On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Andre Berto and Victor Ortiz about their fight coming up on Saturday, April 16, and recaps the surprisingly delightful and brutal battle between Marcos Maidana and Erik Morales on April 9.

Many observers expected a one-sided affair, and even a brutal beatdown, when slugger Marcos Maidana took on the aging but classical Mexican veteran Erik Morales in a junior welterweight fight on April 9 in Las Vegas. But as their battle ensued, it not only proved to be highly competitive, but riveting and dramatic as it advanced from round to round. With his right eye cut in the first round and then swollen shut, Morales managed to fight on and stay in the fight until almost the end. While Maidana, now 30-2 with 27 KOs, won a majority decision over Morales, now 51-7 with 35 KOs, this war was a genuine fight of the year candidate. We analyze the context of this fight, how it looked going in like another example of the kinds of fights which have stripped boxing of any credibility, and how it ended up becoming one of the most compelling if brutal fights of recent memory. And we compare it to the main events on the major mixed martial arts cards this past weekend.

This coming Saturday, April 16, there is yet another fight which could turn out to be a surprise to the skeptics and cynics, who are usually correct in their (and our) assessments of professional boxing. Unbeaten WBC welterweight Andre Berto (27-0. 21 KOs) will fight Victor Ortiz (28-2-2, 22 KOs), who is moving up from the junior welterweight division. This fight will take place at the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods in Mashantucket, Connecticut, and be shown live in the U.S. on HBO.

While Berto is the favorite, Ortiz, who once was touted by his promoters, Golden Boy Promotions, as the next big thing, is not happy with being viewed as an opponent. His loss to Maidana and draw with Lamont Peterson have removed him from consideration as an elite fighter, and that may serve as motivation for him to attempt to make a statement in what some consider a showcase fight for Berto. But Berto is highly confident as well, which may make for another week of a surprisingly competitive and thrilling main event in the major card in boxing.

We spoke with both Andre Berto and Victor Ortiz at the kickoff news conference for this fight in New York. We also spoke with Kristal Hart, who hosts The Kristal Hart Show in New York on Manhattan Neighborhood Network, about what to expect in this fight.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/entry/2011-04-10T12_36_40-07_00.

You can also download No Holds Barred at http://www.mediafire.com/?9nizkc4imikzp36. 

If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=150801513&s=143441.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter (http://iancarpenter.com).

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions (http://www.beezid.com). Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions (http://www.beezid.com).

American Top Team (http://americantopteam.com). 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.

The American Sambo Association (http://www.ussambo.com), which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com (http://www.ussambo.com).

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

http://eddiegoldman.com

On this audio edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses some of the latest downs and ups in the world of boxing, and reports from the Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz news conference in New York, which took place Tuesday, June 28.

After a 16-month hiatus from the ring, the unbeaten Mayweather will return on September 17 against the WBC welterweight champion Ortiz in a fight in Las Vegas and on HBO Pay-Per-View. Both fighters have also agreed to undergo Olympic-style drug-testing administered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), including random, unannounced blood and urine testing.

We spoke with Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, about the issue of drug-testing and the importance of this fight. We also got some comments from Floyd Mayweather on drug-testing, which may surprise some people, as well as on this fight.

After the news conference, we sat down with our correspondent and colleague Keisha Morrisey, who also covered the news conference, to discuss the Mayweather-Ortiz fight, the problems in the marketing of boxing, the latest hometown decisions in boxing, and more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/entry/2011-06-28T17_41_54-07_00.

You can also download No Holds Barred at http://www.mediafire.com/?j8it28wvrdjxvjf. 

If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=150801513&s=143441.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter (http://iancarpenter.com).

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

M-1 Global (http://www.m-1global.com). Founded in 1998, M-1 Global has staged over 100 mixed martial arts events worldwide including the M-1 Selection tournaments and M-1 Challenge events, in Eastern and Western Europe, North America, and Asia. While discovering and developing the world's next generation of superstar fighters, M-1 Global's greatest asset is the number one heavyweight in mixed martial arts history, Fedor Emelianenko. Make sure to catch their shows from around the world, including on Showtime in the U.S., and visit their web site, M-1Global.com (http://www.m-1global.com), and the M-1 Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/M-1-Global/145250878842244) for news, videos, and live streaming events.

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions (http://www.beezid.com). Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions (http://www.beezid.com).

American Top Team (http://americantopteam.com). 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.

The American Sambo Association (http://www.ussambo.com), which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com (http://www.ussambo.com).

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

http://eddiegoldman.com

On this audio edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Victor Conte.

Formerly at the center of the BALCO doping scandal, and after having served four months in prison in 2005 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering, he now says that he has returned to helping train athletes the right and legal way. He presently runs SNAC, Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning (http://snac.com).

In addition, he has been involved in the training of a number of top boxers and mixed martial arts fighters. Among those is IBF 140-pound champion Zab Judah, who fights WBA champion Amir Khan in Las Vegas this Saturday night, July 23.

We spoke by phone with Victor Conte Wednesday night about his training of Zab Judah and why he believes that the 33-year-old Judah, a former junior welterweight and welterweight champion who has returned to his original weight class, will defeat the 24-year-old Khan. We of course discussed the issue of doping, and he criticized the present anti-doping procedures carried out by North American athletic commissions for boxing and MMA as "worthless". We discussed the Mayweather-Pacquiao controversy over what drug-testing such a proposed fight should have. He also described doping in MMA as "rampant". He called for much more scrutiny on the issue of testosterone replacement therapy, which many people believe has been abused by athletes in an attempt to conceal the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

In addition, he revealed that he is working with Dr. Margaret Goodman, the neurologist and former ringside physician and head of the Medical Advisory Board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, on a new anti-doping project. Dr. Goodman is leading the effort to establish an organization called VADA, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency. This would have elite boxers and MMA fighters voluntarily submit to random, unannounced blood and urine testing using the protocols of WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency. The goal would then be for their opponents to agree to such testing as well, and to help those many fighters who are against doping to combat the cheating in their sports.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/entry/2011-07-20T21_16_53-07_00.

You can also download No Holds Barred at http://www.mediafire.com/?18pllfbz8f9cvyc. 

If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=150801513&s=143441.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter (http://iancarpenter.com).

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

M-1 Global (http://www.m-1global.com). Founded in 1998, M-1 Global has staged over 100 mixed martial arts events worldwide including the M-1 Selection tournaments and M-1 Challenge events, in Eastern and Western Europe, North America, and Asia. While discovering and developing the world's next generation of superstar fighters, M-1 Global's greatest asset is the number one heavyweight in mixed martial arts history, Fedor Emelianenko. Make sure to catch their shows from around the world, including on Showtime in the U.S., and visit their web site, M-1Global.com (http://www.m-1global.com), and the M-1 Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/M-1-Global/145250878842244) for news, videos, and live streaming events.

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions (http://www.beezid.com). Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions (http://www.beezid.com).

American Top Team (http://americantopteam.com). 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.

The American Sambo Association (http://www.ussambo.com), which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com (http://www.ussambo.com).

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

http://eddiegoldman.com