Boxing

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

1:47 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN George Kambosos and Maxi Hughes have agreed to terms for a lightweight fight this summer in Australia, sources tell ESPN. No site, date or American television broadcaster has been finalized yet, sources said, but the 135-pound bout is likely to take place in June. Kambosos (22-2, 10 KOs) returned to

2:06 PM ET The homecoming of Katie Taylor will have another big women’s fight on the card as well. Matchroom announced Monday that the WBA junior middleweight title fight between champion Terri Harper and former pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter Cecilia Braekhus will be on the undercard of the Katie Taylor-Chantelle Cameron undisputed junior welterweight fight

9:33 AM ET Following the big fights to start the year, the boxing schedule has plenty of storylines to follow this spring, including, most recently, Tim Tszyu’s knockout win over Tony Harrison for the interim WBO junior middleweight title. After the big win, how would Tszyu match up with undisputed junior middleweight champ Jermell Charlo?

12:35 AM ET More than a son of a gun, Tim Tszyu is a world champion in his own right after knocking out flashy American Tony Harrison in their super-welterweight showdown in Sydney. Editor’s Picks Tszyu dropped Harrison in the ninth round with a series of savage blows to the head and body to claim

1:30 PM ET Katie Taylor’s homecoming fight in Ireland on May 20 has a new opponent — undisputed junior welterweight champion Chantelle Cameron, a source told ESPN on Saturday. Cameron, ESPN’s No. 7 pound-for-pound fighter, will now fight Taylor, the undisputed lightweight champion from Bray, Ireland, and ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter, at the 3Arena

8:47 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko are finalizing a deal for a May 20 fight in Las Vegas for the undisputed lightweight championship, sources told ESPN on Friday. The fight for Haney’s four 135-pound titles will be an ESPN PPV, sources said. Haney, a practicing Muslim, preferred to fight Lomachenko before

5:19 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are closing in on a deal for an undisputed heavyweight championship fight — planned for April 29 at London’s Wembley Stadium — after both sides notified the WBA that they have agreed to terms, president Gilberto Mendoza told ESPN on Friday. Mendoza said he received

7:49 AM ET Jake Paul suffered his first loss as a professional boxer last month, dropping a split decision to Tommy Fury in Saudi Arabia. But instead of the bubble being burst on the genre-bending experiment, there is even more interest in the YouTuber-turned-prizefighter’s next move. There was a clause in the contract stating that

6:44 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Jake Paul said Thursday that he was leaving the Cavaliers-Heat game on Wednesday in Miami when he was approached by Floyd Mayweather and a large group of people accompanying him. Video footage obtained by TMZ Sports shows Paul and Mayweather (flanked by several people, including security) standing feet from each

5:03 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Gennadiy Golovkin has vacated his WBA middleweight title, the organization announced Thursday. GGG informed the WBA of his decision earlier Thursday ahead of a scheduled March 13 purse bid for a matchup against Erislandy Lara, the WBA’s “regular” champion, as the organization continues to consolidate titles. Golovkin, 40, relinquished his