Boxing

1:56 AM ET The 31-month layoff didn’t seem to affect Keith Thurman much in a unanimous-decision victory over Mario Barrios Saturday night in Las Vegas. Thurman fought for the first time since losing a split decision to Manny Pacquiao in July 2019, but came out strong and dominated the first few rounds, moving well and

7:09 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 Claressa Shields unanimously out-pointed Ema Kozin to set up a potential unification title fight with rival champion Savannah Marshall. Shields (12-0, 2 KOs), who

2:51 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Ryan Garcia is on the comeback trail. The star boxer and Emmanuel Tagoe will meet in a lightweight fight on April 9 at the Alamodome in San Antonio on DAZN, according to Oscar De La Hoya, who promotes Garcia. The bout will be Garcia’s first since January 2021, when he

7:42 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN KEITH THURMAN WAS rocked. It was the first round of a fight that was poised to change his career forever, but instead of the undefeated fighter starting off strong against the legendary Manny Pacquiao, he found himself on the mat. Thurman, on his back in the middle of the ring

11:06 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 Chris Eubank Jr. hopes beating Liam Williams on Saturday will set up a dream fight against Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin at English Premier League team

11:29 AM ET Former heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko enlisted in Ukraine’s reserve army in Kyiv on Wednesday, saying that love for his country compelled him to defend it. Ukraine has been bracing for a possible military offensive after Russia assembled tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine’s borders in recent weeks, though Moscow says

10:24 PM ET ESPN staff SYDNEY, Australia — Tim Tszyu will head to Los Angeles for a maiden bout on foreign soil with the world title contender set to fight American Terrell Gausha at Crypto.com Arena on Mar. 19. According to Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, the bout between Australian Tszyu (20-0, 15KOs) and Gausha will co-headline

7:56 AM ET WBO middleweight titleholder Savannah Marshall is putting her belt on the line March 12 against Femke Hermans in Newcastle, England. It will be the third defense of the title for Marshall, 30, who last fought Oct. 16, 2021, against Lolita Muzeya, knocking her out in the second round. The fight between Marshall

How did a 28-year-old find himself at the center of the boxing world promoting the likes of Claressa Shields, Amir Khan vs. Kell Brook and Josh Taylor in a single month? Ben Shalom’s young career as a boxing promoter has traveled a long way in a short amount of time. Shalom seized an opportunity when

3:58 PM ET Associated Press Floyd Mayweather Jr. is ready to put The Money into NASCAR. The long-delayed debut of The Money Team Racing team is set for the Daytona 500 later this month, with Kaz Grala as the driver. The team secured sponsorship from sunglass company Pit Viper and Grala will drive the No.

11:00 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr. are closing in on a deal for a light heavyweight title unification this summer in New York, sources told ESPN. At the moment, Smith is looking for a purse in the neighborhood of $1.8 million for the proposed ESPN main event; he was offered

8:55 AM ET Women’s boxing has grown from a niche sport into something a bit larger in recent years. It became an Olympic sport in 2012. Women’s fights have headlined main event cards in big venues, and slowly, the top women’s boxers have started to seep into the consciousness of those who watch fights. Last

1:19 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN When Robson Conceicao challenged Oscar Valdez for a 130-pound title in September, he wilted down the stretch in a controversial decision loss. In his first fight since the first pro defeat of his career, Conceicao fought far more aggressively and dominated en route to a unanimous-decision victory over Xavier Martinez

2:05 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN For the first time since September 2019, Tyson Fury will fight someone other than Deontay Wilder. Fury’s co-promoter, Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, won the rights to the WBC heavyweight title fight between Fury and Dillian Whyte with a commitment of $41 million at Friday’s purse bid. Fury, the champion, is

5:01 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Teofimo Lopez is preparing to mount a comeback. Top Rank is exploring the possibility of a 140-pound bout between Lopez and Arnold Barboza Jr. in the spring, sources told ESPN. Lopez, who defeated Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020 to win the undisputed 135-pound championship, was upset by George Kambosos Jr. in

2:54 PM ET Bantamweight Ebanie Bridges is getting her second shot at a world title in the span of a year. The 35-year-old Australian fighter will be facing IBF bantamweight titleholder Maria Cecilia Roman on March 26 in Leeds, England, as part of the Kiko Martinez-Josh Warrington IBF featherweight title card. Roman, 39, has held

7:45 AM ET Mike Coppinger Andres Ferrari Close ESPN Editor Andres Ferrari is ESPN.com’s boxing and MMA editor. Robson Conceicao dropped a controversial decision against Oscar Valdez in September, but he has another opportunity Saturday to prove he’s a player at 130 pounds. The winner of the fight between Conceicao and Xavier Martinez (10 p.m.

2:12 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte will meet in the ring after all. There was an agreement in principle for both Whyte and Anthony Joshua to step aside and forego planned bouts with Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, respectively, in exchange for millions of dollars, but the deal fell apart after parties