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

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 13. Between this weekend's wild Daniel Dubois versus Trevor Bryan fight, with a 90-year-old Don King reminding us he's still in the game, to Anthony Joshua's landmark deal with DAZN, there's a lot of action in the heavyweight division. We talked about it all, plus the possibility of an announcement coming real soon for UsykJoshua2. And yes, everything is very, very fluid. We also talked about the once-in-a-lifetime "Trilogy" at the International Boxing Hall of Fame this past weekend combining a celebration of the 2020, 2021, and 2022 inductions due to the COVID pandemic. Most notable, however, was the first ever inclusion of women boxers in the Modern and Trailblazer groupings to include: Women Modern Boxers: Christy Martin (2020), Lucia Rijker (2020), Laila Ali (2021), Ann Wolfe (2021), Holly Holm (2022), and Regina Halmich (2022). Women Trailblazer Boxers: Barbara Buttrick (2020) and Marian "Lady Tyger" Trimiar (2021). 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. Our guest was boxer, actor, and activist Kali Reis, who holds the WBA and WBO 140-pound belts. We spoke with them by Zoom Monday, June 6. Besides discussing her boxing career, we discussed her film "Catch the Fair One", for which she was nominated for the prestigious International Spirit Award for best actor. In it she portrayed a Native American boxer who risked her own life to enter the world of sex trafficking to find her missing sister.  Every year, thousands of Native Americans go missing or are murdered. To this date, there is still no database keeping track of these statistics.  The film was co-written by Kali Reis and Josef Wladyka and stars Kali and former women's pro boxer Shelley Vincent. See this movie on Amazon Prime. Support independent film. 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, May 23. The beleaguered International Boxing Association (IBA), at their recent congress, only allowed sitting president Umar Kremlev of Russia to run for that office after disqualifying his only opponent a day before the election, and also disqualified four candidates from running for their board who had raised some criticisms of the direction IBA has taken. This stunt did not sit well with the IOC, which had already suspended IBA, and said it was closely monitoring what was supposed to be a governance reform process for IBA. At the same time, relations between the IOC and Putin's Russia have been at a low point since Russia began its war of aggression against Ukraine right after the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics, which was supposed to be a period of peace called the Olympic Truce. For years the IOC has appeased Russia, following their violation twice before of the Olympic Truce, with the attack on Georgia in 2008 and annexation of Crimea in 2014, and their recalcitrant and defiant actions involving their state-sponsored doping program. All these resulted essentially in slaps on the wrist. But IOC president Bach last week said that Russia was responsible for "personal threats to individuals from the IOC and Olympic Movement." Only this might have been the breaking point for Bach. We discussed why it is not surprising that a Mafia regime like Putin's tried to threaten and bully the IOC, how IBA's reliance on Russia for funding through the state-run Gazprom energy giant may have doomed their chances of being reinstated by the IOC, how all this further jeopardizes Olympic boxing which already has been excluded from the program of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, how the demise of Olympic boxing will damage and possibly destroy both amateur and professional boxing, who might potentially replace Russia as a benefactor of Olympic boxing, and much more. In addition, Malissa Smith kept us up-to-date with some important news about women's boxing. 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. Our guests were fighter and model Avril Mathie and promoter and former fighter Terri Moss, a 2015 inductee in the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame and CEO of the Buckhead Fight Club. We spoke with them by Zoom Tuesday, May 17. On June 11, the unbeaten Avril Mathie (7-0-1, 3 KOs) continues her quest to get a title fight as she fights on the Summer Time Brawl show at the Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. We spoke with her about her journey into boxing, and with Terri Moss about her role as a promoter. 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, May 9. On Saturday, May 7, pound-for-pound king and super middleweight champ Saul "Canelo" Alvarez lost by a clearcut decision in Las Vegas to unbeaten Russian fighter Dmitry Bivol, who holds the WBA light heavyweight belt. We discussed this fight, but also why, when the U.S. is sanctioning Russia for its criminal war of aggression in Ukraine, Russian boxers should not be permitted to fight on U.S. soil. Tune in now to hear our breakdown on the fight and why sanctions are so important in the war against Putin's propaganda machine. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.)  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, May 2.  What a fight! The bout between Ireland's undisputed lightweight champion fighter, Katie Taylor, and Amanda Serrano, the Brooklyn-based seven-division champion who hails from Puerto Rico, was one for the ages. Taylor and Serrano made history as the first women headliners in the main arena at the mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden. Fighting on a packed card, the two pound-for-pound greats fought an instant classic in front of a sold-out crowd of excited fans with a decibel level that was so loud, the referee couldn't hear the bell at the end of a few of the rounds. Taylor came out on top with a split-decision and a lot of talk of a rematch. Time will tell. The second half of the show looked at the impact of the U.S. government's decision to freeze the assets of the top echelon of the Kinahan Organized Crime Group, along with putting a five million dollar bounty leading to the arrest and conviction of the gang's leadership.  We discussed the impact of this decision on boxing, including the shuttering of MTK Global's boxing empire. Bob Arum of Top Rank promised to cooperate with U.S. authorities but did admit he'd paid Daniel Kinahan four million dollars in fees for the Tyson Fury fights. The WBC also had to walk back their very recent public embrace of Daniel Kinahan. A lot of uncertainty remains on what the fallout will be. We shall continue to discuss it on future WAAR Room shows as more information becomes available. 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, April 11.  Our guest was author and former elite waterskier and cyclist, Kristen Worley, to discuss and dispel the myths about transgender participation in sports.  Worley explained the complexities of the hormones that interplay in the human body, and how policies have been made, and continue to be made, across the spectrum of athletics without scientific study or evidence. In Worley's case, it led to her being the first athlete to be "gender tested" under the aegis of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Stockholm Consensus of 2003. The requirements of the "consensus" led to physical harm to her and other transgender athletes who were required to restrict their intake of necessary hormones or face expulsion from the very sports they love. In 2016, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal recognized that IOC policies specifically requiring her to reduce her testosterone levels in order compete in female sport, not only made her ill, but infringed on her human rights. Subsequent to this ground-breaking court case, Worley has worked with the IOC to develop a new framework for transgender athletes, which was released in November 2021. Much more work needs to be done, however, to overcome the deep prejudices, fears, and highly politicized atmosphere surrounding transgender rights. We are grateful to Kristen Worley for providing us with a basic education on the issues transgender athletes face. 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 Friday, April 1 (Saturday, April 2 in Australia). Our guest was Martin Stark, founder and CEO of the World Gay Boxing Championships. Here is the information he sent us about the event, on recruiting boxers for the championships, and for their fundraising campaign: Recruiting Boxers for the Championships The championships are taking place from 18-22 February 2023 in Sydney coinciding with Mardi Gras and World Pride! The event is for the LGBTQIA+ community and our fantastic allies. We are now inviting boxers to select the category they want to compete in by completing the form in the link  https://linktr.ee/wgbc.org.au. The competition age groups are Youth (17-18 years), Elite (19-40 years) and Masters (41 and above). For Masters, the age groups are 41-50, 51-60, or 61-70 years. ​Boxers will be matched in one of two experience categories: Novice (0-9 previous bouts), or Experienced (10 or more bouts) We are offering the following weight divisions: ​Female: 48-50kg, 54-57kg, 57-60kg, 66-70kg, 75-81kg and 81kg+ Male: 54-57kg, 60-63.5kg, 71-75kg, 75-80kg, 86-92kg and 92kg+ The competition will be conducted under Boxing Australia rules and WGBC policies including the WGBC transgender and gender diverse policy which is currently being developed. We may offer further categories upon completion of the trans and gender diverse policy.  The sanctioning body is Boxing NSW who are providing the referees and judges. Boxers from 12 countries have selected their categories and we would love to more international boxers compete.  Everyone will receive a warm Aussie welcome 😊 WGBC Fundraising Campaign It would be awesome to get people involved in our interactive fundraising campaign WGBC 2023 Jabs For Equality Challenge! It’s 14 days of shadow boxing doing at least 2023 non-combative punches recording their efforts and posting on social media. Participants receive their own personalised page and link for people to donate to. We want people to enjoy the benefits of being active and have lots of fun! To join  https://asf.org.au/projects/world-gay-boxing-championships/wgbc-2023-jabs-for-equality-challenge and jab where it says “Click Here To Sign Up!”.  You will get your own personalised page and link for people to donate to. 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, March 21. Our guest was Marna Deitch. We discussed both the Lesbian Fight Club and boxing. The Lesbian Fight Club, which is not just open to lesbians, and which trains people in self-defense techniques. As the LGBTQI community remains under attack, it is critically important to learn self-defense. Marna Deitch is the founder of the Motorcycle Contingent for Equality, an award-winning activist, a board member of the Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board of West Hollywood, and an executive board member of The L-Project, an art and tech 501(c)(3) organization promoting emerging LGBTQI women and non-binary creatives.  We also discussed the award-winning film, "Catch The Fair One", written by and starring boxer Kali Reis. And we discussed recent news about the Russian energy company, Gazprom, its sponsorship relationship with the IBA, and why amateur boxing may be dropped as an Olympic sport in the near future. 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, March 14. Our wide-ranging discussion first focused on the continuing role of Russia in world sport, including in professional and Olympic boxing, even as Russia's war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine intensify. We discussed revelations that Umar Kremlev, president of the Olympic boxing federation IBA, has a history of ties with the Russian motorcycle club Night Wolves. Since 2014, the Night Wolves have been been under sanction by the the U.S. Treasury Department: "The Night Wolves have been closely connected to the Russian special services, have helped to recruit separatist fighters for Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukraine, and were deployed to the cities of Luhansk and Kharkiv." The IBA also has kept Gazprom, the Russian state-owned energy company, as a "general partner". And in professional boxing, Russian fighters like Dmitry Bivol still get major fights, despite worldwide boycotts against Russian sports organizations and athletes because of Putin's criminal war of aggression against Ukraine. We also discussed the increasingly prominent role of Daniel Kinahan, the alleged Irish head of an international drug cartel, in boxing. While the Irish media has been exemplary in exposing Kinahan, most of the world boxing media either remains silent about him or tries to cover up his real role. Kinahan is holed up in Dubai, which has not yet extradited him to Ireland. But Dubai is now hosting more and more major fights. Also, we discussed how all this corruption means that there is no longer a basis for fair, all-inclusive world sport, and that the Olympic movement, which is collapsing, needs to be replaced. We discussed the role of gambling in boxing, sportswashing, how boxing is becoming so expensive to watch that it has become a luxury sport, 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