12:10 PM ET Steve KimESPN Golden Boy Promotions rolled out the full card for its Aug. 28 show at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, headlined by three-division champion Jorge Linares facing Javier Fortuna in a 12-round lightweight bout. In the semi-main event, Rashidi Ellis (22-0, 14 KOs) will face Brad Solomon (28-3,
Boxing
2:26 PM ET Steve KimESPN Boxing trainer and manager Willie Savannah has died, his wife, Clara, confirmed Sunday morning. She wrote on her Facebook page: “It is with great sadness that I inform you all that my husband, Willie Savannah has passed away peacefully at home. At this time, we ask for no phone calls,
6:17 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 ended a year out of the ring with a third-round TKO win over Michael Wallisch in the second professional boxing show in
8:18 PM ET Steve KimESPN The anticipated bantamweight unification fight between Naoya “Monster” Inoue and John Riel Casimero might not happen if Casimero doesn’t take a reduction of his original purse, according to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum. Inoue and Casimero were scheduled to meet April 25, but the fight was canceled because of the
1:05 AM ET Steve KimESPN Vergil Ortiz Jr. put together a dominating performance and stopped Samuel Vargas in the seventh round in the main event of a DAZN card Friday night at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. With the victory, Ortiz (16-0, 16 KO), 22, took another step toward becoming a welterweight
12:33 PM ET Steve KimESPN Noted trainer Naazim Richardson has died after a long illness. “The boxing community mourns the death of the great Nazim Richardson. RIP Brother Nazim, a class man, a great trainer, a tremendous father’,” the Boxing Writers Association of America tweeted out on Friday morning. Richardson was a respected figure in
1:22 PM ET Steve KimESPN Canelo Alvarez’s plans to fight on Sept. 12 could be scuttled if he and DAZN do not come to terms on their next fight, according to his lawyer. Promoter Eddie Hearn has said WBA super middleweight champion Callum Smith is the leading contender to face Alvarez in the fall. However,
7:51 AM ET Steve KimESPN On June 15, Oscar De La Hoya tweeted Golden Boy Promotions’ plans for its first card since the coronavirus pandemic shut down boxing cards in mid-March, and in it he defined the hierarchy of his prospects. Due to Ryan Garcia not accepting a July 4 bout, we will return in
Jul 24, 2020 Steve KimESPN I have covered hundreds of boxing events in my life, but none quite like Tuesday’s Top Rank card at the MGM Grand Convention Center. I hadn’t seen a live fight since late February, when I went to Frisco, Texas, for the Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas card, and I was anxious to
4:42 PM ET The year 2020 continues to surprise. On Thursday, it was announced that Mike Tyson, 54, will face 51-year-old Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round exhibition in California on Sept. 12. Tyson hasn’t stepped foot in the ring since 2005. Jones Jr. last fought professionally in 2018. “It’s because I can do it.
12:14 PM ET Steve KimESPN Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is making a comeback. Tyson will fight Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round exhibition on Sept. 12. The bout will be broadcast on pay-per-view as well as multimedia platform Triller. According to a news release, there will also be a 10-part docuseries on Triller
9:14 AM ET Steve Kim 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 Vergil Ortiz Jr., the 2019 prospect of the year, returns to the ring on Friday for his first fight of 2020. Ortiz
2:43 PM ET Associated Press Boxing and mixed martial arts competition may resume in California after the state athletic commission approved new safety regulations for the coronavirus pandemic. The commission will require a “quarantine bubble” around participants in every event, including referees and judges. The events also must be held without fans. Golden Boy Promotions
12:42 PM ET Showtime and Premier Boxing Champions announced a stacked boxing schedule on Wednesday with nine cards that will run from August through December. The slate will feature two pay-per-view cards. The first will be headlined by Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Leo Santa Cruz for the WBA junior lightweight and lightweight titles on October
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 Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn wants to stage the UK’s first professional boxing show with fans for six months on Sept. 12. Hearn is planning
5:51 PM ET Steve KimESPN Former WBO featherweight world titleholder Oscar Valdez defeated Jayson Velez by 10th-round TKO in the main event of a Top Rank card Tuesday at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. It was Valdez’s first time in the ring since November, when he defeated late replacement opponent Adam Lopez
10:09 PM ET Steve KimESPN As the first set of fight cards concluded Tuesday night inside the bubble at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the next round of Top Rank bouts inside that venue were announced for late August. On Aug. 22, there will be a WBO light heavyweight title eliminator bout between Joe
8:52 AM ET Steve KimESPN The initial run of shows inside of Top Rank’s “bubble” inside of the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas culminates Tuesday with two former world titleholders returning to the ring as headliners. Former featherweight titlist Oscar Valdez will face Jayson Velez in a 10-round junior featherweight main event, and