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.

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No Holds Barred: Canelo, Angulo, Rampage, Trans Athletes, Concussions

(Photo credit of Canelo and Angulo: Esther Lin/Showtime)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the issues of transgender athletes and concussions in combat sports, and previews the Canelo Alvarez-Alfredo Angulo fight and the return to Bellator of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

The commentary begins with a brief examination of the issues in the ESPN Grantland article "Dr. V's Magical Putter" about a transgender woman who invented a controversial but popular golf putter. Recommended reading are two essential replies. ESPN writer Christina Kahrl wrote "What Grantland Got Wrong". MMA fighter Fallon Fox wrote, also in reply, "The Wrong Way To Write About Trans People".

Also noted are the different reactions in boxing and MMA to the issue of transgender athletes, and how the fight for rights for transgender people has become a major focus in the general battle for human rights.

Next is a discussion of the issues of concussions in contact and combat sports, the recent string of deaths in MMA, and recreational and performance-enhancing drugs.

Major fights are already being announced for 2014. In boxing, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, following the first loss of his professional career in September to Floyd Mayweather, returns March 8 to face slugger Alfredo Angulo, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This fight will headline a Showtime pay-per-view in the U.S.

We spoke with both Canelo Alvarez and Alfredo Angulo on a media conference call this week.

In MMA, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will be entering the four-man Bellator light heavyweight tournament, beginning February 28 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. He will face former Bellator light heavyweight champion Christian M'Pumbu in the opening round. The other bracket has "King" Mo Lawal facing Mikhail Zayats. These fights will be telecast live in the U.S. on Spike TV.

We spoke with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson on a media conference call this week.

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:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

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No Holds Barred: Charles Farrell on Mayweather-Canelo

(photo: 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, who is also co-editor of The Boxing Standard.

Our main subject was what is expected to be the biggest fight this year, and perhaps the biggest grossing pay-per-view of all time, the September 14 showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

In this bout between these two unbeaten fighters, the 36-year-old pound-for-pound king Mayweather (44-0, 26 KOs) faces the 23-year-old WBA and WBC 154-pound champion Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KOs) at a catch weight of 152 pounds. It takes place Saturday, September 14, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and will be shown live in the U.S. on Showtime pay-per-view, in the U.K. on BoxNation, in Mexico on Televisa, and also on many networks around the world. The event is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions, and Canelo Promotions.

We spoke with Charles Farrell Thursday to preview this fight.

Mayweather is the favorite to win this fight, and we both agreed with that assessment.

"I do think it should be a pretty decisive win for Mayweather," said Charles Farrell. "Aside from some difference in size -- Canelo is a bigger guy and he's a growing guy -- I don't see that Mayweather doesn't have every appreciable advantage. There's nothing that Canelo does that he hasn't seen many, many times before." He added that he expects the likeliest outcome to be a comfortable 12-round decision for Mayweather.

However, this being boxing, we also discussed the possibility, as some others have as well, that Mayweather would win the fight but would lose the decision. Robberies and horribly bad decisions are common in boxing, so we discussed the business considerations behind such a possibility, including Canelo's popularity and potential longevity as a star.

We also discussed the many prominent boxing writers "who don't know anything about boxing", as well as some comments on the compelling co-feature on this show, where WBA and WBC 140-pound champion Danny Garcia (26-0, 16 KOs) takes on slugger Lucas Matthysse (34-2, 32 KOs).

In addition, we play a brief excerpt from the media conference calls for this fight, one with Canelo and another with Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions.

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:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

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