No Holds Barred with Eddie Goldman

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleagues Chris Baldwin of the WAAR Room (https://waarsports.com) and Malissa Smith of Girlboxing (https://girlboxing.org) on the WAAR Room. A video of this discussion has also been posted on the WAAR Sports YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMW16qQlnyWR-xyd2jZF1IA).

We spoke with them by Zoom Tuesday, October 18.

What a fight! Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall gave it all they had in a fight of the year candidate on October 15 at a packed O2 Arena in London. We had an in-depth discussion about this fight and the entire all-women's card which it headlined, and what this all means for women's boxing and boxing in general. But both pro and amateur boxing have plenty of problems and scandals dragging them down, and we discussed those, too

(Photo of Shields vs. Marshall courtesy of Top Rank.)

Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content, at https://www.patreon.com/join/eddiegoldman/checkout.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow (http://liveone.tv).

Thanks, Eddie Goldman http://eddiegoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleagues Chris Baldwin of the WAAR Room (https://waarsports.com) and Malissa Smith of Girlboxing (https://girlboxing.org) on the WAAR Room. A video of this discussion has also been posted on the WAAR Sports YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMW16qQlnyWR-xyd2jZF1IA).

We spoke with them by Zoom Tuesday, October 11.

This Saturday, October 15, history will be made at London's O2 Arena when an all-women's boxing card, headlined by two major title unification fights, takes place. The main event will see two unbeaten fighters, WBC-WBA-IBF-Ring Magazine middleweight champ Claressa Shields and WBO champ Savannah Marshall, fight to crown an undisputed champion. The co-feature will have WBO-IBF-Ring Magazine champ Mikaela Mayer face WBC champ Alycia Baumgardner in a junior lightweight title unification fight. This card will be shown on Sky Sports in the U.K. and ESPN+ in the U.S.

We discussed this card including the two headline title fights. We also discussed the latest developments in Olympic boxing, as the IBA continues to defy the IOC and most sports bodies by allowing fighters from Russia and Belarus to compete under their own flags.

(Photo of fighters on Shields-Marshall full card from Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images.)

Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content, at https://www.patreon.com/join/eddiegoldman/checkout.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow (http://liveone.tv).

Thanks, Eddie Goldman http://eddiegoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleagues Chris Baldwin of the WAAR Room (https://waarsports.com) and Malissa Smith of Girlboxing (https://girlboxing.org) on the WAAR Room. A video of this discussion has also been posted on the WAAR Sports YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMW16qQlnyWR-xyd2jZF1IA).

We spoke with them by Zoom Monday, October 3.

We had an in-depth discussion of the "extraordinary congress" of the IBA, which was held September 25 in Armenia. This congress was a complete debacle and only set the stage for IBA's suspension from the IOC being turned into expulsion, and boxing being completely dropped from the Olympic program starting in 2028.

Since we recorded this show, there has been another development which will likely only hasten Olympic boxing's demise. Going against the recommendations of the IOC and what virtually every other international Olympic federation has done following Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, IBA will now allow boxers from Russia and Belarus to compete under their own national flags and identities, playing their national anthems for tournament winners. We also discussed the implications of this for both professional and amateur boxing.

Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content, at https://www.patreon.com/join/eddiegoldman/checkout.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow (http://liveone.tv).

Thanks, Eddie Goldman http://eddiegoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleagues Chris Baldwin of the WAAR Room (https://waarsports.com) and Malissa Smith of Girlboxing (https://girlboxing.org) on the WAAR Room. A video of this discussion has also been posted on the WAAR Sports YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMW16qQlnyWR-xyd2jZF1IA).

We spoke with them by Zoom Tuesday, September 20.

On October 15, an historic all-women's boxing card will take place at the O2 Arena in London. It is headlined by the Claressa Shields-Savannah Marshall undisputed middleweight title fight and the Mikaela Mayer-Alycia Baumgardner junior lightweight unification title bout. This will be shown on Sky Sports in the U.K. and ESPN+ in the U.S. We discussed this card as well as what else is going on in women's boxing.

On September 25, the beleaguered IBA will have their second presidential election this year. The IBA has been stripped of the right to organize the boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, while boxing has been excluded from the initial program for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. We discussed the growing influence of Russia in IBA, how this is contributing to the death of Olympic boxing, and more.

Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content, at https://www.patreon.com/join/eddiegoldman/checkout.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow (http://liveone.tv).

Thanks, Eddie Goldman http://eddiegoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleagues Chris Baldwin of the WAAR Room (https://waarsports.com) and Malissa Smith of Girlboxing (https://girlboxing.org) on the WAAR Room. A video of this discussion has also been posted on the WAAR Sports YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMW16qQlnyWR-xyd2jZF1IA).

We spoke with them by Zoom Thursday, August 25.

We discussed the August 20 Usyk-Joshua  rematch in Saudi Arabia, Joshua's post-fight in-ring tantrum, how the governance for this entire card from top to bottom was disgraceful, Saudi Arabia's plans in boxing and the sports world in general, the continuing abysmal human rights record of Saudi Arabia and the failure of most people in boxing to speak out against it, and much more.

Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content, at https://www.patreon.com/join/eddiegoldman/checkout.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow (http://liveone.tv).

Thanks, Eddie Goldman http://eddiegoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleagues Chris Baldwin of the WAAR Room (https://waarsports.com) and Malissa Smith of Girlboxing (https://girlboxing.org) on the WAAR Room. A video of this discussion has also been posted on the WAAR Sports YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMW16qQlnyWR-xyd2jZF1IA).

We spoke with them by Zoom Friday, August 12.

Allegations of corruption continue to be made against the International Boxing Association (IBA), which is still under suspension by the International Olympic Committee. IBA will not be allowed to organize the boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will be done by the IOC themselves, and boxing remains excluded entirely from the program of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Rising in opposition to the current IBA leadership is the Common Cause Alliance. On July 25, they sent an open, public letter to the IBA board explaining why the upcoming IBA congress in September should not be held in Armenia. The main reasons were major problems, including security, at the EUBC Elite Men’s Championships held in May in Armenia, and Armenia's political and military ties to Putin's Russia during Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. The letter was signed by leaders of 15 national boxing federations, including some of the most successful countries in Olympic boxing: the U.S., the Philippines, Finland, Australia, Iceland, Czechia, Switzerland, New Zealand, France, Canada, Denmark, England, Sweden, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

We discussed the ongoing crisis in Olympic boxing and how this affects both professional and amateur boxing. We also discussed some of the latest boxing news, including updates on the Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua rematch August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and the Claressa Shields-Savannah Marshall fight September 10 in London, and much more.

Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content, at https://www.patreon.com/join/eddiegoldman/checkout.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow (http://liveone.tv).

Thanks, Eddie Goldman http://eddiegoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleagues Chris Baldwin of the WAAR Room (https://waarsports.com) and Malissa Smith of Girlboxing (https://girlboxing.org) on the WAAR Room. A video of this discussion has also been posted on the WAAR Sports YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMW16qQlnyWR-xyd2jZF1IA).

We spoke with them by Zoom Thursday, July 21.

The countless and growing number of scandals in boxing and other combat sports once more prove, to all those who haven't already realized it, that these sports cannot properly govern themselves, and that whatever outside regulation exists is at best inadequate and at worst just as corrupt as these sports themselves.

This problem, however, is not unique to the combat sports. Lack of good governance plagues sport worldwide. Boxing and the combat sports are international sports, so any solution must be both international and part of an anti-corruption effort in sport in general. Narrow, localized solutions will fail, and myopic thinking must be replaced by approaching these issues from a global perspective.

The theme of the Play the Game 2022 conference of sports reformers, held in Odense, Denmark, June 27-30, 2022, was "is there a cure for sport?" Many of the participants advocated the formation of a world sports anti-corruption agency. This idea has been around for many years, but now many people at this conference were coalescing around it, and proposing that Play the Game may be the correct forum to develop this sports anti-corruption agency.

We discussed this in light of the latest, unending series of scandals involving boxing's sanctioning bodies, the role of organized crime, and much more.

Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content, at https://www.patreon.com/join/eddiegoldman/checkout.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow (http://liveone.tv).

Thanks, Eddie Goldman http://eddiegoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleagues Chris Baldwin of the WAAR Room and Malissa Smith of Girlboxing on the WAAR Room. A video of this discussion has also been posted on the WAAR Sports YouTube page.

We spoke with them by Zoom Thursday, July 7.

Boxing legend and International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Christy Martin joined us as a guest to discuss her newly published autobiography "Fighting For Survival: My Journey Through Boxing Fame, Abuse, Murder, and Resurrection". Her incredible story was also produced as a documentary titled "Untold: Deal with the Devil" on Netflix.

Christy shared with us the important work her foundation is doing to raise awareness about domestic violence and mental abuse. Christy's Champs provides a network and resources to support those who have suffered emotional and physical abuse at the hands of an intimate partner or family member.

We also discussed her own boxing career, her coming out as a lesbian and how the boxing world treats LGBTQ people, the development of women's boxing, her current work as a boxing promoter, her dealings with Don King, and much more.

Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleagues Chris Baldwin of the WAAR Room and Malissa Smith of Girlboxing on the WAAR Room. A video of this discussion has also been posted on the WAAR Sports YouTube page.

We spoke with them by Zoom Monday, June 27.

The scandal-drenched International Boxing Association (IBA) made headlines again last week, and not for anything positive. At their Executive Board meeting, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not only confirmed that their suspension of IBA stands, but also that IBA would not be allowed to organize the boxing competition and qualification events for the 2024 Paris Olympics. They cited numerous failures of IBA, especially in the area of governance.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had ruled that, in their recent presidential election, IBA's exclusion of Dutch Boxing Federation President Boris van der Vorst, who was running against incumbent IBA President Umar Kremlev of Russia, was unwarranted, as well as the exclusion of four reformers who were running for the IBA's Board of Directors. So far, IBA claims that they will consider holding a new presidential election in a few months, but has said nothing about holding a new election for their Board of Directors.

The IOC has also raised the issue about IBA's failure to properly prepare for the 2024 Olympic qualifying events including no host city contracts being signed, the lack of a sufficient number of qualified referees and judges, and IBA's continued financial dependence on the Russian state-controlled Gazprom energy giant.

"Enough was enough," said IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell at the press conference. Thus, for the second Olympics in a row, IBA has been stripped of the right to organize the boxing competition, with the IOC set to devise a plan to do so themselves.

Boxing also remains excluded from the program for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with the possibility that boxing will no longer be an Olympic sport looking likelier as time goes on.

Also, Malissa Smith discussed the latest women's boxing news, including Jessica McCaskill's successful defense of her undisputed welterweight ttile, and Christy Martin's new book.

Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleagues Chris Baldwin of the WAAR Room and Malissa Smith of Girlboxing on the WAAR Room. A video of this discussion has also been posted on the WAAR Sports YouTube page.

We spoke with them by Zoom Tuesday, June 21.

The kickoff press conference for the rematch between WBA-IBF-WBO heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk and the fighter he defeated to win those belts last September, Anthony Joshua, took place Tuesday, June 21, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. That fight is scheduled to take place there August 20.

Locating this fight in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a monarchy and theocracy with a well-known abysmal human right record, has prompted many to accuse the Saudis of "sportswashing", a term which means "attempting to detract attention from the country's human rights record".

Amnesty International UK had requested that Anthony Joshua speak out against these human rights violations. But asked about this after the press conference, Joshua brushed off these concerns and told reporters, "I don't know what that is. I'm here to win the heavyweight champion of the world. I like Saudi. I think Saudi's good. I'm having a good time here. I'm treated really well. All that allegation stuff, for me, I'm not caught up in any of that stuff. I'm here to have a good time, mix with the local people, bring entertainment to Saudi."

Yet to understand why the Saudis are reportedly paying tens of millions of dollars to host this fight, and have attracted many other high profile sporting events, it should be understood that their motivation is not only to detract attention from their human rights record. Saudi Arabia is using their hundreds of billions of petrodollars accumulated over many decades to try to diversify the economy, reduce their financial dependance on petroleum revenue, and further develop their sports, entertainment, and tourism sectors.

Saudi Arabia's modernization plans also include the enhancing of sports training, facilities, and competition for Saudi youth. In particular, they have been developing a growing amateur boxing program for both young men and women, and are actively engaged in the international Olympic boxing movement. Bringing major fights like this one to their country is in part aimed at encouraging more youth to participate and train in boxing.

We discussed all sides of this, how most of the Western media has a one-sided view of the social and economic significance of this fight taking place in Saudi Arabia, and much more.

Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com