Boxing

Mike Coppinger, ESPNNov 10, 2023, 01:24 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Terence Crawford was stripped of his IBF title months after he won the 147-pound belt from Errol Spence Jr. in July. The ninth-round TKO victory crowned Crawford as the undisputed welterweight champion and cemented his place as ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer. Crawford, 36,

Nov 10, 2023, 12:28 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Former junior lightweight unified champion Mikaela Mayer is moving up in weight class once again to challenge IBF welterweight champion Natasha Jonas on Jan. 20 in the United Kingdom, a source told ESPN’s Michael Rothstein this week. Mayer (19-1, 5 KOs), of Woodland Hills, California, moved

Mike Coppinger, ESPNNov 9, 2023, 09:27 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Terence Crawford, ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer, is no longer the undisputed welterweight champion after he was stripped of the IBF title, according to the organization’s updated rankings at 147 pounds. Jaron “Boots” Ennis was elevated from interim titleholder to IBF welterweight champion. Crawford

Nov 9, 2023, 07:44 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Here’s a surprise. Jake Paul could end 2023 with a better record than many of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters, including Terence Crawford, Dmitry Bivol, Tyson Fury, and Oleksandr Usyk. But to get that win, Paul needs to face his first real professional boxer. Is it

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterNov 8, 2023, 09:58 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Jake Paul’s opponent in his next boxing match will be Andre August (10-1 as a pro boxer), officials told ESPN on Wednesday. The YouTuber-turned-prizefighter will face August on Dec. 15 in Orlando, Florida. The bout will be contested at cruiserweight (200 pounds)

Nov 8, 2023, 08:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Tyson Fury did enough on the scorecards to defeat Francis Ngannou by split decision, but his disappointing performance, which included being knocked down in Round 3, forced our panelists to drop him four spots to No. 10 in the latest ESPN pound-for-pound rankings. Fury (34-0-1, 24

Mike Coppinger, ESPNNov 6, 2023, 02:58 PM ET Heavyweight contender Jared Anderson was arrested on Monday morning in Oregon, Ohio, and booked on two charges of improperly handling firearms in a vehicle while knowingly under the influence and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to Lucas Country Corrections Center records.

Mike Coppinger, ESPNNov 6, 2023, 09:54 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Francis Ngannou danced as he looked down at Tyson Fury and declared, “You’re a bad professor, motherf—er. … Who is taking who to school?'” That moment — really, any Ngannou success — was unimaginably hard to fathom during the buildup to the event last

Nick ParkinsonNov 4, 2023, 07:20 PM ET 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 Open Extended Reactions Joe Cordina edged past Edward Vazquez with a majority decision in the first defense of his IBF world junior

Associated Press Nov 3, 2023, 04:52 PM ET Open Extended Reactions SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Former Puerto Rican boxer Felix Verdejo received two life sentences on Friday after he was found guilty in the grisly killing of his 27-year-old pregnant lover. A federal judge sentenced Verdejo following emotional speeches by the family of Keishla

Mike Coppinger, ESPNNov 2, 2023, 05:17 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Vergil Ortiz Jr. will make his 154-pound debut against Fredrick Lawson on Jan. 6 in Las Vegas, Golden Boy Promotions announced Thursday. Ortiz (19-0, 19 KOs) hasn’t competed since August 2022 as he dealt with the effects of rhabdomyolysis, a condition that occurs when

Nick ParkinsonNov 2, 2023, 07:49 AM ET 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 Open Extended Reactions For too long now boxing in the UK has relied on the heavyweights to gain mainstream interest. The biggest

Nov 1, 2023, 07:44 AM ET Open Extended Reactions In the latest installment of boxing vs. MMA, the boxer, heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, earned a split-decision victory over former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. But it was Ngannou who received praise after a solid performance that included a knockdown of Fury in Round 3. After

Mike Coppinger, ESPNOct 31, 2023, 07:40 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Martin Bakole said he suffered multiple stings as he swallowed a wasp during his fourth-round TKO victory over Carlos Takam on Saturday in Riydah, Saudi Arabia. Bakole, ESPN’s No. 9 heavyweight, began coughing during his interview with IFLTV on Saturday as he discussed the

Mike Coppinger, ESPNOct 31, 2023, 06:34 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship in February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, sources told ESPN. Fury-Usyk was planned for Dec. 23 before Fury struggled in a tougher-than-expected bout with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou on Saturday in Riyadh.

Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff WriterOct 30, 2023, 09:27 AM ET Close Michael Rothstein is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Rothstein covers the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein. Open Extended Reactions ORLANDO, Fla. — They both, in their own ways, sensed it was time for the next chapter of women’s

Mike Coppinger, ESPNOct 28, 2023, 07:45 PM ET Open Extended Reactions In a shocking turn of events, Tyson Fury was forced to survive a third-round knockdown to eke past Francis Ngannou via split decision on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. One judge scored it 95-94 for Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, but was overruled

Anthony Gharib, ESPNOct 28, 2023, 07:42 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The long-awaited boxing match between WBC and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, lived up to the hype on Saturday. Editor’s Picks 1 Related The 10-round bout ended in a split decision victory for