Boxing

11:45 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN NEW YORK — Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr. was billed as a can’t-miss action fight, and the ESPN main event delivered for as long as it lasted — even if it was never competitive. Beterbiev scored three knockdowns of Smith en route to a second-round TKO to capture a

12:53 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN NEW YORK — Artur Beterbiev hasn’t met his match yet, and Saturday at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden was no different. Joe Smith Jr. entered the ring with a size advantage, strength and a tremendously powerful right hand, but none of it mattered. Beterbiev was too precise, his punches

6:35 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz is set to fight Luis Ortiz on Sept. 4 in Los Angeles, sources told ESPN on Saturday. The fight, which ESPN reported was signed in April, will be a PBC on Fox PPV, sources said. The fight will be Ruiz’s first in 15 months, and

6:32 PM ET Fifteen current and former Mexican fighters got together to teach the largest boxing class ever at the Zocalo, the main square in Mexico City on Saturday. Erik “El Terrible” Morales, Andy Ruiz Jr., Oscar Valdez, Jackie Nava, Humberto “Chiquita” González, Miguel Berchelt, Jose “Pipino” Cuevas, Alfonso Zamora, Jose Luis Bueno, Jose Antonio

7:51 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN When Joe Smith Jr. narrowly defeated Maxim Vlasov in April 2021 to win the WBO light heavyweight title, a unification bout with WBC and IBF titleholder Artur Beterbiev instantly became a can’t-miss matchup. Two of the biggest punchers in boxing will meet on Saturday at New York’s Hulu Theater at

2:51 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Vergil Ortiz Jr. will fight Michael McKinson in a rescheduled welterweight bout on Aug. 6 in Fort Worth, Texas, Golden Boy Promotions announced Thursday. ESPN reported last month that Ortiz and David Avanesyan agreed to a deal for a fight on the same date, but according to Ortiz’s manager, Rick

12:52 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN The heavyweight title rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua is now set for Aug. 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, sources told ESPN on Thursday. The fight was originally being planned for July 23, but now Joshua will have nearly 30 more days to work with new trainer Robert Garcia.

6:41 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Edgar Berlanga is being suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission for attempting to bite Alexis Angulo on Saturday, sources tell ESPN. The length of the suspension has yet to be finalized, sources said. Berlanga is also facing a fine for his actions. The 25-year-old won a 10-round unanimous

4:27 PM ET Associated Press LAUSANNE, Switzerland — After a court ruled that his election opponent was wrongly barred, International Boxing Association president Umar Kremlev said Wednesday he wants a new contest. A clean election could be key for the International Olympic Committee to consider reinstating the IBA after excluding it from organizing bouts at

7:38 AM ET Timothy Bradley Jr. Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr. meet on Saturday to unify three of the four major light heavyweight titles in the main event of a Top Rank card at the Hulu Theater inside Madison Square Garden in New York (ESPN/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET, with prelims on ESPN+ at 6:30

6:20 AM ET WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury said he is willing to return to the ring for a potential unification bout against Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk but said organisers would have to dig out £500 million to tempt him out of “retirement.” Fury knocked out Dillian Whyte in April to retain his title

4:42 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN The mayor of Ukraine’s capital since 2014, the former heavyweight champion is a longtime outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin dating back to the conflict with Russia in 2013. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, Vitali, along with his younger brother and fellow Hall of Famer, Wladimir, has served as

5:28 PM ET Associated Press DALLAS — Welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. has pleaded guilty to a charge of driving while intoxicated after crashing his speeding Ferrari in 2019, prosecutors said. Spence, 32, pleaded guilty and was convicted last week in Dallas County Court of Criminal Appeals No. 2, the Dallas County district attorney’s office

8:41 PM ET Associated Press VERONA, N.Y. — Reduced to tears at a banquet on the eve of his big day, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame on Sunday, just a tinge of emotion in his voice as he accepted the honor. “I done a lot in my career,

1:54 AM ET Edgar Berlanga went into his Puerto Rican Day weekend fight wanting to be known for a big win on a night he’d wanted to fight on for years. Instead, the night might be remembered for the antics he tried to pull in the ring. Berlanga defeated Alexis Angulo by unanimous decision (98-92,

2:20 AM ET Edgar Berlanga defeated Alexis Angulo on Saturday by unanimous decision to stay unbeaten, in the main event of a Top Rank card at the Hulu Theater inside Madison Square Garden in New York, but the fight will be remembered for a different reason. In Round 7, Berlanga tried to bite Angulo on

5:05 PM ET Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A judge on Friday dismissed a case against five suspects charged in the 2012 killing of renowned Puerto Rican boxer Hector “Macho” Camacho after authorities said the star witness fled the island. Prosecutors requested a second opportunity to have their case heard, adding that they

2:59 PM ET Jake Paul and Amanda Serrano will once again be sharing a fight card as the pair announced they are returning to the ring Aug. 6 at Madison Square Garden in what they are labeling “two main events.” The fights will be on Showtime Pay Per View. It is the second straight fight