No Holds Barred: Danny Garcia, Robert Guerrero, Why Boxing Needs Tournaments Now

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses this coming Saturday's welterweight title fight between Danny Garcia and Robert Guerrero, and the urgent need for tournaments in boxing, particularly in the welterweight and heavyweight divisions.

This Saturday, January 23, Danny Garcia (31-0, 18 KOs) faces Robert Guerrero (33-3-1, 18 KOs) for the vacant WBC welterweight title. This fight takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and will be televised live in the U.S. on Fox in English and Fox Deportes in Spanish. This will be the first time the Premier Boxing Champions series (PBC) airs on the Fox network.

We spoke with both Danny Garcia and Robert Guerrero on their January 7 media conference call to get their views on how this fight will go, including their predictions.

With the retirement of Floyd Mayweather and the loss by Wladimir Klitschko to Tyson Fury, both the welterweight and heavyweight divisions are wide open right now. Yet boxing's Wild West anarchy of rival and uncooperative TV networks, promoters, and sanctioning bodies make it very difficult if not impossible for one fighter in each division to emerge as the universally-recognized champion. We discuss why tournaments are especially important now, why the PBC in particular needs to feature them in order to build up stars and bolster mediocre ratings, the reaction to this past Saturday's Wilder-Szpilka and Martin-Glazkov heavyweight title fights, 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:

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

No Holds Barred: Deontay Wilder, Artur Szpilka, Post-Klitschko Era Heavyweights

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the first big fight of 2016, the January 16 heavyweight title fight between WBC champ Deontay Wilder (35-0, 34 KOs) and Artur Szpilka (20-1, 15 KOs). Also discussed is the volatile state of the heavyweight division following Wladmir Klitschko's loss to Tyson Fury, and who may emerge as the universally regarded best heavyweight.

The Deontay Wilder-Artur Szpilka fight will be held Saturday, January 16, 2016, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and will be telecast live in the U.S. on Showtime. We spoke with Deontay Wilder and Artur Szpilka on a recent media conference call.

We also discuss the dangers of head trauma and doping in boxing, the importance of the role played by VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association), the mixed results for the first year of the Premier Boxing Champions in 2015, 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:

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

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.
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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: Charles Farrell on Cotto-Canelo and PBC

(Photo credit: Tom Hogan - Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports/Golden Boy Promotions)

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.

Our main focus was the major fight card taking place this Saturday, November 21, as Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs) takes on Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This card will be shown live in the U.S. on HBO pay-per-view and in the U.K. on BoxNation, as well as on many other networks around the world.

We spoke with Charles Farrell by phone Thursday.

"Were they both in their prime and were they both fighting at 147, I would go with Cotto. He's a better fighter. He's more versatile. He is actually the better puncher of the two," he said.

"But I think at this point it's a question of their respective arcs, where each one of them is heading. And I think it's a propitious time for Alvarez."

He continued, "I think that Cotto will start well. He's a good boxer, and Alvarez is a slow starter. But the years and the abuse that he's going to take from Alvarez, who is a good body puncher, are going to catch up with him. And I don't think anybody is going to sit around and let him take too much abuse. So my guess is eight or nine rounds."

Besides discussing more on this fight and the pay-per-view card, we delved into our continuing analysis of the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), which has been running numerous fight cards on non-pay TV in the U.S. since March. We discussed PBC's stagnant and sometimes sagging TV ratings, how PBC has offered many competitive and exciting fights and upsets, how PBC has good matchmaking but has not been good at star-making, 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:

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 12 and 13, 2015, for the sixth annual MMA World Expo, featuring submission-only grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13, 2015, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

No Holds Barred: Marv Albert, Sugar Ray Leonard, and BJ Flores on the Heavyweights and Wilder-Duhaupas

(Photo of Deontay Wilder and Johann Duhaupas from Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions.)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Marv Albert, Sugar Ray Leonard, and BJ Flores, who will be the announcers on the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC telecast this Saturday, September 26.

In the main event of that show, WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder (34-0, 33 KOs) faces Johann Duhaupas (32-2, 20 KOs) of France. This will be shown live in the U.S. in primetime on the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC telecast from the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, Wilder's home state.

NBC's promotion of this show has received much criticism, as their press material claims that this is "the first heavyweight title bout in primetime on NBC since May 20, 1985, when another undefeated American heavyweight champion, Larry Holmes, defended his title against Carl Williams in Reno, Nevada. Albert, who will handle blow-by-blow on Saturday, called the fight."

It is well-known that the real top heavyweight in the world today is Wladimir Klitschko, who holds virtually every other belt except the WBC one, which was until recently held by his brother, Vitali, who is now retired as a boxer, and that Wladimir has been undefeated in over 11 years.

Thus, we present an excerpt from a media conference call of Tuesday, September 22, on which we discussed with Marv Albert, Sugar Ray Leonard, and BJ Flores the role of nationalism in promoting fighters, the state of the heavyweight division, and 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:

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 12 and 13, 2015, for the sixth annual MMA World Expo, featuring two days of the Renzo Gracie Open 2015 no-gi and gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13, 2015, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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: Deontay Wilder, Johann Duhaupas, The Heavyweights

(Photos of Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte by Lawrence Lustig. Photo of Wladimir Klitschko and Eddie Goldman by Keisha Morrisey.)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with heavyweights Deontay Wilder and Johann Duhaupas, who fight this Saturday, September 26, and reviews the state of boxing's heavyweight division.

Wilder (34-0, 33 KOs), who holds the WBC heavyweight belt, faces Duhaupas (32-2, 20 KOs) of France in the main event of the prime time Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC telecast from the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, Wilder's home state.

We also discuss how the real and only heavyweight champion of the world today is Wladimir Klitschko, who holds just about every belt except the one Wilder has. We also discuss the many heavyweight contenders, including Tyson Fury, WBC mandatory number one challenger Alexander Povetkin, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Bermane Stiverne, Luis Ortiz, Erkan Teper, and others, as well as unbeaten U.K. fighters Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, who face each other December 12 in the O2 Arena in London.

We spoke with both Deontay Wilder and Johann Duhaupas on this past Thursday's media conference call.

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:

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 12 and 13, 2015, for the sixth annual MMA World Expo, featuring two days of the Renzo Gracie Open 2015 no-gi and gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13, 2015, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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: Santa Cruz Stars in PBC's Biggest Triumph

(Photos by Suzanne Teresa, Premier Boxing Champions)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the Leo Santa Cruz-Abner Mares and Julio Ceja-Hugo Ruiz fights on the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) card from the Staples Center in Los Angeles held Saturday, August 29. This card was shown live in the U.S. on ESPN.

In the main event, Santa Cruz (31-0-1, 17 KOs) won a majority decision over Mares (29-2-1, 15 KOs) in a 12-round featherweight fight. In this incredible fight, over 2000 punches were thrown, with Santa Cruz landing 373 of 1057 thrown, and Mares landing 227 of 980 thrown.

In the co-feature, Julio Ceja (30-1, 27 KOs) rebounded from a third-round knockdown to win by TKO over Hugo Ruiz (35-2, 30 KOs) at 2:34 of the fifth round in their super bantamweight fight.

We discuss why this fight makes Santa Cruz a major star and top pound-for-pound fighter in boxing, how this was PBC's best show since they started running in March of this year, why PBC need better announcing, 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: 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: Tarver-Cunningham and the Trap of Trash Talk

(Photo of Steve Cunningham and Naazim Richardson from Ed Diller/DiBella, photo of Antonio Tarver courtesy of Showtime)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the fights between heavyweights Antonio Tarver and Steve Cunningham, and cruiserweights Marco Huck and Krysztof Glowacki, and discusses the odious trash talk which has accompanied the buildup for the Tarver-Cunningham fight.

In the main event of a card to be held on Friday, August 14, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, the 46-year-old Antonio Tarver (31-6, 22 KOs), the former unified light heavyweight champion, will continue his improbable campaign to gain a heavyweight title as he faces the 39-year-old former cruiserweight world champion, Steve Cunningham (28-7, 13 KOs). In his last fight, in December 2014, Tarver scored a seventh-round knockout win over heavyweight contender Johnathon Banks. In March of this year, Cunningham lost a close and controversial decision to unbeaten heavyweight contender Vyacheslav Glazkov, a fight many thought Cunningham deserved to win.

While these two veteran fighters try to advance in the heavyweight rankings, the co-feature will have WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (38-2-1, 26 KOs) defending his belt against unbeaten challenger Krysztof Glowacki (24-0, 15 KOs) of Poland. Huck, originally from Serbia and based in Germany, has only one loss in his career at cruiserweight: a 2007 TKO stoppage at the hands of Steve Cunningham.

This card, part of the Premier Boxing Champions series, will be shown live in the U.S. on Spike TV.

We spoke with Antonio Tarver, Steve Cunningham, Marco Huck, and Krysztof Glowacki on a recent acrimonious media conference call.

We also explain why the Tarver-Cunningham fight is important and interesting on its own merits, why resorting to trash talk only promotes negative values, why even from a business perspective the trash talk is bad for boxing and the Premier Boxing Champions series, 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: 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 Ward, Paul Smith, Shawn Porter, Errol Spence Jr.; Plus Bob Mayeri on Wilder-Molina

(Photograph of Deontay Wilder and Eric Molina by Bob Mayeri)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews this Saturday's Andre Ward-Paul Smith, Shawn Porter-Adrien Broner, and Errol Spence Jr.-Roberto Garcia fights, and reviews with our correspondent Bob Mayeri this past Saturday's Deontay Wilder-Eric Molina fight.

The 2004 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward, with a spotless record of 27-0 and 14 KOs, and still holding a super middleweight title, will be returning to the ring after an absence of 19 months, due to injuries and legal battles. His opponent in what he refuses to call a tune-up fight is British fighter and TV commentator Paul Smith (35-5, 20 KOs), who is coming off two consecutive close losses to slugger Arthur Abraham. This fight will take place at a catch weight of 172 pounds.

The Andre Ward-Paul Smith fight headlines a Throne Boxing card, presented by Roc Nation Sports, this Saturday, June 20, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. It will be televised live in the U.S. on BET and streamed globally on Tidal.com at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT, as well as shown in the U.K. on Sky Sports.

Earlier the same day, former world champion Shawn Porter (25-1-1, 16 KOs) will face another former world champion, Adrien Broner (30-1, 22 KOs), in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions on NBC (PBC on NBC) card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This fight, also at a catch weight, will be at a limit of 144 pounds. The co-feature will have unbeaten prospect Errol Spence Jr. (16-0, 13 KOs) facing veteran Roberto Garcia (37-3, 23 KOs) in a ten-round welterweight bout.

The PBC on NBC telecast, this Saturday, June 20, begins in the U.S. at 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT, and will also be shown in the U.K. on Sky Sports.

We spoke with Andre Ward, Paul Smith, Shawn Porter, and Errol Spence Jr. on Monday's media conference calls.

In his comments, Andre Ward discussed what needs to happen for him to become a mega-star like Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Paul Smith explained why he is inspired to do his best in this fight, even though the card is aimed at showcasing the return of Andre Ward.

Shawn Porter discussed what he has learned in his career and why he believes he will defeat Adrien Broner. Broner no-showed the conference call. Also, Errol Spence Jr. discussed why Roberto Garcia is the most experienced and one of the toughest fighters he will face. Garcia was unavailable for the conference call.

In addition, we spoke about the ninth-round knockout win by WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder (34-0, 33 KOs) over journeyman Eric Molina (23-3, 17 KOs) this past Saturday, June 13, in Birmingham, Alabama, with Bob Mayeri, who was covering and photographing that fight live in the Bartow Arena. We also discussed what might be next for Wilder, how he might fare against the top heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko, and what might be learned by those running the sport of wrestling from the promotion of this fight.

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 Dirrell, James DeGale, Plus Golovkin-Monroe and Chocolatito-Sosa Reviews, PBC vs. HBO

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the May 23 Andre Dirrell vs. James DeGale fight, and comments on the May 16 HBO Boxing telecast.

On Saturday, May 23, Andre Dirrell of the U.S. (24-1, 16 KOs) takes on James DeGale of the U.K. (20-1, 14 KOs) at Boston University's Agganis Arena in a fight for the vacant IBF super middleweight belt. This fight, part of the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series, will be shown live Saturday afternoon in the U.S. on NBC, and live Saturday night in the U.K. on Sky Sports.

Both Dirrell, a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, and DeGale, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist, will be trying to capture their first world title. DeGale will also try to become the first British Olympic gold medalist to win a pro world title.

We spoke with both Andre Dirrell and James DeGale on a media conference call Thursday.

On Saturday, May 16, HBO telecast two title fights showcasing undefeated star fighters. Middleweight champ Gennady "GGG" Golovkin of Kazakhstan (33-0, 30 KOs) scored his 20th straight stoppage by dispatching overmatched and light-hitting challenger Willie Monroe Jr. of the U.S. (19-2, 6 KOs) by sixth-round TKO. Another star making his long overdue HBO debut was flyweight champ Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez of Nicaragua, who upped his record to 43-0 with 37 KOs by dominating and stopping the tough former 108-pound champion Edgar Sosa of Mexico (51-9, 30 KOs) with a second-round TKO.

While the HBO card was undoubtedly entertaining to fight fans, we discuss how HBO is primarily showcasing the best fighters signed to that network, instead of primarily having the best fight the best in each weight class. We also contrast this to the past few PBC cards, as well as this coming Saturday's Dirrell-DeGale fight, which should be competitive and intriguing.

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 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: 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.

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 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: 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.

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.

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.

No Holds Barred: Keith Thurman, Adrien Broner, Lamont Peterson, Roberto Duran, Lou DiBella, John Miller, PBC on NBC

(Photo by Keisha Morrisey.)

No Holds Barred: Keith Thurman, Adrien Broner, Lamont Peterson, Roberto Duran, Lou DiBella, John Miller, PBC on NBC

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the interviews recorded at the inaugural news conference for the new Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series on NBC.

This news conference took place Wednesday, January 14, at NBC's studio 8H, the home of "Saturday Night Live", at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York. For this year, there will be 20 live "PBC on NBC" events. This will include five Saturday primetime shows on NBC, six Saturday afternoon shows on NBC, and nine Saturday primetime shows on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), with specific dates and times to be announced. In this Premier Boxing Champions venture, NBC is working with Haymon Boxing and its head, boxing manager Al Haymon.

We spoke with:

-- Keith Thurman (24-0, 21 KOs), who will face Robert Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KOs) on March 7.

-- Adrien Broner (29-1, 22 KOs), who will face John Molina Jr. (27-2, 22 KOs), also on March 7.

-- Lamont Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs), who will face Danny Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs) on April 11.

-- Boxing legend Roberto Duran.

-- Promoter Lou DiBella, who will officially act as the promoter for several of these cards, about the potential for the "PBC on NBC" to elevate the status of boxing.

-- John Miller, the Chief Marketing Officer, NBC Sports Group, about some of the business aspects of the "PBC on NBC".

A photo gallery from this news conference can be seen here.

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.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.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.

No Holds Barred: Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC News Conference

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the audio from the inaugural news conference for the new Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series on NBC.

This news conference took place Wednesday, January 14, at NBC's studio 8H, the home of "Saturday Night Live", at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York.

The return of major boxing shows to network television in the U.S. will start with a card on Saturday, March 7. Thus far announced are matches featuring Keith Thurman (24-0, 21 KOs) vs. Robert Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KOs), and Adrien Broner (29-1, 22 KOs) vs. John Molina Jr. (27-2, 22 KOs). On April 11, Danny Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs) will face Lamont Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs).

For this year, there will be 20 live "PBC on NBC" events. This will include five Saturday primetime shows on NBC, six Saturday afternoon shows on NBC, and nine Saturday primetime shows on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), with specific dates and times to be announced.

There will also be Spanish-language audio and video coverage of these cards, as well as video streaming on NBC Sports Live Extra via their TV Everywhere service.

In this Premier Boxing Champions venture, NBC is working with Haymon Boxing and its head, boxing manager Al Haymon.

The news conference featured Jon Miller, the President of Programming for NBC Sports and NBCSN; a video from sportscaster Al Michaels, who will be the host of these prime time shows on NBC; boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, who will be the lead analyst on these shows; award-winning composer Hans Zimmer, who will be in charge of composing the music for these shows; Lamont Jones, Vice President of Operations for Haymon Boxing Management; introductions of the fighters; and a short video on the history of boxing on NBC radio and TV.

Of particular note were these announcements by Lamont Jones: "With the support of the United States Anti‑Doping Agency, each boxer who competes in a PBC bout will be subjected to rigorous Olympic‑style random drug testing. With the involvement of the Cleveland Clinic, each boxer who competes in a PBC bout will benefit from evaluations by staff physicians from the clinic. And the PBC series will support the clinic's important Professional Fighter’s Brain Health Study."

We will also have several individual interviews from this news conference posted shortly.

We also open with a commentary on how this can all be a game-changer for the oft-beleaguered sport of boxing.

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.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.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.