Boxing

3:55 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao sits in the ring in front of the media, sunglasses covering his freshly stitched face. The shades help Pacquiao avoid detection of his battered eyes, but he can’t evade the question he knows is facing him; the question he perhaps can’t answer for himself. Is

1:29 AM ET An opportunity to face a future Hall of Famer and one of boxing’s all-time pound-for-pound best doesn’t happen every day, and even less often does such a fight come together 11 days out. But Yordenis Ugas took that opportunity against Manny Pacquiao, and successfully defended his WBA welterweight world title on one

7:42 PM ET A private plane carrying world champion boxer Gervonta Davis headed for Las Vegas aborted its takeoff out of Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport on Saturday afternoon sometime before 2 ET. The plane, which was carrying between four and 10 passengers, experienced nose gear failure as it was heading down the runway, leading

1:06 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN LAS VEGAS — This night was supposed to be a celebration, a culmination of all the great Manny Pacquiao has accomplished — a champion in eight divisions in four decades, a superstar the world over. Yordenis Ugas wasn’t here for the Pacquiao party, though — he was here for his

7:16 AM ET Mark KriegelESPN LOS ANGELES — It feels odd to watch a man who’s earned purses in excess of $200 million wrapping his own hands, but Manny Pacquiao works with a practiced diligence that belies both his fortune and his standing as a presidential hopeful back home in the Philippines. He binds his

6:52 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN A title fight between Artur Beterbiev, the unified light heavyweight champion, and Marcus Browne has been ordered, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told ESPN on Thursday. The deadline to reach a deal and avoid a purse bid is Sept. 17, Sulaiman said. Top Rank promotes Beterbiev, while Browne is aligned with

9:36 AM ET Manny Pacquiao will not guarantee that he will keep boxing after his upcoming bout with Yordenis Ugas, but he told ESPN that if he continues his career, he would like to fight Terence Crawford or Errol Spence Jr. “I don’t know if this is going to be my last [time in the

10:54 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Jaime Munguia and Gabe Rosado have been on a collision course for a fall fight, but plans could change after a move from the WBC. The Mexico City-based organization ordered a middleweight title eliminator between Munguia and Sergiy Derevyanchenko, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told ESPN on Thursday. If no deal

1:00 AM ET Manouk Akopyan LOS ANGELES — Filipino featherweight Mark Magsayo was starstruck the first time he met his idol Manny Pacquiao on the Philippines senate floor on Dec. 5, 2017. The moment occurred on his wife and manager Frances’ birthday and a week after he scored his 18th professional win. Pacquiao publicly praised

1:26 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN In the end, Canelo Alvarez got his man. Boxing’s top star and Caleb Plant have agreed to terms for a November pay-per-view fight, sources told ESPN, that will be presented by PBC along with Canelo Promotions. The deal ends weeks of stop-and-start negotiations between ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer and

8:00 AM ET HE IS A quiet man, content to observe, and his manner gives him the air of the mystic. As everything around Manny Pacquiao moves — quickly, and solely for his benefit — he remains fixed, a stone in the center of a stream. In the backyard of his luxurious and incredibly occupied

3:37 PM ET Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. underwent successful surgery on his right knee on Tuesday in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and he’s scheduled to return to the ring in December, his team told ESPN Knockout. Ruiz (34-2, 22 KOs), 31, was hoping to face Charles Martin in October, but he finally made the

Aug 15, 2021 The older man kept moving. To his left, back along the ropes, circling to his right. Guillermo Rigondeaux, even at the age of 40, shuffled around the ring an infuriating amount of time as John Riel Casimero looked for any punch that might touch the former champion. It was vintage Rigondeaux. On

8:30 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN YORDENIS UGAS WAS silent. He was happy, soaking in the moment. The 35-year-old had just received an unexpected call, offering him an opportunity he’d long dreamed of. The answer about whether or not he’d take a fight against boxing’s only eight-division champion, Manny Pacquiao, was never in doubt. Of course

8:03 AM ET It seemed that the welterweight division was finally going to succeed in delivering a fight between two of the top boxers that’s been starved for big bouts. Everything was looking good in the lead-up until an eye injury for Errol Spence Jr. scuttled his fight against Manny Pacquiao. Because another big welterweight

Aug 15, 2021 Mike CoppingerESPN TULSA, Okla. — Joshua Franco settled the score with Andrew Moloney on Saturday, capping a rivalry that climaxed with a controversial finish in November and ended at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with a decisive victory in the ESPN main event. Franco, nicknamed “The Professor,” retained his secondary WBA

7:24 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Charles Conwell, who represented USA Boxing at the 2016 Olympics, told ESPN he faked a hand injury on the advice of his manager, David McWater, in order to withdraw from an April 8 fight that was slated to headline an NBCSN show. The junior middleweight contender was set to fight

Aug 14, 2021 Mike CoppingerESPN TULSA, Okla. — Wearing a pair of white-and-black trunks his grandfather gifted to him, Muhammad Ali’s grandson Nico Ali Walsh made his pro boxing debut Saturday night with a first-round TKO of Jordan Weeks. Ali Walsh, 21, displayed the kind of flair for the dramatic Ali would surely be proud