12:48 AM ET The longest active run by a male titleholder in boxing is over. Mark Magsayo upset Gary Russell Jr. by majority decision on Saturday night — 114-114, 115-113 and 115-113 — to claim the WBC featherweight title in Atlantic City, New Jersey, taking away Russell’s title after almost seven years with the WBC …
Magsayo halts Russell’s long featherweight reign Read More »
Filipino Mark Magsayo dethroned WBC featherweight champ Gary Russell on Saturday with a majority decision to end the longest championship reign in professional boxing. The 26-year-old undefeated Magsayo won on points on two of the three judges’ scorecards as he handed Russell his first defeat since 2015. Two judges had 115-113 for Magsayo while the …
Filipino Magsayo captures WBC featherweight title Read More »
7:51 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Gary Russell Jr. is boxing’s longest-reigning champion. As of Saturday, he’ll have held his title for 2,493 days. While he’s undoubtedly one of the most talented fighters in the world, that status is partially due to his low level of activity. Gary Russell Jr. fights just once a year. The …
Why Gary Russell Jr., the longest-reigning boxing champion, fights only once a year Read More »
1:46 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Sergey Kovalev and Meng Fanlong are finalizing a 185-pound catchweight fight on March 12 in Los Angeles, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. The Triller Fight Club headliner will be Kovalev’s first bout since November 2019, when Canelo Alvarez brutally knocked him out to capture a light heavyweight title. Kovalev, a …
Sources: Kovalev finalizing March 12 return bout Read More »
7:20 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Promoter Kalle Sauerland announced last week that Tony Yoka accepted an IBF heavyweight title eliminator with Filip Hrgovic, a rematch of the 2016 Olympic super heavyweight semifinal, but the fight is now in jeopardy due to a contract dispute. Yoka, an Olympic gold medalist, signed to fight Martin Bakole on …
8:40 AM ET Former world titleholders Heather Hardy and Terri Harper are both heading back to the ring — to face one another. Hardy, the former WBO world featherweight titlist, and Harper, the former WBC world junior lightweight titlist, are scheduled to fight on March 12 in Nottingham, England, in a lightweight bout as part …
Former titleholders Hardy, Harper fight March 12 Read More »
It’s been easy in the past to get frustrated, or even angry, with Gary Russell Jr. The WBC featherweight champion has long been one of the most gifted boxers in the world, but it often seems he fights less frequently than a solar eclipse. He’s set to defend his title on Saturday (9 p.m. ET, …
2:37 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Shakur Stevenson and Oscar Valdez are in the process of finalizing a deal for a 130-pound title unification fight on April 30 in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN on Sunday. Sources said no financial agreement has been reached for the proposed ESPN main event. After Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) scored …
Sources: Stevenson, Valdez work on title unifier Read More »
12:13 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Joe Smith Jr. made the first defense of his WBO light heavyweight title with a ninth-round TKO of Steven Geffrard on Saturday in Verona, New York. Smith (28-3, 22 KOs) dished a beating on Geffrard (16-3, 12 KOs) from the opening bell before finally dropping him to a knee in …
Smith Jr. retains title with TKO of Geffrard in 9th Read More »
Joe Smith Jr. had to be relieved as much as anything else. The light heavyweight titleholder, facing his third scheduled opponent for his first defense, stopped Steve Geffrard in the ninth round Saturday night at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Geffrard, a former amateur standout who took the fight on eight days …
9:21 AM ET Chris Eubank Jr.’s bout with Liam Williams has been confirmed for Feb. 5 in the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Boxxer promotions has announced, following uncertainty due to COVID-19 restrictions in Wales. The pair had been scheduled to face off a week earlier on Jan. 29, but the bout was postponed after the …
8:00 AM ET Nick Parkinson 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 British Olympic bronze medalist Frazer Clarke will make his professional debut on the Amir Khan-Kell Brook undercard at Manchester Arena, England, on Feb. 19. …
When Callum Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 a week ago and had to pull out of his fight with WBO light heavyweight champion Joe Smith, the man most impacted by it was Smith’s promoter, Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing. DeGuardia knew Smith would want to fight and would willingly face any opponent he could find. …
There are a lot of people involved in boxing who will eagerly say a lot of unflattering things about Bob Arum, the founder and chairman of Top Rank, the sport’s most prominent promotional company. Terence Crawford, the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world and the world’s best welterweight, is among them. Crawford filed a …
Welterweight champion Terence Crawford is seeking nearly $10 million in a lawsuit filed Wednesday against his former promoter Bob Arum. The lawsuit alleges Arum engaged in “revolting racial bias” that prevented Crawford from booking big fights, according to the New York Post. Arum and Crawford worked together for a decade before splitting up in 2021. …
3:55 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Welterweight champion Terence Crawford filed a lawsuit Wednesday against his former promoter Top Rank in Nevada, alleging racial bias on the part of the company’s chairman, Bob Arum. The suit alleges that the 90-year-old Arum “continues to make racist and bigoted statements and purposefully damage the reputations of Black boxers.” …
Crawford sues Top Rank, alleges Arum racial bias Read More »
3:37 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN The investigation surrounding sexual assault accusations against lightweight boxer Rolando Romero is now closed without charges being filed, the Henderson (Nevada) Police Department told ESPN on Tuesday. Romero, 26, was scheduled to fight Gervonta Davis on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles, but he was pulled from the bout in late …
11:23 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Edgar Berlanga and Steve Rolls have agreed to terms for a super middleweight fight on March 19 at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. The bout will be Berlanga’s first since he tore his left biceps in Round 3 of his victory over Marcelo Esteban …
Sources: Berlanga, Rolls agree to March 19 fight Read More »
