5:55 PM ET Saturday’s WBO welterweight championship between Terence Crawford and Kell Brook was made official on Friday, as both fighters successfully made weight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs), the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to ESPN, weighed-in at 146.4 pounds, while Brook (39-2, 27 KOs)
Boxing
10:13 AM ET There has been a change of plans for the WBC bantamweight world title as Nonito Donaire will now face Emmanuel Rodriguez on Dec. 19. Titleholder Nordine Oubaali, who was originally scheduled to defend that belt against Donaire on Dec. 12, encountered visa issues and was unable to travel to the U.S. The
6:57 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim The elevator door slid open and out walked Terence Crawford. Despite being the best boxer in the world, the 5-foot-8, 147-pound Crawford does not cast an imposing figure, not in the way a hulking heavyweight might draw eyeballs. But he embodies the swagger of a prizefighter who has never been
6:39 PM ET After months of conflict between Canelo Alvarez, his promoters and his broadcast partners, Alvarez is finally heading back to the ring. Alvarez will meet Callum Smith to unify WBA super middleweight titles in Texas in December, sources close to the negotiations revealed to ESPN. This will be Alvarez’s first appearance since his
7:57 PM ET Shakur Stevenson will fight Toka Kahn Clary in the main event of a Dec. 12 card on ESPN, Top Rank’s Carl Moretti told ESPN on Tuesday. Top Rank had previously announced last week that Stevenson would headline the card against a yet-to-be-named opponent. Stevenson, 23, vacated his WBO featherweight championship in July
10:15 PM ET The result of a quick knockout in a heavyweight boxing match between Luis Ortiz and Alexander Flores is being called into question by a regulatory body. The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) is withholding Flores’ fight purse pending an investigation into the finish of the bout. Ortiz knocked out Flores in just
4:47 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Entering the ring again wasn’t even a thought for former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson until several propositions hit his radar, 15 years after his last professional bout. First, there was a proposed MMA fight versus Bob Sapp, then boxing matches against former heavyweight titlist Shannon Briggs and longtime rival Evander
2:52 PM ET Ryan Garcia won’t fight again this year after all. The top boxing prospect’s Dec. 5 bout with Luke Campbell was postponed Tuesday due to Campbell’s positive test for COVID-19, Golden Boy Promotions announced. The press release stated that a new date will be announced “shortly.” The original bout was scheduled for Fantasy
9:00 AM ET Nick Parkinson Close •Reports on boxing for ESPN.co.uk, as well as several national newspapers•Has been reporting on British boxing for over 15 years•Appears on BoxNation’s Boxing Matters show Kell Brook has insisted he has not been distracted or concerned by weight issues ahead of facing Terence Crawford on Saturday. There were doubts
9:00 AM ET Welterweight world titlist and ESPN No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Terence Crawford defends his belt against former titleholder Kell Brook in the main event of a Top Rank Card at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas on Saturday. And while the welterweight division is packed with talent, including titleholders Errol Spence
12:07 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN If Yuriorkis Gamboa was the toughest test to date for Devin Haney, the rising boxing star passed it with flying colors. After a yearlong layoff, boxing’s youngest champion successfully defended his WBC lightweight title for the second time with a unanimous decision win over Gamboa — a former two-division champion.
Nov 6, 2020 Lightweight contender Felix Verdejo will fight Masayoshi Nakatani on Dec. 12, Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti told The Athletic. The fight will be the co-main event of a Top Rank card at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. Verdejo (27-1, 17 KOs), of Puerto Rico, was injured in a
6:03 PM ET Terence Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs), ESPN’s No.1 pound-for-pound boxer, will showcase his skill set next Saturday against former welterweight titlist Kell Brook (39-2, 27 KOs), but many eyes around boxing are on what he will seek next provided he can handle business Crawford and his team are aiming big. Top Rank CEO
6:14 PM ET Former WBO featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson will headline ESPN’s Dec. 12 card, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said Friday. Stevenson (14-0, 8 KOs), who brought major boxing back on ESPN with a sixth-round knockout of Felix Caraballo in June, will face a yet-to-be-named opponent next month. “I’m excited. I haven’t fought since
1:19 PM ET The market value of one of boxing’s superstars is about to be tested. On Friday, Canelo Alvarez announced a separation from Golden Boy Promotions, setting the stage for perhaps the most lucrative run of his career. That’s saying something considering he signed an 11-fight deal with streaming network DAZN in 2018 that
11:38 AM ET Boxing’s most lucrative fighter is officially a free agent. Canelo Alvarez has been released from his contract with Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN, sources told ESPN’s Salvador Rodriguez. After many days of negotiations, representatives for Canelo and Golden Boy Promotions have reached an agreement to release the four-time champion. The situation ends
10:47 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Devin Haney’s introduction to adulthood, shortly after turning 21 last November, wasn’t exactly how he imagined it. There was absolutely no boxing training for three full months after he underwent surgery on his right shoulder in Los Angeles last December. Then, just as he was getting ready to ramp back
9:20 AM ET Former junior lightweight, lightweight and light welterweight title holder Adrien Broner was jailed Monday on contempt of court charges in a Cuyahoga County courtroom, stemming from an assault at a Cleveland nightclub in 2018. In December 2019, Judge Nancy Margaret Russo ruled that Broner needed to pay $783,752.54 in damages and court