No Super Zab for Us

All week, I toyed with the idea of getting Zab Judah on the show. But if you think he's a flake in the ring, you should see him out. He's like Roy Jones in how unreliable he is with the media. While there's always a chance a guest won't show, I just figured that the odds were against me that even if we had him booked, he'd actually do the interview.

Instead, we'll have his opponent Joshua Clottey. He has a good story and is a hell of a fighter. I'm looking forward to meeting him.

We'll also have Showtime's Nick Charles to talk about his network's two shows this weekend.

As always, we welcome your calls and emails throughout the show.

Talk to you tomorrow night.

Teddy and the All Stars

This week we've got Teddy Atlas discussing Olympic boxing.

We're also working on putting together an all-star lineup to discuss the Cotto-Margarito fight.

More later..

Rated R

This week we've got new Jr. Welter champ Kendall "Rated R" Holt. If you missed his stunning performance last weekend, I urge you to watch it on Youtube. It lasted 61 seconds and was a remarkable comeback. Also on the show is Fightnews writer Gary "Digital" Williams who will talk about the upcoming Tony Thompson - Wlad Klitschko fight as well as the Peterson Brothers and all else DC related.

We hope to resume the Olympic coverage next week with Rau'Shee Warren, who will be representing the United States for the second time.

Best Of

I'll be taking a much needed vacation this week, so Sports Byline will run a "Best of Through the Ropes" program. I'll be back on the 10th with more great guests.

Over the past few weeks, we've had a couple of members of the USA Olympic boxing team. Do you want more coverage and interviews of team members or should we stick to the pros.

Please take a moment to fill out the poll to the right and leave any comments below.

Tony The Tiger

Sorry, this is so late but we just got the show booked. I like to have everything confirmed by Tuesday when possible, Wednesday at the latest. And I usually have no problem hitting my self imposed deadline. But this week was tough. For some reason I couldn't get calls back, even from people who seem to pitch me on a weekly basis.

The good news is heavyweight Tony Thompson will be on the show. He is the guy I wanted for tonight as he leaves for Germany next week to face Wlad Klitschko on July 12th. There are a lot of people, myself included, who think he has a real chance at pulling off the upset. He's tall, a southpaw and very awkward. If Wlad doesn't lay him out early, the champ could be in for a long night.

Also, my verbal sparring partner Flattop will join us as well.

We are broadcasting tonight's show from the mothership in San Francisco, so the call in number is 415-434-2844.

Talk to you tonight.

David Diaz

This week we have lightweight champ David Diaz on the show. He faces Manny Pacquiao June 28th. We've had Pac-Man on before and he was one of the worst interviews in the history of broadcasting. Nice enough guy but terrible radio.

We also hope to have another Olympian with a remarkable story. I'll update the blog once he's booked.

And Xbox 360 players -- we'll be giving away a copy of Don King Presents Prizefighter. So be sure to listen Thursday night from 9 -10 p.m. ET for your chance to win.

UPDATE: We're on for Thursday with Deontay Wilder. He is the United States' heavyweight on the Olympic team and he has an incredible story you don't want to miss. Let's just say he's a very unlikely Olympian.

Going for Gold

As many of you know, one of the goals of Through the Ropes is to give boxers and their compelling stories exposure. This week we kick off what I hope will be a regular segment leading up to the Beijing Olympics. Going for Gold will introduce listeners to the members of the U.S. Olympic boxing team.

Our first Olympian will be Sadam Ali, a Brooklyn based lightweight that a lot of people are talking about.

For our other segments, we've got calls out to some A list people. We'll keep you posted.