It was a pleasure to have back on the pod - writer from The Ring and the Saturday Night Boxing blog - Adam Abramowitz. Adam and I recapped Saturday Night’s Ring IV - Night of Champions card - going in depth on Abdullah Mason’s hard fought win over Sam Noakes, Bam Rodriguez’s masterclass KO over Puma Martinez, Devin Haney’s underwhelming win over Brian Norman and David Benavidez domination of Anthony Yarde. We also got into what’s next for the victors. We also talked about the state of PPV in the sport and how just in the last few years there have been many fluctuations in pricing and differing approaches by promoters and networks. We discussed DAZN’s plan for at least 12 PPVs in 2026 and we went through our lists of 12 potential PPVs (or fewer) that we thought were worthy of the PPV designation in 2026. It was a fun and interesting one - hope you enjoy.

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 Erik Magraken, a managing law partner at McIsaac & Company in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, who has done work with the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) and maintains the excellent Combat Sports Law Blog that is a great resource for combat sports issues. We discuss the bill proposed by Georgia Congressman Brian Jack to amend the Boxing Safety Act of 1996 and curtail the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act of 2000. They’ve named the bill The Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act. Erik and I discuss whether this bill is actually about reviving American boxing, or is it just cover for the UFC to bring their practices of being the promoter and sanctioning body over to boxing, We also get into the support that the ABC lent the bill and whether they consulted with the Athlete’s Voice Committee or even their full membership before endorsing the proposed bill. We also recap what’s good and bad about the status quo under the Ali Act and how things may look if this proposed bill is passed and become law. It was an informative conversation - hope you enjoy it.

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.

I’m finally back with my friend John Nash from the excellent Hey Not The Face Podcast. We got into all aspects of the newly announced Saudi-TKO team up to do a so-called boxing league. We discussed both Dana White and Turki Alalsheikh’s statements about the league during their press tour this week. We also talked about what this league would actually look lime and its likelihood of success. We then talked about how this league fit in with the rest of the Turkiverse and how it differs from the Riyadh Season, Ring Magazine and WBC Grand Prix events that Turki or Saudi are funding. We also queried how some of these entities might not withstand Ali Act scrutiny. It was an 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.

Always great to have my good friend writer Brin-Jonathan Butler on the podcast. Brin has written extensively about Mike Tyson and was the perfect person to discuss the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul event with. We got into the good, the bad and the ugly about the event including the historic viewing numbers, and the great rematch between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. But we also discussed some of bugaboos with the announcement team, the god-awful problems with buffering issues and the unfortunate interview where we had to see Mike Tyson’s bare ass. We also discussed Brin’s interview and upcoming feature in The Ring on Oleksandr Usyk. We do a quick and dirty recap of the first fight in May 2024 as we look forward to their rematch in December. We also briefly talked about the verdict in Conor McGregor’s civil rape trial and how that might affect his career going forward. Always a great conversation with Brin - hope you enjoy.

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.

Very happy to have as my guest this week one of the best boxing writers and podcasters in the business, Tris Dixon, author of the critically acclaimed Damage and the editor at boxingscene.com. We discussed Tris’s journey from growing up in the woods of England to training as a boxer under Kevin Rooney in the Catskills and Matthew Saad Muhammad in New Jersey. We also talk about his transition into becoming a boxing writer and eventually being named editor at Boxing News. We talked about his excellent books - Road to Nowhere and Damage, which I highly recommend. We analyzed the big fight card from this past Saturday featuring the fight for the undisputed light heavyweight title between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitri Bivol and we also discussed the continued rumors of a Saudi boxing league and Dana White’s potential involvement It was a great conversation - hope you enjoy it.

It is my pleasure to have as my guest on the pod Tim Smith, the Vice President of Communications at Haymon Sports and the PBC. We discussed this Saturday’s upcoming card topped by Terence Crawford challenging Israel Madrimov for the WBA Jr. middleweight crown and the PBC fighters on the undercard such as Andy Ruiz, Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz, and David Morell. Tim also gave his thoughts on the Saudi's proposed boxing league and possible future collaborations with Riyadh Season. We also got into what’s going on with the Amazon deal and the quote “free fights”; Tank Davis and the possible opponents for his next fight, Caleb Plant, the possible date for the Sebastian Fundora-Errol Spence fight, Tim Tszyu, the rumored Mario Barrios-Manny Pacquiao negotiations, the Charlo brothers and who’s going to carry the torch going forward for PBC as some of the stars who were around back when PBC started in 2015, wind down their careers. I always love chopping it up with Tim - 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.