The Boxing Esq. Podcast

My guest this episode is local promoter Larry Goldberg, of Boxing Insider Promotions. Larry has a show coming up on Friday at the Tropicana in Atlantic City featuring unbeaten junior middleweight Justin Figueroa in the main event with Heavyweight contender Otto Wallin returning in the co-feature. We talked about how Larry started out as an online journalist, forming one of the first boxing websites covering the sport - boxinginsider.com, and how he’s made the transition from journalism to promoter. We also discussed the trials and tribulations of being a club promoter in the NYC area. How the costs of doing shows (including the most expensive insurance in the nation) makes things very difficult. Larry also spoke about his acceptance of being capped at the club level and maybe becoming a feeder promoter for what he believes will be the Zuffa Boxing/TKO takeover of boxing. It was an interesting one - hope you enjoy.

My guest on the podcast is one of my favorite storytellers in the sport and one of my favorite writers in general, Mr. Jose Corpas. Jose has a new book out called the 4-Belt Error, where he retroactively goes back in time and issues belts to the deserving fighters of yesteryear to put them on an even footing with fighters of today who have more opportunities to win belts and be called a champion. We got into all aspects of the book and talked about some the fighters of the past who deserve to held in higher esteem, including Peter Jackson, Willie Meehan, Luis Firpo, Dave Shade, Kid Azteca and Rodolfo "Chango" Casanova. We also talked about Jose’s family and roots in Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and Brooklyn. His fandom for the Pittsburgh Pirates and neighborhood hero John Candelaria. We spoke about his previous books Black Ink and New York’s Greatest Fighters and finally, we got into what he thinks the future of American boxing looks like. It was a fun, wide-ranging and informative conversation - hope you enjoy.

This week's guest is promoter Tom Loeffler of 360 Promotions. We talked about Tom’s upcoming show on Friday at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California featuring his newest Abel Sanchez trained Kazakh - Saddridden Akhmedov. We got into the origins of 360 Promotions and what it’s like for a smaller promoter in the US who isn’t on a major tv network or streaming service. We also talked about his star fighter Serhii Bohachuk and his date in Riyadh in February, Tom’s relationship with Dana White and how UFC Fight Pass has been integral in helping him develop his young fighters. Tom also recounted his days as a promoter of GGG and the Klitschko brothers and discussed what he thinks about Wladimir’s rumored comeback at 50.

My guest this week is Matthew Brown from Brunch Boxing. We talked about how Matt found his passion for the sport of boxing by following the inspiring comeback of Big George Foreman. We got into how he further developed this interest in the sport on Twitter and eventually formed Brunch Boxing both its website and podcast. We then analyzed the big fights from this past weekend featuring the homecoming bouts for Keyshawn Davis and Jaron “Boots” Ennis and the respective undercard fights of interest. We also discussed a few stories that Matt has broken on the Brunch Boxing website including the sale of Ring magazine to the Saudis and the implications for boxing media and the sanctioning bodies. The ongoing controversy involving the WBA, Fight Fax and BoxRec. And finally we talked about what’s up with the PBC - what we can expect from the PBC for the rest of 2024 and what their schedule may look like in early 2025.

I’m excited to have my good friend Scott Shaffer, partner at Olshan Frome Wolosky and senior writer at Boxingtalk, as my guest this week. We go in-depth—count by count—on Devin Haney's recently filed lawsuit against Ryan Garcia, Scooter Honig, and Golden Boy in the Southern District of New York and compare it to similar cases in combat sports. We also talk about recent developments in the Matchroom v. Jake Paul defamation case, the class action filed against Floyd Mayweather by the dancers at Girl Collection, and the default judgment in the Heredia vs. MTK case. We reviewed the Janibek Alimkhanuly and Nick Ball title defenses from this past weekend as well as the controversial Sandy Ryan- Mikaela Mayer fight from last weekend. It was a great conversation - hope you enjoy it!

Fired the hell up to have one of my all-time favorite boxing podcasters and commentators on the pod, the man, the myth, the combat sport evangelist - BC - Brian Campbell, from the Morning Kombat show - which he co-hosts brilliantly along with Luke Thomas and the newly minted Brian Campbell Experience which I highly recommend you catch on YouTube. We talked about BC’s journey in boxing from his humble beginnings in Naugatuck, CT to ESPN, Grantland, CBS, and Showtime boxing. We talked about his days as a podcaster with Rafe Bartholomew on the State of Combat and the infamous soundboard, and how he met Luke Thomas and from there Morning Kombat was born. We also got into his commentating career and his gigs at Ring City and the legendary ShoBox. We then discussed the fights on Saturday that he will cover for PBC - Canelo vs Edgar Berlanga, Erislandy Lara-Danny Garcia, Caleb Plant-Trevor McCumby and Rolly Romero’s comeback fight. We also talked a little bit about our man Turki and what direction the sport will go in 2025. As always with BC, it was a fun and informative conversation - Hope you enjoy.

My guest on this podcast is Cliff Rold, one of the founders of the independent media-run boxing ratings organization the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board. He was formerly, the managing editor of one of the leading boxing sites - BoxingScene.com, and now has his own publication called The Corner Stool on Substack. Cliff and I discussed this weekend's fight results including Shakur Stevenson's win, O'Shaquie Foster's controversial loss, William Zepeda's dominant KO, and a fight-of-the-year candidate between Fernando Martinez and Kazuto Ioka. We also talked about our mid-year candidates for fight of the year, KO of the year, round of the year, upset of the year, worst decision of the year, and worst decision of the year. It's always fun chopping it up with Cliff - hope you enjoy!

This week's guest is one of my favorite boxing writers, Mr. Matt Christie. Matt was until recently the editor of the longest-running boxing publication in the business - Boxing News. He’s now a contributing writer to boxingscene.com and does an excellent podcast with Alex Steedman called The Opening Bell. Matt and I discussed his back story, and interest in the sport as well as his career path to Boxing News. We also discussed this past weekend’s IBF welterweight title fight involving one of the rising stars in the sport - Jaron “Boots” Ennis. We then went over a six-part series of articles that Matt recently published on BoxingScene that he deemed "Boxing Utopia". These articles focused on improvements Matt would like to see happen in the sport - including one world champion per division, the use of the Transnational Boxing Ratings, as the official ratings of the sport, having controversial decisions be both appealable and overturnable, more investment in the grassroots and for our fallen retired heroes and a tougher more cogent anti-doping policy for the sport. I love talking about boxing reform, so this was a great conversation. Hope you enjoy it.

I'm back and very excited to get the pod rolling again. My guest is John Nash, from the Hey Not The Face podcast. John writes primarily about MMA and Boxing and does another excellent podcast called Show Money which covers the business side of MMA. We spoke about the Saudi plan for a boxing league detailed in the New York Times article from June 12. We discussed the likelihood of each of the big 5 major players in the sport, Top Rank, PBC, Matchroom, Queensberry, and Golden Boy selling all or a percentage of their business to the Saudis. We also got into what it would mean if the Saudis ran it like the UFC and if Turki Alalshikh played the Dana White role. It was an excellent discussion - enjoy!

My guest on this episode is former two-time Heavyweight Champion of the World - Chris Byrd. We talk about Chris’s miraculous recovery from years of debilitating pain from nerve damage in his foot, hip replacement surgery, and numerous shoulder problems. We discussed Chris's new diet and alternative therapies that aided his recovery. We also spoke about Chris’s great career from his days in the amateurs and sparring in an 8 by 10 ring in his parents' basement; his trip to the Olympic trials in 1988; his Olympic Silver Medal in 1992; not getting signed by a major promoter coming off of that medal and his roundabout journey as an avoided fighter to a shot at the Heavyweight title and eventually becoming a two-time champ. We also go into his battles in the ring with Ike Ibeabuchi, Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, Maurice Harris, David Tua, Evander Holyfield, Jameel McCline and many more and how he found out that many of his contemporaries were using PEDs. It was a great conversation - hope you enjoy it.

My guests on this episode are the undisputed Women’s World Welterweight Champion and unified WBC/WBA Junior Welterweight Champion Jessica McCaskill and her manager and trainer Rick Ramos. We talked about their backgrounds growing up in Illinois and how both of them came to the sport of boxing. I spoke to Jessica about her time at Pagedale Boxing in St. Louis with my late friend and mentor Marvin “Coots” Millett. I talked with Rick about his opening of the Body Shot Boxing Club and how he competes with the fitness gyms and stays afloat during the pandemic. We got into how Jessica’s big fights with Katie Taylor and Cecilia Braekhus got made and how Rick thought he might have burned a bridge with Eddie Hearn. We spoke about how difficult it is to fight in your hometown and the challenges of maintaining focus while being pulled in a million directions marketing the fight. And we also discussed what’s next for Jessica and how big fight rematches with Katie Taylor and Cecilia Braekhus are possible and how a superfight with Claressa Shields is also in play. It was a great conversation - Hope you enjoy.

My guest on this episode the VP of Communications at Haymon Sports - Mr. Tim Smith. We spoke about the PBC’s game plan in not rushing to be first to come back to the airways Post-COVID. And how their schedule of fights came together over the months that they were off-air. We got into the difficulties of putting on shows with the various medical and logistical problems associated with COVID and how PBC prepared for the inevitability of a fighter testing positive - as it happened on their very first show with Stephon Fulton. We then spoke about the excellent schedule of fights that PBC rolled out on Showtime including the Charlos shared PPV, Tank vs Santa Cruz, and Ouballi-Donaire. We also got into what to expect for the upcoming schedule for PBC on FOX. It was a really fun conversation. Hope you enjoy it.