Boxing

James Regan Mar 29, 2024, 02:50 PM ET Open Extended Reactions As Ben Whittaker steps into the ring at London’s Bronx Boxing Gym ahead of his media workout on Thursday, heads instantly turn to get a glimpse of England’s latest rising star. Whittaker (6-0 5 KOs) is used to turning heads now. His last fight

Mike Coppinger, ESPNMar 29, 2024, 12:46 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Teofimo Lopez and Steve Claggett are finalizing a deal for a June 29 fight in Miami for Lopez’s WBO junior welterweight title, sources told ESPN. The 140-pound title fight will headline Top Rank Boxing on ESPN. Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs) made the first defense

Mike Coppinger, ESPNMar 28, 2024, 07:53 AM ET Open Extended Reactions LAS VEGAS — Tim Tszyu shadowboxes at the Split T Boxing Club just off The Strip on a Friday morning in February, seven weeks before his name flashes all over the marquee in the fight capital of the world. That Tszyu surname is a

Mar 27, 2024, 02:21 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Erika Cruz will defend her WBA junior featherweight title against Nazarena Romero on Saturday, May 11, promoter Matchroom Boxing announced Wednesday. The fight at the Palenque de la Feria National de San Marcos in Aguascalientes, Mexico, will be the co-main event of Eduardo Hernandez’s junior lightweight

James Regan Mar 27, 2024, 09:34 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith has said a clash between the UK’s Dalton Smith and American Regis Prograis is one of several “amazing fights” they’re looking to make after the Sheffield boxer’s win over Jose Zepeda on Saturday. Smith (16-0, 12 KOs) beat Zepeda

Nick ParkinsonMar 26, 2024, 09:05 AM ET Close Reports on boxing for ESPN.com and has been covering British boxing for over 25 years. Open Extended Reactions Oscar Valdez is listing Mexican boxing icons, and with each name, his excitement grows. And then he starts wondering what it will take for people to one day mention

Mike Coppinger, ESPNMar 24, 2024, 03:05 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Jose Ramirez will fight Rances Barthelemy on April 27 in Fresno, California, while Vergil Ortiz Jr. will meet Thomas Dulorme in the DAZN co-feature, sources told ESPN on Sunday. The event will mark Ramirez’s Golden Boy debut after the former junior welterweight champion parted

Nick ParkinsonMar 23, 2024, 08:05 PM ET Close Reports on boxing for ESPN.com and has been covering British boxing for over 25 years. Open Extended Reactions Dalton Smith took a step closer to more prominent fights at the junior welterweight level by stopping Jose Zepeda with a crushing body shot in Round 5 on Saturday

Mike Coppinger, ESPNMar 22, 2024, 01:20 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang are in the process of finalizing a deal for a June 1 fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, sources told ESPN. The heavyweight clash between two of boxing’s most dangerous punchers will take place on the undercard of the Artur

Mike Coppinger, ESPNMar 21, 2024, 03:00 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Jared Anderson told ESPN he’s “beyond blessed … to come away without any injuries” and acknowledged “it was a mistake,” after police said he led them on a 6-plus-mile car chase last month with speeds exceeding 130 mph. The heavyweight contender was charged with

Associated Press Mar 19, 2024, 08:40 PM ET Open Extended Reactions BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — For 13 straight bouts over seven consecutive years, Canelo Álvarez refused to fight another Mexican. The biggest star in boxing said he respected his nation and its top talents too much to deliver any setbacks to their careers. Álvarez has

Mike Coppinger, ESPNMar 19, 2024, 04:28 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Juan Francisco Estrada and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez are finalizing a June 29 fight in Glendale, Arizona, for Estrada’s WBC junior bantamweight title, sources told ESPN. Rodriguez, a unified champion at 112 pounds, is returning to 115 for a shot at the future Hall of

Associated Press Mar 19, 2024, 03:03 PM ET Open Extended Reactions In a source of tension between Olympic leaders and Russian sport, the IOC decided Tuesday that the International Boxing Association led by Kremlin-backed Umar Kremlev will not be involved in organizing bouts for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The IOC also threatened to remove

Associated Press Mar 18, 2024, 04:44 PM ET PANAMA CITY — Boxing great Roberto Duran received a pacemaker Monday after he was hospitalized on the weekend, his family said. “The Duran family is pleased to inform that thanks to God the surgery in our champion, a pacemaker implant, was totally successful,” his family posted on

Mike Coppinger, ESPNMar 18, 2024, 02:59 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Tim Tszyu will defend his WBO junior middleweight title vs. Sebastian Fundora on March 30 in Las Vegas in the main event of PBC’s inaugural PPV on Prime Video, sources told ESPN, after Keith Thurman suffered a biceps injury in training that prompted his

Mike Coppinger, ESPNMar 16, 2024, 09:56 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Star boxer Ryan Garcia said Friday that the New York State Athletic Commission wants him to undergo a mental-health evaluation ahead of his April 20 WBC junior welterweight title fight against Devin Haney in Brooklyn. In a since-deleted video posted to social media, Garcia

Associated Press Mar 16, 2024, 07:26 AM ET Open Extended Reactions PANAMA CITY, Panama — Boxing great Roberto Duran was receiving medical care for a heart problem, the family of the 72-year-old Panamanian said Saturday. Duran, who was a champion in four different weight classes, “has suffered a health complication due to an atrioventricular blockade,”

Mike Coppinger, ESPNMar 14, 2024, 01:34 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The Josh Taylor-Jack Catterall rematch has been postponed … again. Taylor suffered an injury that forced him to withdraw from the April 27 return bout vs. Catterall in Leeds, England, sources told ESPN. Taylor-Catterall 2 is expected to be rescheduled as soon as late