Boxing

8:14 AM ET VITO MIELNICKI JR. WAS dripping sweat. On a steamy July morning in New Jersey, in the middle of the West Essex High School football field, the promising teenage boxer was about to receive his reward in the culmination of years of hard work. All those 4 a.m. alarms to get strength and

8:50 AM ET Steve KimESPN Last weekend featured a full slate of fights that included the return of Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in Thailand in the early-morning hours, a solid scrap between Ted Cheeseman and Sam Eggington in England, and the sport’s newest world titlist being crowned in Angelo Leo. It was a strong start for

2:02 PM ET Steve KimESPN Heavyweight Efe Ajagba is the newest addition to the Top Rank stable, as he has signed a multiyear promotional contract with the company. Twenty-six-year-old Ajagba (13-0, 11 KOs) represented Nigeria in the 2016 Olympics before turning professional in 2017. He signed with Richard Schaefer’s Ringstar Sports. Fighting mostly on PBC

8:59 AM ET As the sport continues to pick up amid the coronavirus pandemic, some of the fights added to the boxing schedule for the second half of the year are real head-scratchers. Mike Tyson’s return to the ring after 15 years away, at the age of 54, to fight 51-year-old Roy Jones Jr. tops

2:50 PM ET Steve KimESPN The proposed bout between unified lightweight champion, Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) and IBF belt-holder Teofimo Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) tentatively set for October 3 is officially in jeopardy. According to a report from The Athletic, Lopez is balking at the $1.25 million offer from Top Rank for the fight.

2:37 PM ET Steve KimESPN Unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will defend his titles against contender Kubrat Pulev the first week of December, according to Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn. The fight was originally scheduled for June 20 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London but was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We know

8:21 PM ET Australian boxing sensation Tim Tszyu believes the difference between himself and former world champion Jeff Horn will be the ability to stay at the top of the sport for longer than six months. Tszyu (15-0-0) is set to fight Horn (20-2-1) in Townsville on August 26, a super welterweight battle which will

Aug 3, 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 It has taken Natasha Jonas eight years to get to this point after she came up short against Katie Taylor in the Olympic Games

7:42 PM 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 The return of former junior bantamweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, an all-British contest in Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing Fight Camp and the

12:53 AM ET Steve KimESPN Angelo Leo became the new WBO junior featherweight world titlist with a unanimous-decision victory over Tramaine Williams in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions card on Saturday. Williams, a slick southpaw, gave Leo problems to start the fight, but by the middle rounds it was Leo’s steady pressure

7:03 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 Ted Cheeseman won a unanimous decision over Sam Eggington after a fierce fight on Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn’s first professional boxing show since the

9:42 AM ET Steve KimESPN As the calendar turns to August, boxing gets back into full swing as Matchroom Sports and Premier Boxing Champions restart their promotions. Each has plenty of action lined up, and this weekend kicks off a busy stretch of fights to end the summer. There will be cards around the world

8:27 AM ET Steve KimESPN LAS VEGAS — Bob Arum sits in his hotel suite on the 12th floor of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, awaiting the results of his coronavirus test. It’s the 12th time he has gone through the process, waiting to confirm he’s safe to go about his business — running

5:39 PM ET Steve KimESPN Jamal James and Thomas Dulorme will meet for the WBA welterweight interim title in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions card on Saturday, Aug. 8 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The fight was originally scheduled for April 11 at the Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but it

8:47 PM ET Steve KimESPN Stephen Fulton has been ruled out of Saturday’s bout against Angelo Leo after testing positive for the coronavirus. Tramaine Williams (19-0, 6 KOs), who was scheduled to face Ra’eese Aleem (16-0, 10 KOs) in the Showtime co-main event, will now face Leo (19-0, 9 KOs). The bout remains for the

8:59 AM ET Steve KimESPN Boxing was one of the first sports to return to action as the world continued its battle with COVID-19. Starting in early June, Top Rank created a bubble inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and put on fights multiple times a week for fans of the sweet science to

4:14 PM ET Steve KimESPN Top Rank CEO Bob Arum would like to make a fight between WBO welterweight titleholder Terence Crawford and WBA titlist Manny Pacquiao in the fall. But Arum said it’s far from a done deal — despite some reports saying it’s close. “Right now, all we’ve done is we’ve contacted Crawford

8:57 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 After 1½ months inside the Top Rank bubble at the MGM Grand Convention Center in Las Vegas, more boxing promotions are ready