Boxing

6:51 AM ET LOS ANGELES — They couldn’t have understood in the moment what one declaration from an 8-year-old child could mean for both the father and the daughter. How one decision, essentially out of the blue, could be the fulcrum of change for both of them. One night, while they were watching fights on

4:51 AM ET WBC heavyweight title-holder Tyson Fury has labelled Oleksandr Usyk a “14-stone coward” after talks for their undisputed heavyweight title fight on April 29 broke down. Sources told ESPN on Wednesday that the talks came to a standstill with the two parties unable to agree deal points beyond the agreed 70-30 revenue split

7:48 AM ET Boxing did it again. The anticipated unification fight for all four heavyweight world titles between champions Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk seems to be off for the moment after months of negotiations and just when it looked like it was going to happen. Fury has options. Deontay Wilder is the mandatory WBC

10:30 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN The proposed undisputed heavyweight championship fight next month between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury at Wembley Stadium in London is in jeopardy as the fighters continue to haggle over deal points beyond the 70-30 split in favor of Fury for the net revenue, sources told ESPN. Usyk has shut down

7:40 PM ET Anthony OlivieriESPN.com Jake Paul, the YouTuber-turned-prizefighter, was among eight celebrities charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission for touting a crypto asset without disclosing that they were being paid to do so, according to a filing on Wednesday. The filing cited Paul’s tweet on Feb. 12, 2021, in which he promoted Tronix

2:00 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 Anthony Joshua has said he is not rushing to call on Tyson Fury for his next fight after talks for Fury’s proposed bout with

8:57 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 After months of negotiations, in private and public, Tyson Fury’s fight against fellow world champion Oleksandr Usyk is off, sources to both fighters told

1:05 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Talks to finalize the undisputed heavyweight championship fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on April 29 at London’s Wembley Stadium have broken off, sources connected to both fighters told ESPN. The sides agreed on a 70-30 split in favor of Fury for the net revenue earlier this month, but

3:22 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Naoya Inoue suffered an injury in training and his May 7 fight in Yokohama, Japan, vs. Stephen Fulton for the unified 122-pound championship has been postponed, sources tell ESPN. The fight, which was set to be streamed on ESPN+ stateside, is being rescheduled for the summer in Japan, sources said.

10:57 AM ET Two of the top young fighters in boxing will face off May 20 when Ellie Scotney challenges Cherneka Johnson for Johnson’s IBF junior featherweight title. The fight will take place on the undercard of the Katie Taylor-Chantelle Cameron undisputed junior welterweight championship fight that is also Taylor’s homecoming fight in Ireland. This

9:12 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN After the WBO gained recognition in the early 2000s — kicking off boxing’s four-belt era — it became that much more difficult to earn status as an undisputed champion. Even when a fighter can collect all four major world titles, as Josh Taylor did nearly two years ago when he

1:23 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Luis Alberto Lopez will defend his IBF featherweight title against Michael Conlan on May 27 in the challenger’s native Belfast, Northern Ireland, after the fighters struck a deal, sources told ESPN. The 126-pound title fight, which shapes up as a slugfest, will be streamed stateside on ESPN+ in the afternoon.

4:32 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Gilberto Ramirez was unofficially 182.6 pounds ahead of Friday’s weigh-in and the former champion’s 175-pound fight vs. Gabe Rosado on Saturday in Long Beach, California, has been cancelled, sources told ESPN. Former champion Joseph Diaz Jr. will fight Mercito Gesta in the new Golden Boy on DAZN main event, sources

3:25 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Oscar Valdez and Adam Lopez will meet in a 130-pound rematch on May 20 in Las Vegas, a source told ESPN on Friday. The bout will serve as chief support for the Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko fight for the undisputed lightweight championship on ESPN+ PPV, per source. Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs)

1:56 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Adrien Broner has signed with Hall of Fame promoter Don King, it was announced Thursday. Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs) won titles in four divisions while fighting for PBC, but the 33-year-old parted ways with Al Haymon’s company last year to headline a BLK Prime card. The Cincinnati native was set

4:24 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Canelo Alvarez, boxing’s top star, will defend his undisputed super middleweight championship versus John Ryder on May 6 in Jalisco, Mexico, the fighter announced Tuesday. Alvarez-Ryder will take place at Akron Stadium, a soccer venue with a capacity of nearly 50,000. The bout will be Alvarez’s first in Mexico since

6:41 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Manny Pacquiao, who announced his retirement in August 2021, plans to fight again, MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons told ESPN on Tuesday. Pacquiao, who turned 44 in December, is engaged in talks for a welterweight fight against U.K. star Conor Benn, Gibbons said. That fight is being eyed for June

4:28 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN A lightweight bout between Isaac Cruz and Giovanni Cabrera is set to take place this summer in the U.S., sources told ESPN. The fight is expected to take place in May or June, sources said. Cruz (24-2-1, 17 KOs), ESPN’s No. 5 lightweight, is best known for a close decision