Boxing

10:02 AM ET Jake Paul, the Internet personality turned pro boxer, has his next fight set, and this time he’ll be competing against an actual professional fighter. Paul will face former UFC fighter Ben Askren in an eight-round pro boxing match on April 17, Triller co-founder Ryan Kavanaugh told ESPN. The fight will take place

2:12 PM 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 Joe Joyce is being lined up to dispute the WBO interim heavyweight title with Oleksandr Usyk, clearing the way for Tyson Fury and Anthony

7:55 AM ET The COVID-19 pandemic robbed fans of some big boxing fights in 2020, but hopefully the circumstances ultimately give the boxing world even more to look forward to in 2021. Although some of those previously postponed fights are likely to come in the second half of this year, when a vaccine is more

12:44 AM ET Stephen Fulton had to wait several months to get a crack at the WBO’s junior featherweight belt. When he finally got his opportunity on Saturday, Fulton didn’t squander it. The Philadelphia native knocked off Angelo Leo via unanimous decision to win the title. In a bout that wasn’t short on action, Fulton

4:34 PM ET Undefeated rising welterweight star Vergil Ortiz Jr. will take a step up in competition as he is set to face fellow contender Maurice Hooker in a bout that is still being finalized, a source told ESPN. The firm date is the last step to be completed before the bout is announced, but

2:34 PM ET There will now be a tripleheader of title fights on March 13 on a card headlined by a much-anticipated rematch of Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez. Added to the card is a rematch between Jessica McCaskill and Cecilia Brækhus for the undisputed women’s welterweight title, Matchroom Boxing announced Friday. McCaskill

12:18 PM 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 Josh Warrington has told ESPN that he hopes giving up a world featherweight title will ensure he gets to fight the big names this

8:48 AM ET After spending most of 2020 waiting for their WBO junior featherweight world title fight, titleholder Angelo Leo and Stephen Fulton were weeks away from finally squaring off against each other before the year landed one final sucker punch. Granted, in a year dragged down by a pandemic, it came as little surprise.

8:11 PM ET Boxing’s most polarizing act will return to the ring this spring. Jake Paul will fight April 17 against an opponent to be determined, it was announced Wednesday. Paul, the YouTube star and social media supernova, has signed with Fight Club, the new boxing promotion launched by the team behind the social networking

4:59 PM ET Unified super middleweight world titlist Canelo Alvarez will put his belts on the line against Avni Yildirim on Feb. 27, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. While it is refreshing to see Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KOs) back in the ring so soon after his recent demolition of Callum Smith in December,

3:14 PM ET Boxing’s biggest star, Canelo Alvarez, will return to the ring Feb. 27 versus mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, per sources. The fight will be broadcast on DAZN and other PPV cable platforms everywhere except Mexico. It will be a stay-busy title defense for Alvarez (54-1-2,

8:57 AM ET A potential Anthony Joshua heavyweight unification bout against Tyson Fury could be the biggest fight of the year, but will it happen? When? And what should be next for lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez? A rematch against Vasiliy Lomachenko? A unification fight against Devin Haney? While these fights have all the ingredients to

11:56 AM ET Three-division titlist Claressa Shields will be returning to the ring for the first time in over a year to fight IBF Super Welterweight champion Marie-Eve Dicaire in a bout to unify the super welterweight division March 5. The fight will be the headliner of an all-women Pay Per View card on FITE

7:08 AM ET Devin Haney recites his lightweight hierarchy without hesitation. Himself, Teofimo Lopez, Gervonta Davis then Ryan Garcia. The rankings of these top four young fighters will be debated by the boxing community often throughout 2021 — until they can settle the score. There have even been comparisons to the Four Kings (Sugar Ray

11:46 AM ET Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said a deal for the world heavyweight champion to meet Tyson Fury in an undisputed world heavyweight title bout this year is all but done, with a venue in the Middle East a front-runner to host it. Joshua beat Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev last month to retain his

2:28 PM ET One of boxing’s top events in early 2021 is officially canceled. The Jan. 30 bout between former light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and Bek Melikuziev has been nixed after Kovalev failed a drug test because of banned substances, Golden Boy Promotions announced on Friday. 2 Related Kovalev was informed earlier this week

3:16 PM 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 Alexander Povetkin and Dillian Whyte will face each other in a heavyweight rematch on March 6, promoter Matchroom announced Friday. Despite the United Kingdom

8:58 AM ET The level of inactivity in boxing was a little higher than usual in 2020. Due to COVID-19, several of the sport’s top fighters are in the midst of unusually long layoffs. Manny Pacquiao hasn’t fought since July 2019, and Deontay Wilder took his first loss in February just before the pandemic took