Boxing

7:43 PM ET Steve KimESPN October’s boxing action kicks off Saturday with a key bout between junior welterweight contenders Jose Zepeda and Ivan Baranchyk, which headlines the latest card emanating from Top Rank Boxing’s bubble at the MGM Grand Convention Center in Las Vegas. Baranchyk (20-1, 13 KOs), a former IBF junior welterweight world titlist,

9:10 PM ET Steve KimESPN Deontay Wilder will have a significant change in his team as he prepares for his third fight with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Mark Breland, who threw in the towel to end Wilder-Fury 2 in February, will not be part of Wilder’s corner, Shelly Finkel, who advises Wilder, confirmed to

5:59 PM ET The title fight between junior lightweights Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Leo Santa Cruz, one of the biggest events of 2020, has been moved to Oct. 31 at San Antonio’s Alamodome, the two fighters announced on Friday. The bout, which will be broadcast on Showtime PPV, is tentatively scheduled to be the first

4:11 PM ET Steve KimESPN WBC lightweight titlist Devin Haney will defend his belt against Yuriorkis Gamboa on Nov. 7, and former middleweight titlist Daniel Jacobs will face Gabriel Rosado in a super middleweight contest on Nov. 27. Both cards will take place behind closed doors at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood

7:43 PM ET Steve KimESPN Kudratillo Abdukakhorov will face Sergey Lipinets in an IBF welterweight eliminator at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, but it won’t be on Oct. 10 as planned. Sources told ESPN that the fight, along with the rest of that card, will move to Oct. 24. It will still be broadcast

Oct 2, 2020 WBO and WBA lightweight world titlist and WBC “franchise” champion Vasiliy Lomachenko faces IBF world titleholder Teofimo Lopez Jr. at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas on Oct. 17. The bout will headline a stacked Top Rank card that begins with prelims at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The main

8:51 AM ET Steve KimESPN October has the potential to be one of the most important months for boxing in recent memory. There are four huge title fights, starting with Emanuel Navarrete facing Ruben Villa for the vacant WBO featherweight title (Oct. 9 on ESPN) and the much anticipated lightweight title unification bout between Vasiliy

6:05 PM ET Matchroom Sports promoter Eddie Hearn announced he tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. Hearn’s organization is scheduled to host a card this Sunday, but as a result of the test he needed to leave the bubble inside Marshall Arena in Buckinghamshire, England. Sunday’s card remains on and will be headlined by a

2:44 PM ET Steve KimESPN The third fight between heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder will not take place on Dec. 19 as planned, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN on Wednesday. The reason? Football. “We’re moving off because there’s five conference championship games that day and night, plus two NFL games,” Arum

8:10 AM ET Now that unified junior welterweight titleholders Josh Taylor (WBA and IBF) and Jose Ramirez (WBC and WBO) have gone through their respective mandatory challengers, it’s time for them to meet for the undisputed championship at 140 pounds. Whoever wins that fight will hold all four major titles in a division full of

8:27 PM ET Steve KimESPN Ewa Brodnicka will defend her WBO female junior lightweight title against Mikaela Mayer on Oct. 31 at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. Mayer (13-0, 5 KOs) has been outspoken in her wish for this title shot, and she made her case with a clear victory over Helen

8:06 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 James “Jazza” Dickens’ English featherweight bout against Ryan Walsh scheduled for Wednesday has been cancelled after Dickens returned a positive test for COVID-19. Dickens

8:55 AM ET Welcome to ESPN’s divisional boxing rankings. They change often based on what happened in each weight class the previous week. As a general rule, the rankings are based on what a fighter has accomplished in the weight division in which he is ranked, although his overall body of work is not entirely

6:06 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 Former world featherweight champion Lee Selby will meet George Kambosos Jr. in a final eliminator for the IBF world lightweight title on Oct. 31,

8:55 PM ET Jermall Charlo defended his WBC middleweight world title with an impressive unanimous decision victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko and solidified his place as one of the best fighters in the division. But can he get the big fights against fellow titleholders Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin? And if he does, can he beat

7:49 PM ET Steve KimESPN Luis Nery became a two-division world titlist by defeating Aaron Alameda by unanimous decision, winning the WBC 122-pound title Saturday night on the Jermell Charlo-Jeison Rosario undercard at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Nery, who has vaunted power, never came close to stopping a disciplined Alameda, who did

2:02 AM ET Steve KimESPN Jermell Charlo unified three junior middleweight world titles with an eighth-round knockout victory over Jeison Rosario on Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. And the final blow was among the most unusual knockout punches you’ll ever see — a left jab to the body. Rosario (20-2-1,

6:25 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 Taylor left Apinun Khongsong folded up in pain from a body shot in the first round to retain his WBA-IBF world super lightweight