in this fight: that the fight goes all 12 rounds, that the unbeaten Mayweather (47-0) deserves to win a clear-cut decision, and that he is robbed of it, thus ensuring an incredibly lucrative rematch.

With high stakes betting taking place on this fight and all the money involved, "The logic is to rob Mayweather," he said. We discussed this scenario as well as several others for this bout.

In addition, we discussed many upcoming fights including this coming Saturday's Garcia-Peterson and Quillin-Lee fights on NBC; why Stevenson must next fight the undefeated Sergey Kovalev; the corporate feel of the PBC cards; problems with the announcers on them; 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.

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: Charles Farrell on PBC on NBC Boxing, Mayweather-Pacquiao, and the State of Boxing

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleague, correspondent, and award-winning boxing writer, Charles Farrell, who is also co-editor of The Boxing Standard.

The return of boxing to network TV in the U.S. and the announcement that the long-awaited mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will take place May 2 have sparked much interest and discussion about the state of boxing.

Saturday's debut PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) on NBC show featured an exciting decision victory by Keith Thurman over Robert Guerrero and a not-so-exciting decision victory by Adrien Broner over John Molina Jr.

According to the Nielsen Ratings, the PBC on NBC telecast averaged 3.4 million viewers, ranking as the most-watched professional boxing broadcast in 17 years (Oscar De La Hoya’s Fight Night on FOX, 5.9 million, Mon., March 23, 1998). Viewership increased every half hour through the telecast and peaked at 4.2 million from 10:30-11 p.m. ET during the final six rounds of the Keith Thurman-Robert Guerrero fight. The PBC on NBC also led NBC to a Saturday primetime victory among adults 18-49, with a 1.08 rating in that demographic. Also, according to NBC Sports, more than 575,000 minutes (576,435) of PBC on NBC coverage was live streamed via NBC Sports Live Extra to desktops, tablets and mobile devices. The show thus has to be considered a ratings success.

We spoke with Charles Farrell by phone Sunday.

"I do think the idea of making competitive fights is a very good idea. I think star-building is a very good idea," he said.

"There's probably interest in trying to resurrect Adrien Broner. I dont think that that happened, and I think maybe they have to think about what to do with Adrien Broner at this point."

He continued, "But they probably did pretty well by Keith Thurman. And my guess is that people who were watching who were casual fans will be inclined to watch the next one. So you give it a passing grade, and I would say at this point we sort of have to wait and see."

As for the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, where Mayweather puts his 47-0 record on the line, we discussed potential outcomes, including one possibility that the fight will end in a highly controversial and disputed decision, thus leading to much antipathy for boxing but also a highly lucrative rematch.

We also discussed the announcing and overall production of the debut PBC on NBC show, the need to present boxing "as boxing" on TV, the decision loss by Chinese fighter Zou Shiming to IBF flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng of Thailand in Macao in China, why boxing seems to rebound after each period of decline, and much, 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.

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.

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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.

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No Holds Barred: Frank Lotierzo on Manny Pacquiao Triumphant

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with the noted boxing writer and historian and former fighter, Frank Lotierzo, about the dominant 11th-round TKO victory by Manny Pacquiao over Miguel Cotto November 14 in Las Vegas.

In an in-depth discussion, we analyze the fight itself, the brilliant use of boxing technique by Manny Pacquiao, the place of Pacquiao in boxing history, the potential for a fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. next year, how the careers of Pacquiao and Mayweather compare, and much more. This is another meaty discussion for fight fans and aficionados, and you do not want to miss it, right here on No Holds Barred.

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.

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No Holds Barred: A Different Kind of Pacquiao-Cotto Preview

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents a preview of the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto welterweight title fight, which takes place Saturday, November 14, in Las Vegas, and will be televised around the world, including on HBO pay-per-view in the U.S.

This is a different kind of preview, however, from that offered almost everywhere else, in that we do not limit ourselves to the question of which fighter stands the best chance of winning this fight in the ring.

We open by noting the damage suffered by the sport of boxing as a whole by placing such major fights on pay-per-view. We play an excerpt of a media conference call held prior to the November 7 Fedor Emelianenko-Brett Rogers mixed martial arts fight, which was telecast live in the U.S. on CBS and was viewed in 5.46 million households, with Kelly Kahl, Senior Executive Vice President, CBS Primetime. He opined why boxing is no longer on network television in the U.S., and why MMA is.

We next play an excerpt from the November 8 edition of The Boxing Truth Radio, hosted by Ricardo Lois and John Chavez, where Eddie Goldman explained the global economic, political, and social factors which work in Pacquiao's favor. This type of analysis is essential to understanding the historical context in which this fight is taking place, and also what factors other than who deserves to win might play a role in the outcome of the fight.

In the longest segment on this edition of No Holds Barred, we discuss this fight with our correspondent, the award-winning boxing writer Charles Farrell. He is of the opinion that Cotto has the best chance of legitimately winning this fight. Cotto, he argues, unlike Pacquiao, is a true welterweight whose power and size should have him prevail. He also dismisses Pacquiao's dominant wins over Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya as victories over shot fighters, which the 28-year-old Cotto is far from being.

We discuss these views, as well as the opposing arguments which favor Pacquiao, regarding both his skills and power as a fighter and the advantages he has with the boxing establishment. While Charles is fairly certain that Cotto will win, Eddie is not, so various possible scenarios for this fight are outlined.

We also discuss what possible fights lie ahead for both men, including the likelihood of the winner facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and these next fights taking place in a major league baseball stadium. And we explain why we have no problem with people watching this fight for free online, even on so-called pirate streams. But we all agree that whichever fighter wins Saturday night, the real winner will be promoter Bob Arum, who promotes both men.

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.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.

Make sure to visit the official boxing forum for No Holds Barred, the MySpace Boxing Forum.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

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No Holds Barred: Frank Lotierzo on Pacquiao-Hatton

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with boxing writer, historian, and former boxer Frank Lotierzo about the crushing second-round knockout victory by Manny Pacquiao over Ricky Hatton Saturday night, May 2, in Las Vegas.

In a lengthy and pointed interview, we discuss the Pacquiao-Hatton fight itself, the historical significance of Pacquiao's victory, whether Pacquiao can be considered an all-time great, the return to boxing of Floyd Mayweather Jr., the July 18 Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez fight, a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown, what fights of note are coming up in the next few months, and much more about the always intriguing and often perplexing world of boxing.

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.

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:

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.

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Why we're getting De La Hoya - Pacquiao

Over the years I've been a huge defender of Oscar De La Hoya. That said, I've never considered Oscar an authentically great fighter, for one reason, he's not. Having said that, I like the fact that Oscar never ducked a fighter who was a perceived threat, nor has he ever fought not to lose or avoid getting hurt. Make no mistake, De La Hoya is tough and has plenty of heart.

In his big fights from 147 an up where the outcome wasn't conclusive, (I say 147 because I feel Oscar won a majority of his fights on the scales from 130-140) I think he drew with Whitaker, pulled the Quartey fight out with a 2-point 12th round, clearly beat Trinidad, and clearly lost to Mosley. I had him beating Mosley by a point at 154 (I saw it on TV, not live), and drawing with Sturm at 160.

I have always felt that De La Hoya thought if he could've beat Bernard Hopkins in 2004, he would've insured and secured his legacy. And since he was stopped by him, he's been looking for a fight to secure his legacy the way Sugar Ray Leonard did by beating Marvin Hagler. Remember, Sugar Ray Leonard is the fighter Oscar most compares and measures himself with.

In my opinion this all stems from De La Hoya never having won one of his signature fights in an impression fashion. I believe that Oscar is still looking for that career defining win, and that was the reason he fought Floyd Mayweather last year, and the reason he's fighting Manny Pacquiao this year. Like Mayweather then, Pacquiao is now considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in boxing. What a great way for Oscar De La Hoya to go out, beating the best fighter in boxing two months before he turns 36. That's why he's fighting Manny. See, Pacquiao is the perfect fit. He's a draw, along with being an exciting fighter, who's fearless and some see him as having a punchers chance....Wrong.

Oscar is too big, strong, and just fluid enough in style to decision Manny Pacquiao on December 6th 2008. He'll make another fortune, and he'll retire having defeated boxing best fighter. To which will cloud the judgment of many fight observers, and enhance his legacy to the ill informed or those having cookbook boxing insight. That's why he's fighting Manny Pacquiao! In a way, he goes out of boxing the way he entered it, beating up on guys smaller than him.

Boxing is Run by Complete Idiots, Part 651,909

After getting sick of having everyone tell me that they couldn’t hear me on my aging cell phone, I finally decided to retire it and replace it with a new one Friday afternoon. The one I had, like Arturo Gatti, was once pretty good and very durable, but it had taken far too much punishment, and was now starting to bleed much too easily.

I went to my favorite T-Mobile store where I have purchased all my phones. I’m quite satisfied with the service, and having been involved in telephone company evaluations in another lifetime, that is quite an endorsement from me (make checks payable to “Eddie Goldman”).

A young man helped me make this cell phone transition, setting up the new phone and handling the paperwork, while we chatted. Judging from his name, he was of either Russian or Eastern European origin, although by his accent he had either been born in America or had moved here a long time ago.

After we had some techie talk about new cell phones coming soon like the Google phone (actually a phone running a Google-devised operating system) and similar stuff, he asked me if I had watched the soccer game yesterday. I said I hadn’t, and, in an instant, added that I watch boxing (interesting that this was my first reaction considering some other sports I cover).

He perked up and said he, too, likes boxing, and asked me whether I liked the heavyweights or the lightweights. I said these days the heavyweights were awful, and that Saturday there would be an interesting lightweight title fight between Manny Pacquiao and David Diaz.

Now one of his co-workers came over to join our little discussion, and he said he expects Pacquiao to win. So here, out of the blue, I had discovered two young, knowledgeable boxing fans.

Then I said to these obviously tech-savvy guys that while the fight was on pay-per-view, you could watch it for free online.

Now my helpful retail sales representative, as I believe they are called, smiled broadly, and nodded. He said he knows all about these sites, and implied that this was how he would watch this fight live.

So there it is once again. Boxing still has a lot more young fans than the ruling networks and promoters realize. These fans just aren’t coughing up 45 or 50 bucks a month to HBO pay-per-view when they can watch these same fights, and even more, for free through a site like SopCast.

When a sport’s business model is based upon relying on obsolete technology that has already been bypassed by new, user-friendly services available to almost anyone with a computer and a high-speed Internet connection, then it needs a major change.

But while I realized that I had to retire and replace my cell phone ASAP, how long will it be before the dinosaurs running this sport will come to a similar conclusion?

By The Way, Pacquiao vs. Marquez 2 Saturday

Is it just me, or is there a surprisingly little amount of buzz for Saturday’s long-delayed rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez? There has been the requisite number of news releases, teleconference calls, e-mails, articles, and even a countdown show, but the anticipation you would think a rematch involving these two top ten fighters, who fought to a split draw almost four years ago, seems lacking.

Perhaps it is because we are still awed by Vazquez-Marquez 3 just two weeks ago, or still disgusted at the two recent heavyweight title fight stinkers. Maybe the incessant use of nationalism to hype fights like this has dampened the enthusiasm of those not from the Philippines or Mexico. Maybe it is a regional issue, with more build-up out West than in the Big Apple, where I roam.

Their first fight, from May 8, 2004, will be replayed in the U.S. on HBO2 Friday, March 14/early Saturday morning March 15, at 12:30 AM (ET/PT), and Saturday, March 15, at 9:30 AM (ET/PT). The rematch, from Las Vegas, is on HBO Pay-Per-View, Saturday night, March 15. It may be expensive, but it should get interesting.