No Holds Barred: Chris Crossan on Fury-Klitschko 2, Weekend Boxing Review

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Chris Crossan of Legit Pro Wrestling.

Besides his involvement with wrestling and martial arts, Chris is a former boxer and closely follows the world of boxing. This week, he covered the press conference held Wednesday, April 27, in the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, for the July 9 rematch between world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury and former champion Wladimir Klitschko, which will be held at the Manchester Arena as well. Fury won the heavyweight belts with an upset unanimous and lopsided decision over Klitschko on November 28, 2015, in Düsseldorf, Germany.

We spoke with Chris Crossan by Skype Thursday.

Fury defeated Klitschko and ended his 11-plus year unbeaten streak with an unconventional and sporadic attack. This seemed to confuse and even freeze Klitschko at times. In addition, in the buildup to that fight, Fury spewed a stream of bold, outrageous, and insulting barbs at Klitschko. Fury's buildup to the rematch seems to signal a continuation of that approach.

"The atmosphere was electric, and Tyson was on form. Yeah, he was out getting to Klitschko's head again, and I really think that he did, judging by Klitschko," he said.

"He even got Klitschko to swear, and he just seemed to be way ahead when it came to the psychological games, as always, just like I believe he was last time leading up to the bout."

We discussed some of the reasons why Klitschko seemed unable or unwilling to throw many right hands in his first fight with Fury; Fury's continuing antics, theatrics, and controversial comments; accusations by reporters at this press conference that the officials in Fury-Klitschko 1 in Germany tried to "cheat" in Klitschko's favor by padding the ring and other measures; the potential for unbeaten IBF champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua to dominate the heavyweight division; and much more.

We also will be posting a follow-up interview with Chris Crossan previewing the upcoming Legit Pro Wrestling 3 card on June 12 in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, in the U.K.

Plus, we open with commentary on Saturday's fights between Andre Berto and Victor Ortiz, James DeGale and Rogelio Medina, and Badou Jack and Lucian Bute.

(Photo of Fury-Klitschko 2 press conference by Chris Crossan.)

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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.

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No Holds Barred: Charles Farrell Reviews Klitschko-Chagaev Fight and Awful State of Heavyweight Boxing

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our colleague and correspondent, Charles Farrell.

In a spirited and lengthy discussion, we review Wladimir Klitschko's predictable TKO victory over Ruslan Chagaev on Saturday, June 20, in Germany in a fight for several alphabet heavyweight belts. We critique this fight and the performance of both fighters, as well as the entire woeful heavyweight division.

We also discuss the disgraceful state of boxing journalism today, and why we do not take seriously what we read in The Ring magazine, including their recognition of Wladimir Klitschko as their "heavyweight champion of the world". And we lament the danger both to fighter safety and public health that this fight entailed, since Chagaev had tested positive for the hepatitis B antigen, and would not have been allowed to fight in many countries.

But we also explain why we do see hope for boxing in many other weight divisions, and especially outside the U.S.

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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Blues for My Baby

“But baby, why won’t you get it on with me? You know I’ve loved you forever.”

“I told you before, get lost, creep. You’re just not my type.”

“But I’ve worshipped you for years, gone all over the world to see you, and not given up on you when everyone else said you were no good.”

“Maybe I am no good, or just no good for you.”

“I can’t believe that, I don’t believe that, I won’t believe that!”

“Believe what you want, sucker, but you ain’t right for me, and vice versa.”

“Please don’t talk like that, baby.”

“I’ll talk any way I damn please. And stop with the baby stuff. I told you, I ain’t your damn baby.”

That was our conversation yesterday. I hope it is not our last, but you never know. I just don’t know what to do or where to go next.

My baby’s name: The Heavyweight Division. Have any of you seen where she’s gone?

Klitschko-Thompson: Another Stinker or Sleeper?

This Saturday’s highly-unanticipated fight between IBF-WBO heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko and WBO mandatory Tony Thompson in the Color Line Arena in Hamburg, Germany, is generating less interest than Mike Gravel’s unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, which was at least kind of humorous. Klitschko’s rock-paper-scissors slapfest against Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden Feb. 23 did untold damage to the already dismal reputation of the heavyweight division, and even the Garden itself. Their next big fight may not be until Sept. 20, when Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones Jr. will likely tangle.

Wladimir Klitschko’s latest style, if it even can be called that, is not merely safety-first, as many have noted. It is disgraceful in that it changes a sport, where the fans pay good money to see good fighting, into a variety of fencing. And the fans then feel that the ticket-sellers and TV networks are themselves fences, selling garbage packaged as name-brand goods, and then treat them as the crooks they believe they are.

While I admire much of the work Wladimir Klitschko has done outside the ring to help needy people around the world, he should also remember that he can only be in a position to do this kind of work if he remains respected for what he does inside the ring. Another all-out stinker Saturday, and maybe not even the Hypocritical Boxing Organization (HBO) will want much more of him.

The wild card in this is Tony Thompson. The lanky, little-known, 36-year-old, six-foot five heavyweight has a record of 31-1 with 19 KOs. The lone loss was a four-round decision to Eric Kirkland in just Thompson’s fifth pro fight. Since then, he has 27 straight wins, but mainly against the graduates of the University of Journeymen (whose dean, A.J.L. Shoemaker, once wrote for a boxing web site which has since closed down).

Thompson’s break, so to speak, came last July against perennial contender Luan Krasniqi. In a WBO eliminator, Thompson stopped Krasniqi in five – and in Germany, and in the same arena in which he will face Klitschko this Saturday.

Whether or not he will have to impale Wlad to get a win in Germany this time remains to be seen. But a profile of Tony Thompson posted Thursday on the web site of The Washington Post raises some interesting points.

On the one hand, we have this:

Thompson doesn't love boxing. He derives no joy from training. He fights for the reward, not the act.

"I really don't like getting hit," he said. "I really don't like to train for boxing. I'm just good at it. It's what I do to make a living. If I had my choices of making a living, I'm not one of those people who would say boxing. . . . Boxing was so far down the list for me."

And this:

His family awaits his return. At his Fort Washington home in a tree-lined development at the tip of a cul-de-sac, one of three air conditioning units is broken. The dishwasher and washing machine have stopped working. The electricity won't run in part of the house, where three of his children still live. Sydnee, who grew up with both parents and went to a Catholic school, college and graduate school, wants everything fixed. Tony said she'll have to wait until the check clears from the fight.

We’ll find out Saturday night if any of that provides Thompson with the motivation to fight the fight of his life against Klitschko, to abandon his own uber-cautious style, and to pull a major upset against this European moneymaker.

Or, it could just be another useless show televised in America by HBS.

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.

Monday and Saturday

Monday the sun didn’t shine – anywhere. Earth stopped rotating on its axis and revolving around the Sun. Rivers ceased to run, while smoke and dust and grime filled the air. Nocturnal vermin prepared to swoop up our last remaining scraps of foods, while howling mobs set each other afire in the streets.

It was all over, wasn’t it? There were no more heavyweights. Boxing was dead and gone. Klitschko and Ibragimov, with their murderously awful non-fight Saturday night, had killed them all, and civilization along with it. It was the end of history.

Then, in a barely visible ray of dim light which had not yet escaped to other galaxies, I saw some words on a television listing. There in barely legible type, in the listings for Showtime for this coming Saturday, March 1, read the words: “Boxing: Rafael Marquez vs. Israel Vazquez.”

Could this be true? Was there actually going to be a third fight between these two warriors who had put on the best fights of 2007? Was this planned show not wrecked by the worldwide destruction of everything else by the Klitschko-Ibragimov disaster?

Suddenly the sun began to shine anew. The air started to clear, the birds started to chirp, the kids started to laugh, and the engines started to hum. People smiled at and greeted each other cordially, while lovers held hands and smooched.

Life, alas, had returned to normal – the good with the bad, the beautiful with the ugly, the roses with the rot. It wasn’t all over after all, although it had seemed that way early Monday.

I guess you have to wait a bit to avoid jumping to conclusions about the end of the world.

Hopefully, after next Saturday, we won’t feel like we did this Monday.

NO HOLDS BARRED: Introducing The Boxing Standard

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman is joined by our correspondent Charles Farrell to introduce the new online journal of boxing, The Boxing Standard. Eddie and Charles are also the editors of The Boxing Standard.

In a lengthy discussion, we explain why we aim to stir up the highly mediocre world of boxing journalism. Among the many topics raised is how the boxing media is missing the real story of the most important heavyweight fight in years, the title unification bout between IBF champ Wladimir Klitschko and WBO champ Sultan Ibragimov this Saturday, Feb. 23, at Madison Square Garden in New York.

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Thanks, Eddie Goldman

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