Boxing

Mike Coppinger, ESPNAug 17, 2023, 12:37 PM ET Janibek Alimkhanuly and Vincenzo Gualtieri have agreed to unify middleweight titles on Oct. 14 in Rosenberg, Texas, sources told ESPN. Alimkhanuly, the WBO’s 160-pound champion, will headline a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card for the fourth consecutive outing. A 30-year-old from Kazakhstan, Alimkhanuly (14-0, 9 KOs)

Mike Coppinger, ESPNAug 17, 2023, 08:29 AM ET Between Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia and Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr., boxing has produced two genuinely major fights in 2023. Another big-business bout arrives next month when boxing’s top star, Canelo Alvarez, defends his undisputed super middleweight championship vs. undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo.

Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff WriterAug 16, 2023, 04:13 PM ET Close Michael Rothstein is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Rothstein covers the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein. Undisputed junior lightweight champion Alycia Baumgardner tested positive for two banned substances during a voluntary anti-doping test leading into her July 15

Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff WriterAug 16, 2023, 04:49 PM ET Close Michael Rothstein is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Rothstein covers the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein. Mikaela Mayer’s next fight will be on the undercard of the Liam Smith-Chris Eubank Jr. rematch Sept. 2 in Manchester, England, a

Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff WriterAug 15, 2023, 09:04 PM ET Close Michael Rothstein is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Rothstein covers the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein. WBC and WBA strawweight champion Seniesa Estrada will have surgery to repair a hairline fracture on the knuckle of her right index

Nick ParkinsonAug 12, 2023, 07:47 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 LONDON — Anthony Joshua scored a spectacular seventh-round knockout of Robert Helenius on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London, setting up

Mike Coppinger Nick Parkinson Close Nick Parkinson •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 Aug 13, 2023, 02:10 AM ET From Anthony Joshua’s highlight reel knockout to the potential Fight of the Year between Emanuel Navarrete and

Mike Coppinger, ESPNAug 13, 2023, 01:03 AM ET GLENDALE, Ariz. — Emanuel Navarrete swarmed with his trademark punches from puzzling angles, while Oscar Valdez, his right eye grotesquely swollen shut, searched for a fight-altering left hook. That counterpunch landed multiple times throughout the 130-pound title fight between fellow Mexicans, but the shots never forced Navarrete

Timothy Bradley Jr. Aug 11, 2023, 06:07 AM ET Soccer’s global appeal is undeniable, but in the United States, NFL, college football, NBA and MLB reign supreme, captivating the hearts of American sports fans while ingraining themselves into the nation’s most popular pastimes. In Mexico, boxing stands proudly among the elite, just a smidge below

Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff WriterAug 10, 2023, 05:11 PM ET Close Michael Rothstein is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Rothstein covers the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein. Summer Lynn, ESPN’s No. 4 welterweight and a rising prospect in the sport, announced Thursday she is stepping away from boxing at

Mike Coppinger, ESPNAug 9, 2023, 05:30 PM ET David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade are finalizing a deal for a super middleweight fight this fall in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN. The battle of former champions will be a pay-per-view event, sources said. Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) scored a career-best win in March, a unanimous-decision victory

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 9, 2023, 10:39 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Claressa Shields, widely considered the No. 1 pound-for-pound female boxer on the planet, is going back to MMA in 2024. Shields, 28, has signed a new multiyear deal to compete

Mike Coppinger, ESPNAug 9, 2023, 07:47 AM ET In what promises to be an all-out slugfest, ESPN’s top two junior lightweights Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez will clash in Glendale, Arizona for Navarrete’s WBO junior lightweight world title (10 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+). The pair of Mexican brawlers were slated to meet in February before a

Aug 9, 2023, 07:46 AM ET LONDON — World Boxing, a new body seeking recognition from the International Olympic Committee, announced its first six official members Wednesday with the United States among federations from three continents. The others approved as full members were New Zealand Boxing, Boxing Australia, England Boxing and the Dutch Boxing Federation.

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 8, 2023, 01:39 PM ET Logan Paul’s opponent in his return to boxing is set. Paul, who has parlayed his YouTube fame into a lucrative career in combat sports, will face Dillon Danis in a boxing match Oct. 14 in Manchester, England, it was announced Tuesday. It’s unclear whether it

Mike Coppinger, ESPNAug 8, 2023, 10:53 AM ET Artur Beterbiev’s unified light heavyweight championship defense vs. Callum Smith has been rescheduled for Jan. 13 in Quebec City, promoter Top Rank announced on Tuesday. Beterbiev, 38, was set to put his WBC, WBO and IBF 175-pound titles on the line vs. Smith on Aug. 19. However,

Aug 8, 2023, 06:53 AM ET Finnish heavyweight Robert Helenius has stepped in at short notice to fight former world champion Anthony Joshua in London on Saturday after Dillian Whyte was ruled out for failing a drugs test test. Promoters Matchroom said on Tuesday the 39-year-old ‘Nordic Nightmare’, who fought in Finland at the weekend,

Sean Malcolm Aug 7, 2023, 08:00 AM ET Editor’s note: In honor of hip-hop turning 50, ESPN tapped the culture’s top voices to write about their favorite athlete name-drops in hip-hop history. “Some fool asked why I ran away/ I said, ‘A good run is better than a bad stand any day’/ My career is