Boxing

8:25 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Naoya Inoue and Paul Butler have agreed to terms on an undisputed bantamweight championship fight Dec. 13 in Japan, sources told ESPN. Inoue, a star boxer in Japan who is ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer, will attempt to unify all four belts for the first time in his career (he

Aug 23, 2022 Oleksandr Usyk delivered another impressive performance in a split decision victory over Anthony Joshua on Saturday to retain the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight world titles. He also added the vacant Ring belt, making him the lineal champion in the division. This was a rematch of Usyk’s unanimous decision win over Joshua

10:34 PM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — George Kambosos Jr is laying his boxing career on the line, saying his rematch with American Devin Haney in October could be his last fight if it ends in defeat. Kambosos surrendered his three lightweight world title belts in their unification bout in front of more than 40,000 spectators

7:17 AM ET Tyson Fury is interested in a heavyweight unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk, his promoter Frank Warren said on Monday, despite the British fighter repeatedly saying he is retired from professional boxing. Usyk retained his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles with a split-decision win over Anthony Joshua on Saturday, before calling out

2:25 PM ET Anthony Joshua has said he has the “hunger” to fight again and plans to return to the ring in December following a second straight loss to Oleksandr Usyk on Sunday. Usyk retained his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles with a split-decision win over Joshua, who fared better in the rematch

1:07 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez have agreed to a deal for a WBA light heavyweight title fight that will take place Nov. 5 in the United Arab Emirates, the organization announced. The rights to the fight were scheduled to be auctioned off at a purse bid on Sunday afternoon

4:29 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 Anthony Joshua’s career has recovered before from a world title defeat and it may do so again, but the former heavyweight champion will likely

Aug 21, 2022 Emanuel Navarrete looked like he was about to be in a fight. One shot to the body of Eduardo Baez ended any thought of that. It was a technically beautiful setup by Navarrete, who knocked out Baez in the sixth round to retain his WBO featherweight title and defend his belt for

9:47 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Oleksandr Usyk proved once again that he’s arguably one of the best fighters in the world with a gutsy victory over Anthony Joshua on Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to retain his three heavyweight titles. Now, he’s only one belt short of being called the undisputed heavyweight champion — a

Aug 20, 2022 Mike CoppingerESPN Oleksandr Usyk retained his three heavyweight titles with a split-decision victory over Anthony Joshua in a rematch on Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. One judge scored the bout for Joshua, 115-113, but was overruled by tallies of 115-113 and 116-112 in favor of Usyk, who defeated Joshua for a second

8:06 PM ET ESPN staff Oleksandr Usyk put his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight world titles on the line in a rematch against former champion Anthony Joshua on Saturday. They first met in September 2021, when Usyk captured the titles in a unanimous decision victory over the former champion at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

12:44 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Oleksandr Usyk defends his three heavyweight world titles in a rematch against former champion Anthony Joshua on Saturday at the Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (DAZN, 1 p.m. ET, with main event expected to start at 5:30 p.m. ET). Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs), 35, of Ukraine, overcame a cut

8:58 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Challenger Anthony Joshua on Friday weighed in at 244.5 pounds — the heaviest he’s been for a fight since June 2019 — ahead of his unified heavyweight championship rematch Saturday against Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) tipped the scales at 221.5 pounds, a quarter-pound heavier

8:04 AM ET Timothy Bradley Jr. After 12 rounds that saw Oleksandr Usyk skillfully outbox Anthony Joshua in September 2021, the two will meet once again for three of the four major heavyweight titles on Saturday in Saudi Arabia. The rematch (DAZN, main event expected at 5:30 p.m. ET), has the potential to be a

7:51 AM ET Mark KriegelESPN Athletes are often asked — indeed, they ask themselves — “How bad do you want it?” It’s as if desire could be quantified. Truth is, that’s an empty question that elicits mostly vacant responses. The athlete usually understands his or her role in this exchange: To make it pass as

5:51 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Artur Beterbiev is injured, a source told ESPN, and the planned Oct. 29 defense of his three light heavyweight titles against Anthony Yarde has been postponed. The nature of the injury wasn’t disclosed. The matchup was slated to take place at London’s O2 Arena after a deal was agreed to,

7:48 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN ANTHONY JOSHUA STOOD in the center of the ring in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, and soaked in the moment as confetti rained down on him. He dealt with doubt, disappointment and uncertainty in the aftermath of his upset defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr. in June 2019, but six months later,

1:11 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jamaine Ortiz have agreed to a deal for a lightweight fight that’s targeted for late October, sources told ESPN. No site has been finalized for the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN main event, sources said. Lomachenko, formerly ESPN’s pound-for-pound No. 1 boxer, last competed in December, recording