Boxing

6:53 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN SAN ANTONIO — Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano aim to put their names in the record books on Saturday night as one will become the undisputed junior middleweight champion. Charlo enters the bout as a -260 favorite, according to Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill. The winner will join Josh Taylor,

8:34 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN There are four world titles in each of boxing’s 17 divisions. Any attempt to clear up just who “the man” or “the woman” is in a given weight class is a boon to the sport, and that’s what makes Saturday’s fight between Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano for the undisputed

11:40 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder are set for their trilogy fight for the WBC heavyweight championship – again. The battle between big men is now set for Oct. 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, sources tell ESPN. The fight, an ESPN+ and Fox PPV, was scheduled for July 24

7:57 AM ET Mikaela Mayer and Seniesa Estrada shined in decision wins and both climbed higher in ESPN’s women’s pound-for-pound rankings. Mayer (15-0, 5 KOs), 31, of Woodland Hills, California, defended her WBO junior lightweight world title with a victory over Erica Farias on June 19. The scores of 97-93, 98-92 and 98-92 were representative

10:12 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Tyron Woodley was one of the greatest champions in one of the best weight classes in the UFC: welterweight. Now, though, the hard-hitting wrestler is turning his attention to a new sport. Woodley will meet YouTube-star-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a professional boxing match Aug. 29 in Cleveland, Ohio. It

8:35 AM ET Another undisputed champion will be crowned on Saturday night, as Jermell Charlo faces Brian Castano for all four junior middleweight world titles. Charlo enters the fight as the favorite, but this fight won’t be easy, given the fighting style of Castano. For either winner, the titleholders at 160 pounds are appealing next

1:10 PM ET The boxing match between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley now has a location. Paul, the YouTube-star-turned-prizefighter, will fight Woodley in Paul’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio on Aug. 29, it was announced Monday. The venue will be Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Woodley is the former UFC welterweight champion and represents the toughest challenge yet

3:05 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Joe Smith Jr. is lining up not just his first title defense, but a major fight in early 2021. The light heavyweight titleholder is in the process of finalizing a two-fight deal, sources tell ESPN, that would see Smith fight mandatory challenger Umar Salamov in the fall followed by a

11:37 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Manny Pacquiao and Errol Spence Jr. formally announced Sunday that they will fight Aug. 21 in a bout pitting an eight-division world champion against one of the sport’s most dominant current champions. Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) and Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) will fight for Spence’s WBC and

4:42 PM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Featherweight Yarisel Ramirez was added to the Tokyo Olympics boxing tournament Saturday, becoming the 10th member of the U.S. team to qualify. She had already traveled to Japan in anticipation of gaining a late slot, and news of her addition by USA Boxing set off a celebration

2:13 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. promised 135 pounds would be his best weight yet after campaigns at 126 and 130 pounds. He just might be right. Diaz delivered the most impressive performance of his career Friday in Los Angeles, scoring a unanimous decision over Javier Fortuna to claim the vacant WBC

5:22 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Triller is making plans to stage the rescheduled Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos undisputed lightweight championship fight Oct. 17 at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney, Australia, hometown of the title challenger, Triller co-founder Ryan Kavanaugh told ESPN on Friday. But Lopez’s manager, David McWater, told ESPN that they aren’t willing to fight in

7:34 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN When Ryan Garcia withdrew from his July 9 bout with Javier Fortuna to address his mental health, Joseph Diaz Jr. raised his hand. Diaz (31-1-1, 15 KOs) immediately offered to fight Fortuna, even though the bout would be contested one division above his natural fighting weight of 130 pounds. After

8:51 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN The biggest heavyweight bout of the summer has been postponed. Tyson Fury has tested positive for COVID-19 and his bout against Deontay Wilder will be rescheduled for later this year, sources confirmed to ESPN. The fight was originally scheduled for July 24 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the

12:13 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN There’s a COVID-19 outbreak in Tyson Fury’s camp, which will inevitably cause his July 24 heavyweight championship fight against Deontay Wilder to be postponed, sources told ESPN on Thursday. No official determination has yet been made on whether the fight, set to be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas

7:33 AM ET Claressa Shields has been calling for it for years, well before she made a partial move to mixed martial arts. Shields rewrote boxing’s history books with every boxing fight she took and has always pushed for the same thing, the same hope: equality in women’s boxing. Equality in pay. Equality in promotion.

8:03 AM ET Tim Tszyu’s perfect run as a professional continued on Wednesday evening, after dominating unheralded compatriot Steve Spark from start to finish in Newcastle. Australian users can personalise their ESPN experience by downloading the app. Get live scores, news and videos for the teams and sports you love ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. • Download ESPN

9:06 AM ET IT FELT pretty obvious even before Tim Tszyu and Steve Spark stepped into the ring in Newcastle on Wednesday evening. If Tszyu wants to be taken seriously, and have his name put up in lights, this had to be his last fight on Australian soil. At least for some time. To nobody’s