Boxing

8:35 AM ET Associated Press LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The boundary between amateur and professional boxing blurred further Thursday with the International Boxing Association offering prize money of up to $100,000 for the first time at the historically amateur men’s world championships. AIBA said a total prize fund of $2.6 million was in place to award

7:56 AM ET Terence Crawford is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, the current WBO welterweight titleholder and a former undisputed junior welterweight champion. However, he’s been critiqued for not facing the best fighters in the welterweight division. One of the issues is that most of the top 147-pounders are with a

4:22 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Dillian Whyte, who has made a career out of taking on tough opposition, has another formidable opponent lined up. “The Body Snatcher” and Otto Wallin have agreed to terms for an Oct. 30 bout at the O2 Arena in London, sources tell ESPN. Whyte, ESPN’s No. 6 heavyweight, owns victories

7:51 AM ET WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford will get the signature fight he’s wanted when he faces former champ Shawn Porter on Nov. 20 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs), 33, of Omaha, Nebraska, hasn’t fought since a fourth-round TKO victory over Kell Brook in November

10:58 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Terence Crawford finally has the big fight he’s been looking for. Crawford, ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer, and Shawn Porter have struck a deal for a welterweight title fight on Nov. 20 at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay on ESPN+ pay-per-view, multiple sources tell ESPN, avoiding a purse bid scheduled for

8:01 AM ET Multiple Contributors Vitor Belfort stopped Evander Holyfield this past weekend in Florida in the latest installment of boxing’s nontraditional fights. This bout lasted only a minute, but that was long enough for many fans to turn sour at the current state of the sport. Where do boxing and these lucrative money-making endeavors

9:40 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Robson Conceicao has filed a complaint with the WBC following his unanimous-decision defeat to Oscar Valdez on Friday in Tucson, Arizona, his manager, Sergio Batarelli, told ESPN. Among the grievances: the officiating, the judging and the fact Valdez was allowed to retain his title despite testing positive for the banned

12:53 AM ET This new genre of novelty boxing matches — fights between celebrities, legends and social-media influencers — has been one of the most popular things in combat sports over the last year. Mike Tyson and Ron Jones Jr. set the stage last November, and the trend has continued to gain momentum since then.

6:03 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Former cruiserweight and heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield faces former UFC light heavyweight champ Vitor Belfort in an eight-round boxing match at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida (Triller Fight Club PPV, 7 p.m. ET). Holyfield (44-10-2, 29 KOs), of Atlanta, is 58 years old and hasn’t fought since

Anthony Joshua has welcomed Tyson Fury’s declaration that he still wants to fight him next year. Hopes for Joshua-Fury — reportedly worth £200 million — fell apart when an arbitration hearing in the United States ruled that Deontay Wilder was owed a third fight with Fury. Both will instead fight different opponents over the next

10:11 PM ET Teofimo Lopez is exploring moving up divisions after his lightweight title fight against George Kambosos Jr. on Oct. 4 in New York City, and he said in an interview with ESPN on Friday night that he has no plans to schedule a rematch with Vasiliy Lomachenko. Lopez has expressed interest in moving

12:45 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Oscar Valdez dealt with a storm of controversy after the banned substance phentermine was found in his system. He was called a cheater by his fellow fighters. He drew the ire of fans who were angered that he was allowed to proceed with Friday night’s fight despite the Voluntary Anti-Doping

5:34 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN WBC junior lightweight world titlist Oscar Valdez defends his belt against Robson Conceicao on Friday (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET, with undercard fights starting at 6:10 p.m. ET) in Tucson, Arizona. Valdez tested positive for the banned substance phentermine in August, but the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Athletic Commission allowed Valdez to

9:00 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Evander Holyfield will return to the ring Saturday against a legendary mixed martial artist, former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort. Yes, Holyfield is 58. And yes, this will be his first fight since he defeated Brian Nielsen in 2011, capping one of the greatest in-ring careers of all time.

8:22 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos have signed contracts for an undisputed lightweight title fight that will take place Oct. 4 at New York’s Hulu Theater at MSG, Triller COO Thorsten Meier told ESPN. The fight was set for Oct. 5 but Triller moved the fight to avoid competing with a

Sep 8, 2021 Mike CoppingerESPN Mikey Garcia, a four-division champion, has agreed to terms for a fight with Spain’s Sandor Martin on Oct. 16, possibly in Texas, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. The bout will be contested at a catchweight of 145 pounds, sources said. Promoter Eddie Hearn was planning to stage the 115-pound championship

7:53 AM ET Two fighters who shouldn’t be near a boxing ring are headlining cards in Miami and Tucson, Arizona, this weekend. Evander Holyfield, 58, returns to the ring to face former UFC champion Vitor Belfort, 44, in an eight-round heavyweight match on Friday at Hard Rock LIVE at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

7:48 AM ET Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano shined in recent unanimous decision wins, and each of them solidified her spot in the ESPN women’s pound-for-pound rankings. Taylor (19-0, 6 KOs), 35, of Bray, Ireland, defended her lightweight undisputed championship with a dominating victory over Jennifer Han (18-4-1, 1KO) on Sept. 4 in Leeds, England.