Boxing

Timothy Bradley Jr. Feb 21, 2025, 07:07 AM ET Open Extended Reactions In boxing, rematches usually reflect much of the first battle, with maybe a few added twists and turns. Dmitry Bivol, just four months removed from his controversial loss to Artur Beterbiev back in October for the undisputed light heavyweight title, will be looking

James Regan Feb 21, 2025, 04:07 AM ET Open Extended Reactions RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Josh Padley, who before this week was largely unknown outside of British boxing circles, has said he can “definitely” beat lightweight world champion Shakur Stevenson on Saturday. Padley (15-0, 4 KOs) got the call on Tuesday night asking if he

James Regan Feb 20, 2025, 04:21 PM ET Open Extended Reactions RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Promoter Ben Shalom told ESPN he has “never made a fight that quickly” after arranging for Martin Bakole to fight Joseph Parker on Thursday as a late replacement for Daniel Dubois. Dubois was supposed to defend his IBF heavyweight belt

Andres FerrariFeb 20, 2025, 07:42 AM ET Close Andres Ferrari is ESPN.com’s boxing and MMA editor. Open Extended Reactions Artur Beterbiev will make the first defense of the undisputed light heavyweight championship in a rematch against Dmitry Bivol on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (DAZN PPV, 11 a.m. ET). Beterbiev (21-0, 20

Nick ParkinsonFeb 12, 2025, 06:39 AM ET Close Reports on boxing for ESPN.com and has been covering British boxing for over 25 years. Open Extended Reactions After fighting himself out of a £800,000 debt, Hamzah Sheeraz is now targeting bigger riches in world middleweight title fights. The in-form English middleweight challenges for his first world

Feb 19, 2025, 10:45 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Josh Padley has come to the rescue for Saturday’s mega card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, stepping up with three days’ notice to fight lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson. Following the withdrawal of Floyd Schofield, who fell ill on Tuesday, organisers were left scrambling to find an opponent

James Regan Feb 19, 2025, 03:16 AM ET Open Extended Reactions RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — British middleweight Hamzah Sheeraz said he has had no thoughts about potential future fights against Canelo Alvarez or Chris Eubank Jr. as he prepares for his WBC middleweight title bout against Carlos Adames. WBC champion Adames will defend his belt

James Regan Feb 18, 2025, 02:42 PM ET Open Extended Reactions RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Daniel Dubois said his confidence is “flying” ahead of his IBF heavyweight title clash with Joseph Parker on Saturday. Parker bounced on stage at Tuesday’s grand arrivals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, looking a picture of relaxation ahead of his tilt

Nick ParkinsonFeb 18, 2025, 07:33 AM ET Close Reports on boxing for ESPN.com and has been covering British boxing for over 25 years. Open Extended Reactions Saturday’s show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has been hailed the best card boxing has ever seen — and for good reason. Boxing promoters are known for their hyperbole and

James Regan Feb 17, 2025, 01:00 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Joseph Parker has faced a long, arduous road back to the top but the 33-year-old is in a better place than ever as he attempts to become a two-time heavyweight champion. Since winning the WBO title nearly a decade ago with a points victory

James Regan Feb 15, 2025, 05:49 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Arnold Barboza Jr. beat Jack Catterall on Saturday. Alex Livesey/Getty Images) Arnold Barboza Jr. beat Jack Catterall with a tense split decision in Manchester, England, on Saturday in their WBO junior welterweight title eliminator. Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) snatched the victory after two judges scored

Feb 15, 2025, 12:24 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Keyshawn Davis became a world champion Friday night, knocking out Denys Berinchyk to capture the WBO lightweight title at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. In a dominant performance, Davis dropped Berinchyk twice and ended the fight with a vicious left hook to

James Regan Feb 14, 2025, 01:55 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Jack Catterall said he was “locked in” for his clash with Arnold Barboza Jr. on Saturday despite the prospect of a huge fight should he claim victory in their junior welterweight title eliminator in Manchester on Saturday. Both men weighed in at 139 pounds

Feb 13, 2025, 09:56 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Arnold Barboza Jr. has said he is looking forward to the Manchester crowd rallying against him and hopes he gets booed against Jack Catterall on Saturday. Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) and Barboza (31-0, 11 KOs) will fight to become the mandatory challenger for Teofimo Lopez’s WBO

Feb 13, 2025, 08:58 AM ET Open Extended Reactions British light heavyweights Ben Whittaker and Liam Cameron will meet in an intriguing rematch on April 20 in Birmingham, England, Boxxer confirmed on Thursday. The pair originally faced off in what was largely expected to be a routine win for Whittaker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in

James Regan Feb 13, 2025, 08:11 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Jack Catterall has been on the rough end of boxing politics enough times to know you can’t wait around and let the world pass you by. Following victories over Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis last year, Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) was all but assured

Timothy Bradley Jr. Feb 13, 2025, 07:52 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Since ESPN published its annual list of future standouts in each boxing division, many of those fighters have taken a step closer to winning a championship over the last year. Heavyweight Agit Kabayel will face Zhilei Zhang on Feb. 22 for the WBC

Feb 12, 2025, 02:32 PM ET Imane Khelif, who won Paris Olympics boxing gold amid a gender eligibility row, has accused the International Boxing Association of making “false and offensive” accusations after it launched legal action against the IOC for allowing her to compete. The IBA announced in a statement Monday it was filing a