No Holds Barred: The Vitali Klitschko-Shannon Briggs Tragic Farce

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman analyzes the one-sided beating by WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko of Shannon Briggs on Saturday, October 16, in Hamburg, Germany. Briggs managed to survive 12 rounds of punishment from Klitschko, but, according to news reports, had to be hospitalized and taken to an intensive care unit in Hamburg after the fight. We thus discuss the background to this fight and what it says about 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.

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No Holds Barred: Vitali Klitschko-Albert Sosnowski, Biggest Fight in the World This Coming Weekend

(Photo: Klitschko Management Group)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discuses why the fight between WBC world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko and European champion Albert Sosnowski will be the biggest fight in the world of the coming weekend.

The Klitschko-Sosnowski fight will take place Saturday, May 29, in the 61,000-seat Veltins Arena, a football (soccer) stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. It will be televised live in Germany and elsewhere in Europe on RTL, for free. Vitali Klitschko's previous fight on RTL, a 12-round decision over American Kevin Johnson on December 12, 2009, peaked at over 12 million viewers and was the second-highest sports broadcast in 2009 in Germany. The Klitschko-Sosnowski fight will also be shown live on pay-per-view in the U.S. and Canada.

While this fight will be big business around the world, however, it does not promise to be a competitive fight. Besides being the WBC heavyweight champion, Vitali Klitschko (39-2, 37 KOs) was ahead on the scorecards in his only losses, when his shoulder went out in 2000 against Chris Byrd and when the fight was stopped on cuts against Lennox Lewis in 2003 in Lewis's last professional fight. Since Vitali Klitschko's return in 2008 following an almost four-year layoff due to injuries, none of his four opponents has been able to get him in trouble even once in their fights.

Albert Sosnowski (45-2-1, 27 KOs), on the other hand, has won only two of his last four fights, with one loss and one draw. That loss was on August 6, 2008, in Brooklyn, New York, to late replacement Zuri Lawrence, a journeyman who has no knockouts. Sosnowski was also rocked by the inconsistent Danny Williams in their fight on November 8, 2008, before Sosnowski stopped Williams in the eighth round. Sosnowski did win the vacant European title with a decision on December 18, 2009, against the aging Paolo Vidoz, but he has never fought anyone remotely on the level of Vitali Klitschko.

We got comments on this fight from both Vitali Klitschko and Albert Sosnowski on a media conference call this week. Both Klitschko and Sosnowski expect a competitive and interesting fight. We shall see.

We also discuss why Vitali Klitschko and his younger brother, IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, are so popular in Europe but not in the U.S., where the major networks do not televise all their fights anymore. And we note the co-feature on this card where two American heavyweights, NABF champ Johnathon Banks and Jason Gavern, fight in Germany.

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:

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

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FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Is Vitali Is or Is Vitali Ain’t?

(Photo by Eddie Goldman)

Here they are above, at the kickoff New York news conference on August 27. The contracts have been signed, the TV deals have been set, the media conference call has been held, and the words have flown. Supposedly, WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter will face WBC heavyweight champion “emeritus” Vitali Klitschko this Saturday, October 11, in Berlin, Germany.

But will their fists actually fly October 11? I wonder not what the odds are for who will win and how, but if there will be a fight and a winner at all.

We already recently had the Sept. 13 Nate Campbell-Joan Guzman fight cancelled when Guzman was too far over the lightweight limit, and the Oct. 4 Arthur Abraham-Raul Marquez fight cancelled when Abraham claimed he had the flu.

The brittle elder Klitschko is now 37 years old, hasn’t fought since December 2004, and had a few fights after that cancelled with Hasim Rahman, before retiring in 2005. Now he claims that he is all healed from his ailments and ready to fight.

This is boxing, so not only expect the unexpected, but count on it. At least Showtime also has the Antonio Tarver-Chad Dawson light heavyweight title fight from Las Vegas scheduled for their telecast in case the heavyweights fall through. And if the whole card goes bust, there’s always “The Grand Ole Opry” on GAC.

Chris Byrd: A Rare Overachiver

Unfortunately Chris Byrd never earned the monster pay day. Sure, he had a fair amount of decent money fights, but due to his style being closer to Pernell Whitaker's than Joe Frazier's, he never was a draw in the heavyweight division. A heavyweight must be a genuine life-taker to become a fan favorite and draw at the box office. Muhammad Ali is the only heavyweight Super-star who wasn't a knockout artist. Boxing fans clamor to see a knockout scored by a supposed great heavyweight much more so than seeing him win with skill, speed and brains.

In January of 1993, Chris Byrd weighed 169 for his pro-debut. A year and a half later, the former 1992 Super-middleweight Silver medalist weighed 200 for his fourth pro fight. From 1994 through 2007, Byrd campaigned as a heavyweight, despite his light heavyweight body and bone structure. It was a calculated gamble, but he made the most it and had more ring success than he did financial success. Chris benefited fighting during an era of heavyweights that were much bigger than they were skilled. He realized that bigger in boxing is only an advantage when the bigger fighter can deliver his size and power. Which Byrd was very good at nullifying. The loose and relaxed Byrd undressed and exposed practically every heavyweight he confronted. He won a piece of the heavyweight title and defended it successfully. He gave former champ Vitali Klitschko his first defeat, and schooled David Tua, who may be the best single punch hitter since the 1970s version of George Foreman.

While still close to being at his best, he was only outclassed by two fighters, Wladimir Klitschko, currently the top fighter in the division, and Ike Ibeabuchi, who had the potential to be one of the best heavyweights to come along since Larry Holmes. The problem he had with Klitschko and Ibeabuchi is they were both very big and very skilled. Definitely too much for a full fledged light heavyweight, or probable Cruiserweight to handle.

Finally, after 13 years of sharing a ring with big heavyweights and being an overachiver, his body started to breakdown, resulting in him slowing down and getting hit more. In his last bout (10-27-07) as a heavyweight, he was stopped by Alexander Povetkin in the 11th round. The version of Byrd who fought between 1999 and 2003, would've won nine of 12-rounds versus the 13 fight Povetkin. After the loss to Povetkin, Chris thought he had enough left to drop down to the weight he maybe should've competed at earlier in his career. For the seven months between Povetkin and his last fight versus Shaun George, Byrd re sculpted his body and weighed in at 174 pounds, five more than he did for his debut 15 years earlier. The drop in weight led to Byrd getting injured, along with his confidence being shook. When he climbed into the ring to fight Shaun George, his body was shredded and cut. To some, he may have looked good, but to most respected boxing observers, he was really just an empty package, wrapped in pretty paper and a colorful bow. Chris was dropped in the first round, and it was evident from that point on, that he left his legs and punch in the training room. He found that his body paid the price fighting dinosaurs, and had nothing left, especially after he depleted it so much over the last seven months getting down to the light heavyweight limit. Byrd absorbed a terrible beating and took more punishment than I'd ever want to see him or any fighter take. He also had a few minor complications afterward, but has recovered and is fine now.

His wife and manager, Tracy, said she'll implore him not to fight again. I hope her influence makes the difference and she can save Chris from himself. Something that won't be easy, because Chris is a very tough and determined guy. Luckily, he's just as smart as he is tough. So I hope that he never laces them up again, and starts a new career passing along his experience and knowledge to those who could benefit from it. His options are open, and he can do almost anything he wants. I hope that's the direction he goes.

In closing, Chris and Tracy Byrd are very easy to cheer for. They happen to be two of the best people I've ever met, not just in boxing, but during my entire life. Those who know boxing respect Chris Byrd as a man and as a fighter, and we all know just how special and unique he was to accomplish everything he did in compiling a pro-record of 40-5-1.

I Believe

I believe that Zab Judah actually fell in the bathroom of the Top Rank gym and put his right arm through a glass shower door, thus both requiring 50 stitches and the cancellation of his May 31 pay-per-view fight with Shane Mosley. Rumors that poor ticket sales and competition from the free CBS EliteXC mixed martial arts show featuring Kimbo Slice, scheduled for that same night, were the real reasons which prompted this cancellation are just that, rumors.

I believe that there is a huge audience for proposed rematches between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and both Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton.

I believe that Golden Boy Promotions is becoming the leading boxing promotional company through integrity, honesty, hard work, and determination.

I believe that Samuel Pater will finally fight Vitali Klitschko by this October, as has just been agreed to by the promoters involved.

I also believe that beer is good for you, and that the cute bartender who was serving it to me last night and blew me a kiss as I left the barroom is madly in love with yours truly.

Your Weekend Itinerary for March 7-8

The major fights which will be televised in America this weekend will probably land, both on the sporting and entertainment scales, somewhere between last week’s shining Vazquez-Marquez 3 and the previous week’s stinking Klitschko-Ibragimov 0.

Highly-touted South African featherweight Thomas Mashaba (20-1-4, 12 KOs) makes his American debut Friday, March 7, on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” and at the final fight card at the Fox Theatre in the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. His opponent is Mexican journeyman Cristobal Cruz (31-11-2, 23 KOs), who has dropped two of his last three and four of his last seven fights, albeit against accomplished fighters Zahir Raheem, Francisco Lorenzo (twice), and Steven Luevano. This is a showcase for Mashaba, but what else can we expect from this increasingly dreadful show?

Saturday, March 8, brings a full slate of important title fights on the American premium networks.

Showtime, as usual, has a compelling fight with their telecast from England of the cruiserweight unification fight between David Haye (20-1, 19 KOs), holder of two of these belts and generally regarded as the best in that division, against another titleholder, Enzo Maccarinelli (28-1, 21 KOs), trained by Enzo Calzaghe. This fights starts at 2 AM GMT at the O2 Arena in London to accommodate us Yanks, who will see it live at 9 PM EST. Setanata has the TV honors in the UK. Haye says he will move up to heavyweight after this one. Both men’s knockout power may be especially on display before this international audience. In the U.S., Showtime’s boxing telecast is followed by a mixed martial arts card, also from England.

At basically the same time, HBO gives us more heavyweights. Finally, after many had given up on ever seeing this fight, WBC regular heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev (34-5, 26 KOs) takes on WBC interim heavyweight champion Samuel Peter (29-1, 22 KOs) in Cancun, Mexico. Supposedly the winner has WBC heavyweight champion emeritus Vitali Klitschko next, another matchup about which we skeptics shake our heads. With Peter being dropped three times and almost stopped by late substitute Jameel McCline last year in Madison Square Garden, and the 39-year-old Maskaev sitting inactive since Dec. 2006 and postponing this bout a couple of times, it seems best to wonder who will lose rather than who will win this fight.

If these heavyweights manage to deliver yet another performance worthy of purgatory, the HBO co-feature has the exciting and unbeaten multiple lightweight beltholder Juan Diaz (33-0, 17 KOs) defending those straps against the slick and dangerous Nate Campbell (31-5-1, 25 KOs). A lot of the prefight drama has focused on the battle between Diaz’s promoter Don King and his manager Willie Savannah. King announced yesterday that he will no longer promote Diaz after this fight, citing his numerous disputes with Savannah over money, opponents for Diaz, and the like. This controversy may or may not play a role in the fight’s outcome between the 24-year-old college student Diaz and the 35-year-old veteran Campbell, or, if it goes to the judges, their decision. But this one will be televised widely, so whatever happens in Mexico may not simply stay there.

HBO will not be televising the undercard, which includes the return of the vastly underrated heavyweight (and supposedly retooled by trainer Manny Siaca Sr.) John Ruiz (42-7-1, 29 KOs), still just 36, against Jameel McCline (38-3-3, 23 KOs), and a super lightweight eliminator between unbeaten Timothy Bradley (21-0, 11 KOs) and former champion Jose Luis Castillo (56-8-1, 48 KOs).

Ruiz, the victim of questionable decision losses in Germany against Nikolai Valuev and Ruslan Chagaev in the WBA title roulette game, only fought once in 2007, against journeyman Otis Tisdale. Showing movement heretofore absent or at least underutilized in his approach, Ruiz stopped Tisdale in two. If he is given the chance, and especially with today’s heavyweight wreckage, Ruiz could capture one or more of these belts once again.

If you want to see the undercard on this typically loaded Don King show, you either have to be in Mexico, be in a country where the international feed is available, or know how to watch these things online. The same can be said of Friday’s card in Nottingham, England, featuring unbeaten junior featherweight Kiko Martinez vs. Rendall Munroe; Saturday’s fourth bout between flyweight champ Daisuke Naito and former champ Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in Tokyo, Japan, which should be available both on Japanese and Thai TV; and the women’s fights of Ina Menzer vs. Sandy Tsagouris and Alesia Graf vs. Fatuma Zarika from Krefeld, Germany, which will be telecast there on ZDF (http://www.zdf.de/). The latter telecast will apparently feature just the two women’s fights on that card, but after all, March 8 is International Women’s Day, so what better way to celebrate that than televising women fighting each other?

Now make sure that you do all your shopping and errands before this busy weekend.