Boxing

7:41 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Not all championships are created equally. Even in boxing, with the most legitimate belts swimming in an ocean of trinket titles, this is true. A fighter can sometimes stumble into becoming a champion if the matchmaking is good enough or the circumstances are favorable. That’s not the case with

7:33 AM ET Mark KriegelESPN A couple of weeks ago, a once-great champion and a YouTuber held a news conference to announce their “fight” in Miami. The YouTuber’s brother, also a YouTuber, confronted the retired fighter and snatched his baseball cap. “Gotcha hat!” he said, before running away. This was widely interpreted as the work

8:39 PM ET After an arbitration ruling that halted the negotiations between Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) and Anthony Joshua, Fury and Deontay Wilder have verbally agreed to terms on a third fight, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN. The fight is tentatively scheduled for July 24, with a site in Las Vegas to be determined,

7:55 PM ET A huge heavyweight fight is scheduled for this summer, but it’s not the one that has been discussed for the past six months. After rumors of a heavyweight unification against Anthony Joshua, WBC champion Tyson Fury will instead face Deontay Wilder in a trilogy fight on July 24 or August 14 in

4:38 PM ET The fate of a proposed heavyweight unification match between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua could be greatly determined in the next two days. In a letter to Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn on Wednesday, the WBO ordered Hearn to “show cause” within 48 hours why the sanctioning body should not force Joshua (24-1,

7:43 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 Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor have worked for decades to reach this moment. On Saturday in Las Vegas, one of the two undefeated and

9:09 PM ET Jake Paul, one of the most polarizing up-and-coming stars in boxing, has a new home. The YouTuber-turned-prizefighter has a deal in place for his next boxing match to be distributed by Showtime Sports, Paul’s adviser Nakisa Bidarian told ESPN on Wednesday. Paul’s team and Showtime are in advanced talks about the potential

10:29 AM ET Anthony Joshua could have his next opponent quickly — even if it isn’t Tyson Fury. In a video released Tuesday by Joshua’s promoter, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn indicated that a bout between Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk is a possibility if Fury is unavailable this summer. Hearn’s comments came one day after

3:32 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Moments after his super middleweight unification victory over Billy Joe Saunders earlier this month, champion Canelo Alvarez turned his attention to another division titleholder: Caleb Plant. “That’s the plan, to go for the belt, and I’m coming, man,” Alvarez said during his postfight interview. “I’m coming, my friend.” Plant (21-0,

1:07 PM ET Former super middleweight world titlist Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez will face former light heavyweight title contender Sullivan Barrera on July 9 in Los Angeles, Golden Boy Promotions announced Tuesday. Ramirez (41-0, 27 KOs), 29, of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico, will make his Golden Boy debut after signing with the promotion in February. Ramirez, who

6:02 PM ET Mark KriegelESPN A day after Tyson Fury tweeted that his heavyweight unification fight with Anthony Joshua was “100 percent on” for Aug. 14 in Saudi Arabia, an arbitrator ruled Monday that Fury must face Deontay Wilder in a rematch by Sept. 15, ESPN has learned. In granting Wilder’s injunction, former federal judge

Sep 23, 2020 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 Editor’s note: This story was originally published in September. It has been updated to reference that Josh Taylor will face Jose Ramirez on May

2:44 PM ET Mark KriegelESPN Tyson Fury has received assurances from Prince Khalid Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Saudi defense secretary, that his four-belt heavyweight unification fight with Anthony Joshua will happen Aug. 14 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. “I just got off the phone with Prince Khalid of Saudi Arabia,” Fury said in a video posted

11:51 AM ET Forty-eight hours before fight night isn’t the time for introspection. Brandon Figueroa has a major championship to win. On Saturday night in Carson, California (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET). The 24-year-old Figueroa will face Luis Nery at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California on Saturday (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET), in a battle

7:59 AM ET Canelo Alvarez once again showed why he’s almost unbeatable by making Billy Joe Saunders quit in his corner after eight rounds. Is Alvarez the current best fighter in the world? There’s a good argument to be made for the super middleweight unified champion. A former great, Floyd Mayweather, killed two birds with

12:16 AM ET ARLINGTON, Texas — Canelo Alvarez could feel it coming. In the eighth round at AT&T Stadium on Saturday night, the Mexican champion egged on a record-breaking crowd as he pelted Billy Joe Saunders in their super middleweight unification fight. Alvarez inflicted enough damage to enhance his legacy, winning the fight after it

8:07 PM ET Billy Joe Saunders had successful surgery to repair a fractured right orbital bone suffered in a loss to Canelo Alvarez, his promoter said Monday. According to a Matchroom Boxing spokesman, Saunders fractured his eye socket in three different places in last Saturday’s super middleweight unification bout at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

7:18 PM ET ESPN News Services MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A month before he returns to the ring at age 44 for an exhibition bout, Floyd Mayweather wound up in an altercation at the news conference for the fight. The boxing Hall of Famer will face Logan Paul in a pay-per-view event on June 6