IFL will honor the state champion wrestlers from N.Y. and N.J. high schools at the April 4 IFL event at Izod Center in E. Rutherford, N.J.

NEW YORK– The connection between the sports of wrestling and mixed martial arts is a strong and growing one। In recognition of the achievement of New York and New Jersey high school wrestlers this season, the International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI) will honor the champions of both states and their coaches at the first major MMA competition on the East Coast in 2008, April 4 at the IZOD Center in E. Rutherford, N.J., beginning at 7:30 p.m. The league will recognize champions recently crowned in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) and New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) for their athletic excellence “More than two-thirds of our professional mixed martial arts athletes come from the high school and collegiate wrestling ranks,” said IFL CEO Jay Larkin. “We are proud to be able to highlight the success and hard work that these state champions have demonstrated and wish them success as they move forward in their academic and athletic careers.” Last year, the IFL and USA Wrestling, the national governing body of the sport of wrestling, began a partnership to help promote the relationship between the sports. The IFL has held clinics with USA Wrestling around the country, using IFL elite athletes with a strong wrestling background to show younger athletes how to improve technique. Numerous IFL athletes, including current champions Jay Hieron, Roy Nelson, Vladimir Matyushenko, Ryan Schultz and Ryan McGivern, have an accomplished wrestling background. In addition, former middleweight champion Matt Horwich earned a silver medal at the World Grappling Games in the summer of 2007 and his coach Matt Lindland is an Olympic Silver Medalist. Some of the elite wrestlers competing on the April 4 MMA card at the Meadowlands will include Hieron (Nassau C.C.), Matyushenko (Lassen J.C.), Shad Lierley (New York Univ.), L.C. Davis (Missouri Valley College) and Mike Ciesnolevicz (Lock Haven Univ.) The event will feature nine bouts, including the IFL featherweight, middleweight and light heavyweight belts, and will be seen live on HDNet and Fox Sports Canada, as well as on tape delay on FSN. About the IFLInternational Fight League™ (IFL) has its headquarters in New York and offices in Las Vegas. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tv. ---"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time - a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic."- Adrienne Cook Catch the IFL on FSN Sundays at 5 p.m. and LIVE on HDNet on April 4 and May 16 boxing entertainment fight sports mixed martial arts special events sports worldwide

NO HOLDS BARRED: Bob Meyrowitz

NO HOLDS BARRED: Bob Meyrowitz

http://nhbnews.podOmatic.com/entry/eg/2008-03-15T03_27_39-07_00

On this special edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Bob Meyrowitz, whose new mixed martial arts league, YAMMA Pit Fighting (http://yammapitfighting.com), will be debuting Friday, April 11, 2008, at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with a pay-per-view show. Bob is the former CEO of Semaphore Entertainment Group, which produced the original, classic UFC events from 1993 to 2001.

We were joined in our discussion, held Tuesday, March 11, at the New York offices of YAMMA Pit Fighting, by Internet radio host Bob Carson of Carson's Corner (http://carsonscorner.podomatic.com/).

Among the topics discussed in this lengthy roundtable interview were the media, radio, and the Internet; what to expect at the debut show of YAMMA Pit Fighting April 11; their running a one-night heavyweight tournament; their Super Fight competitors Oleg Taktarov, Don Frye, Gary Goodridge, and Butterbean; and much more.

To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, click the link at the start of this message, scroll down that page, and just press the play button on the player.

You can also download it by scrolling down that page and clicking on the download link (right-click to save it).

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

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The NO HOLDS BARRED theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter (http://iancarpenter.com/).

Make sure to check out my regular weekly boxing show SecondsOut Radio, at http://www.secondsout.com/radio/. On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, we begin by discussing the WBC heavyweight title fight won by Samuel Peter (30-1, 23 KOs) over Oleg Maskaev (34-6, 26 KOs) by a sixth-round stoppage, and the lightweight title fight won by Nate Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KOs) over Juan Diaz (33-1, 17 KOs) by a split decision in Cancun, Mexico. The comments of the announcers on HBO, which telecast these fights in the U.S., are particularly criticized here. We also review the cruiserweight unification bout won by David Haye (21-1, 20 KOs) over Enzo Maccarinelli (28-2, 21 KOs) by a second-round TKO in London, UK, telecast in the U.S. on Showtime and in the UK on Setanta. This coming Saturday, March 15, the long-awaited rematch between WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (48-3-1, 35 KOs) and Manny Pacquiao (45-3-2, 34 KOs) finally is set to take place. In their first bout, held at featherweight on May 8, 2004, Pacquiao dropped Marquez thrice in the first round, but Marquez recovered and was able to outbox Pacquiao for much of the remainder of the fight. The result was a controversial split draw. Now they will meet again in a bout in Las Vegas which will be shown in the U.S. on HBO Pay-Per-View. We spoke with Manny Pacquiao and his trainer and confidant Freddie Roach about what to expect March 15 on a media teleconference call this past week, and have that discussion for you here. It is free to listen to SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, http://www.secondsout.com/radio/, and listen, learn, and enjoy.

Make sure to check out my regular articles on the ADCC News at http://www.adcombat.com and on FightBeat.com at http://fightbeat.com.

NO HOLDS BARRED is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

YAMMA Pit Fighting (http://yammapitfighting.com). The producers of the original UFC and Live Nation (http://livenation.com/), worldwide leaders in live entertainment, present YAMMA Pit Fighting mixed martial arts. On the streets, it's against the law. In the pit, it IS the law.

IFL, the International Fight League (http://ifl.tv/), the world's first professional mixed martial arts league. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) (http://msn.foxsports.com/story/1636002) in the U.S., and to check your local listings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site (http://ifl.tv/), for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule, at http://ifl.tv/TV-Schedule.html.

Gladiator Challenge (http://gladiatorchallenge.com/), shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com (http://gladiatorchallenge.com/).

BJJMart.com (http://bjjmart.com), your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Gladiator Magazine (http://gladmag.com/), for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com (http://bjjmart.com) or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear (http://jiujitsuprogear.com/).

FightBeat.com (http://fightbeat.com/), for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

No Holds Barred blog
http://nhbnews.blogspot.com/

No Holds Barred podcast
http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/

The Boxing Standard
http://boxingstandard.com/

No Holds Barred on MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/nhbnews


Enjoy!



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Holm-Sanders Female PPV Super Fight June 13 at Isleta Casino & Resort in Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE– The long awaited, much anticipated showdown between two of boxing’s best, exciting and most popular females, Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm and Mary Jo Sanders, will headline the June 13th “Finally” pay-per-view event (10 PM/ET-8PM/MT), presented by Fresquez Productions, Inc., live from Isleta Casino & Resort in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“Finally,” produced and distributed by Integrated Sports, will be available for live viewing on cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, TVN and DirecTV for a suggested retail price of only $24.95.
Holm (21-1-2, 6 KOs), fighting out of Albuquerque, meets Detroit icon Sanders (25-0, 8 KOs) in the 10 round main event for the vacant International Female Boxers Association (IFBA) junior middleweight title.

“This is a fight between two supreme athletes in their prime battling for pound-for-pound supremacy,” promoter Lenny Fresquez said. “Holly is a natural junior welterweight who is fighting three divisions higher against the best middleweight in the world, Mary Jo, at 154 pounds (junior middleweight). The winner will be recognized as the top pound-for-pound active fighter in female boxing today.”

Holm, 2007 WBAN & IFBA Fighter of the Year, is the reigning IFBA welterweight champion and 7-time world title-holder in three different weight classes. She is 10-0(3 KOs) in world title fights and has defeated seven world champions including Christy Martin, Mia St. John, Jane Couch, Ann Saccurato, and Chevelle Hallback.
IBA middleweight title-holder Sanders, 4-time world champion in four divisions, is the daughter of Football Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Sanders, former Detroit Lions tight end star.

Mary Jo, 5-0 (2 KOs) in world championship bouts, has beaten nine world champions, including Valerie Mahfood, Melissa Del Valle, Eliza Olson, Tricia Turton, and Hallback.

IBA junior lightweight champion Chevelle “Fists of Steel” Hallback (26-5-2, 11 KOs), fighting out of Tampa (FL), takes on IBA featherweight title-holder Jeannine “G9” Garside (7-0-1, 3 KOs), representing Ontario (Canada), in the 10-round co-feature for the IFBA lightweight title.

Two other exciting 10-round pay-per-view fights are on tap, IBA junior featherweight champion Wendy Rodriguez (18-4, 3 KOs), of Los Angeles, versus WIBF-GBU/WIBC minimumweight title-holder Hollie “Hot Stuff” Dunaway (21-6, 10 KOs), from Van Buren, Arkansas, for the vacant IFBA junior flyweight championship.

Newly crowned WIBA flyweight title-holder Eileen “The Hawaiian Mongoose” Olszewski (5-0), fighting out of New York City by way of Honolulu, will be fighting an opponent to be determined. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Tickets, priced at $50.00, $100.00, $150.00, $200.00, $350.00 and $500.00, go on sale March 18 at the Isleta Casino and Resort box office, www.tickets.com or at Fresquez Productions, Inc. (508.884.7484). For more information go to www.fresquezproductions.com or www.holmvssanders.com. Doors open at 5:30 PM/MT, first bout 7:00 PM/MT, first televised bout 8:00 PM/MT.

Holm-Sanders Detroit Presser Quotes

The Holm-Sanders media tour kicked-off today in Detroit at the Andiamo Restaurant, continues tomorrow (Thursday, March 13 – 2 PM/MT) at the Isleta Casino & Resort (Bingo Showroom), and concludes Saturday morning (11 AM/PT) with a breakfast/press conference at the Luxor Hotel & Casino (Nile Chambers Room A & B) in Las Vegas.

Holly Holm: “Mary Joe is 25-0 and I feel that she’s been put in with the right girls. In 2 ½ more months everyone will know I’m the best in boxing. I don’t make predictions. We’ve all seen Mary Jo. I’ll train for 10 rounds and take it one round at a time. Anything can happen.”

Mary Joe Sanders: “I made a prediction once and my dad got made at me. I asked him to wait until after the fight. I predicted the third round and got her in the first. But that’s not the point. There’s no need for predictions. I don’t want to be focusing on that (round prediction). I know it’ll be a great fight.”

Mike Winkeljohn (Holm’s manager/trainer): “Mary Jo is undefeated. I hope they enjoy the last 2 ½ months being undefeated. Mary Jo is all those things (what Mallo said) but Holly is hard to hit. She’s as slippery as Jimmy’s (Mallo) hair. They must be nervous to have already started training. Holly’s going to start at the right time and not get burned out. I encourage them to do that (continue training).”

Jimmy Mallo (Sanders’ manager/trainer): “Mary Joe is by far the best female fighter in boxing. Holly Holm hops around like a bunny. She better not bring her dancing shoes that night. We train everyday; six days a week. So, I don’t think Mary Joe will peak too soon. I hope Vegas takes bets on this fight. Holly Holm can’t win this fight. Mary Joe is too good and too strong. It doesn’t matter what game plan, she can’t win. Mary Jo goes against the grain. She’s never thrown off by quickness. It really doesn’t matter. Mary Jo is a true fighter; Holly Holm is a bunny, hopping in and out, fighting like she’s doing the Cha-Cha. She better change her game plan for this fight. Whatever she does in this fight, Mary Jo is going to punch her harder than she’s ever been hit in her life.”

Lenny Fresquez (promoter of the show and for Holm): “The ring is only going to be 18 feet, so they shouldn’t think Holly will be dancing. The referee and judges will be neutral.”

CONTACTS: Bob Trieger, Full Court Press
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