Boxing Esq. Podcast

My guest on this episode is promoter and New York State Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Joe DeGuardia. We spoke about Joe’s upbringing in the Bronx where his father and uncle were professional fighters. We talked about Joe’s amateur boxing career which culminated in him winning the 1988 New York Golden Gloves. We got into how he started in the pro game as a manager and then switched to promoting to keep his fighters busy and how that lead him to co-promoting such big events as Roy Jones-Antonio Tarver and Manny Pacquiao-Chris Algieri. We also discussed his current roster of fighters including Joe Smith and Carlos Takam, the difficulties of putting on club shows in the time of COVID and Joe’s attempt at organizing the sport with the Boxing Promoters Association. It was a great conversation. Hope you enjoy it.

My guest on this episode is the Editor-in-Chief of Ring Magazine - Mr. Doug Fischer. We spoke about how The Ring Magazine and ringtv.com are faring during this pandemic. We also undertook the difficult task of making mid-year assessments of the traditional year-end categories such as Fight of the Year, Round of the Year, KO of the Year, Upset of the Year, and Fighter of the Year in the time of COVID. We also discussed the upcoming boxing schedule and previewed some of the bigger tentatively scheduled big fights such as Lonachenko-Lopez and Dubois-Joyce. It was a great conversation. Hope you enjoy it.

My guest on this episode is a 2020 IBHOF inductee, top promoter, film producer, and minor league franchise owner - Mr. Lou DiBella. Lou shared his feelings on not being able to enjoy his induction into the IBHOF this year due to the COVID shutdown. We spoke about how major league baseball is making a mistake in retracting a big part of its minor league system. We talked about how Top Rank is managing at implementing their COVID protocols and still putting on shows - and how Lou’s fighter Mikkel LesPierre’s COVID situation went down. We also got into how the financial burden of testing is particularly rough on smaller promoters and club shows. We discussed what’s next for other members of the DiBella Entertainment roster including Regis Prograis, Amanda Serrano, Ivan Baranchyk, Jerry Forrest, Tevin Farmer, Charles Conwell, and Bakhodir Jalalov. We also find out if Lou is making plans to go to Bahrain for the big boxing summit later this year. It was a lively and informative conversation. Hope you enjo

My guests on this episode are two distinguished Irish sports writers - Kieran Cunningham, Chief Sports Writer at the Irish Daily Star in Dublin and Ewan MacKenna, Host of The Black Eye Podcast and Columnist for the Irish Independent News. We discussed the recent comments by Promoter Bob Arum about using alleged drug cartel boss Daniel Kinahan as his agent in United Arab Emirates to negotiate a potential deal for the Heavyweight unification fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Additionally, we spoke about the origins of MTK Global and the chilling effect the shooting at a weigh-in at The Regency Hotel in Dublin has had on boxing in The Republic of Ireland. Great conversation - I hope you enjoy.

My guest on this episode is one of the top matchmakers in the game, Golden Boy’s Roberto Diaz. We discussed how Roberto got into the sport through a chance meeting with one of his favorite fighters - Marco Antonio Barrera and how Eric Gomez drafted him to be a matchmaker for Golden Boy out of necessity. We got into how Roberto learned matchmaking on the job and what a typical day in the life of a matchmaker is like. We talked about how Golden Boy has handled the COVID lockdown on social media and what their plans are for coming back after the lockdown is lifted. Roberto broke down GB’s plans for the starfighters and prospects on their roster including Canelo Alvarez, JoJo Diaz, Ryan Garcia, Vergil Ortiz, Xu Can, and many more. It was a great conversation - hope you enjoy!

My guest on this episode is one of the foremost attorneys and managers in the game - Mike Borao. We spoke about two heavyweights Mike is involved with who scored big wins in the last few months Charles Martin and Robert Helenius. We also talked about future plans for other fighters who Mike represents including middleweight Matt Korobov and heavyweight Frank Sanchez. We also spoke about Mike’s background and participation in toughman contests. How he met and came to represent his first major fighter Heavyweight Jameel McCline. We got into his major role in getting McCline, Shannon Briggs, Monte Barrett, and Ray Austin shots at the Heavyweight crown in the same year. He also told some great stories about dealing with major promoters Cedric Kushner and Don King. And finally, we went into what a typical day in the life of a boxing manager is like. Really great conversation - I hope you enjoy it!

My guest on this episode is one of the most powerful and thoughtful executives in boxing - Showtime President of Sports and Event Programming Stephen Espinoza. We talk about Showtime’s excellent way to fill the COVID-19 programming void on Friday Nights with their Showtime Classic Boxing series. We discuss Showtime’s gameplan on how they’ll proceed when boxing events are allowed to come back and what precautions need to be in place. We also spoke about the bidding wars between networks and what Stephen anticipates the market looking like post-COVID. We get into his plans for Gervonta Davis and the 154 lb. division as well as his attempts to get a Jermall Charlo- Demetrius Andrade unification made. And finally, we discuss his comments at last year's Leaders conference on the sport of boxing and whether we’ve reached “peak boxing” yet. Really great conversation with Stephen, as always - hope you enjoy it!

For this special episode, I’m joined by Fistianados host Evan Rutkowski to go over the recent Coronavirus stimulus legislation set up to provide relief to those forced out of work by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are joined by two distinguished guests. Labor Attorney Walter Kane and accountant and financial planner Mike Alvini. Walter and Mike broke down how and when to apply for unemployment benefits, the Paycheck Protection Program Loan (aka 7a loan), the COVID Disaster Relief Loan (aka the 7B loan), as well as the qualifications for the $1200 stimulus, check advances on tax returns that the government is sending out. The main takeaway is apply, apply, apply. Definitely give this pod a good listen and contact your accountant or financial advisor to help you. If you don’t have one - Walter and Mike leave their contact information at the end of the podcast. Really great informative conversation - hope you enjoy it.

My guest on this episode is author and editor at Hannibal Boxing.com - Mr. Carlos Acevedo. We discuss Carlos’s excellent new book - Sporting Blood - Tales From The Darkside of Boxing - which goes on sale March 31st. We get into a few of the subjects of the book including Sonny Liston, Tony Ayala, and Smokin’ Bert Cooper. We also talk about Carlos’s youth in the Bronx and how he came to be interested in the Sweet Science. And finally, we get into the good and the bad in today’s boxing scene and how things evolved over time from boxing’s resurgence in the 1970s. I really enjoyed the conversation and finally getting Carlos on the podcast. Hope you enjoy it too.

My guest on this episode is a copy editor and feature writer at The Ring Magazine - Ryan Songalia. We spoke about how Ryan and his family are coping with the Covid-19 pandemic. We also got into his background in boxing including writing for Boxing Digest, The New York Daily News, Rappler.com in the Philippines, as well as The Ring. We discussed his latest article - How Covid-19 Isn’t The First Pandemic To Halt Boxing. We looked at how the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 affected boxing and the world at large and what lessons we can draw from it. We also got into the effects the current Covid-19 pandemic has had on fighters, managers and boxing gyms here in the US and around the world. It was a really interesting conversation- hope you enjoy it.

My guest on this episode is a litigation partner at Olshan Frome Wolosky but you know him as a longtime writer and editor at Boxingtalk.com - Scott Shaffer. We had a chance to analyze the Wilder-Fury rematch in depth including costume-gate. We also discussed the loaded boxing card this past weekend headlined by Mikey Garcia-Jesse Vargas and featuring a great victory by Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez over Khal Yafai as well a great Flyweight tussle between Julio Cesar Martinez and the very game Jay Harris. We also got into the proposed sale of Top Rank, the upcoming boxing schedule and the effect the coronavirus has had on the boxing community. It was a great conversation- hope you enjoy it.

My guest on this episode is a staff writer covering the sport of boxing at The Athletic - Mr. Rafe Bartholomew. We get into Rafe’s background as a native New Yorker and growing up around the famous NY bar McSorley’s. Also, his love and fascination with the Philippines and the sport of basketball, as well as his time at Grantland and his beloved newsletter, Respect Boxe. We also get into Wilder-Fury II, Garcia-Linares and preview Caleb Plant vs. Vincent Feigenbutz. It was a Great conversation - hope you enjoy.

My guest on this episode is the Editor-in-chief of Ring Magazine and ringtv.com - Mr. Doug Fischer. We talk about Doug’s new gig as color commentator at DAZN for Golden Boy’s Thursday Night Fights and how season one of that program went. We also talk about the big fight card this past week with Roman-Akmadaliev, Farmer-Diaz, and Andrade-Keeler as well as DAZN’s continued dalliance with fighting YouTubers. We further spoke about the good fights upcoming in February and beyond as well as Thomas Hauser’s three-part piece on the New York State Athletic Commission. It was a great conversation- hope you enjoy it.

My guest on this episode is truly a legend in the sports law community - Jim Quinn. He's been legal counsel for every major sport's players union in labor disputes, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. He’s now of counsel at Berg & Androphy after a long, illustrious run at Weil, Gotshal & Manges. We discuss his new book, Don’t Be Afraid to Win: How Free Agency Changed The Business of Pro Sports. We get into the labor history of the NBA and NFL and how each players union achieved free agency. We also get into how salary caps got imposed in both leagues as a result of collective bargaining. And we also talk about how the sport of boxing can be better organized to maximize its potential. Great conversation - hope you enjoy!

My guest on this podcast is Brin-Jonathan Butler, critically-acclaimed author and one of the preeminent boxing journalists. We look ahead to 2020 division-by-division from Heavyweight down through Bantamweight. We discuss what fights we hope to see in each division as well as what is most likely to occur. It was a really fun conversation, hope you enjoy it.

My guest on this podcast is Brin-Jonathan Butler, a critically acclaimed author and one of the preeminent boxing journalists. We recap the year in boxing for 2019. We spoke about Andy Ruiz and the Heavyweights; Canelo's likely Fighter of The Year worthy campaign; the WBSS and the de facto tournaments at Welterweight and Lightweight and much more. It was a really interesting conversation, hope you enjoy it.

My guest on this podcast is John Nash, a top MMA writer for Bloody Elbow. John writes primarily about MMA and Boxing and also does an excellent podcast called Show Money which covers the business side of MMA. We spoke about the idea of a Boxing League and what the nuts and bolts of that would look like. We spoke about how revenues would be split and what the wage share would be, what antitrust or Ali Act concerns there would be and what would happen with the sanctioning bodies. It was an excellent discussion - enjoy!

My guest on this podcast is Cliff Rold, a founding member of the media-run independent ratings organization the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board (TBRB) and managing editor at Boxing Scene. We spoke about the 2020 IBHOF ballot and Cliff's choices for the Hall of Fame. We also talked about his criteria for selecting his potential inductees and which writers receive which ballots We also got into the great fights of the last few weeks including Canelo-Kovalev and Inoue-Donaire. It was a really interesting discussion. Enjoy!

My guests on this podcast are Hall of Famer Buddy McGirt and boxing writer Michael Woods. I spoke with McGirt about the upcoming Light Heavyweight title fight between his champion Sergey Kovalev and Middleweight Champion Canelo Alvarez. We also spoke about the ring passing of Patrick Day and what safety measures the sport can take to prevent future deaths. I spoke to Woods about Woods' upbringing in Massachusetts and what brought him to New York to become a boxing writer. We also spoke about the state of the boxing press today and how it differs from when Woods started. Great conversations - enjoy!

My guest on this podcast is Tom Loeffler of GGG Promotions and 360 Promotions. We spoke about the recent Middleweight title fight and "Big Drama Show" at Madison Square Garden between Gennady Golovkin and Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Tom's upcoming 360 Promotions show in Hollywood with Serhei Bohachuk. We also talked about Tom's background in sports memorabilia (with his partner Harlan Werner) and their list of clients including Muhammad Ali, Sandy Koufax, Joe Namath, Ronald Reagan, and Mikhail Gorbachev. Additionally, we discussed his time as a boxing manager of Kevin Kelley, Oba Carr and Shane Mosley and his transition into promoting with K2 and the Klitschko brothers. It was a fun discussion - enjoy it!