8:52 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Heavyweight world titlist Deontay Wilder made his walk to the stage first, and when lineal champion Tyson Fury joined him moments later, all of the niceties and mutual respect they have shown each other throughout the buildup to their rematch was out the window. Instead, the two giants went
Boxing
7:00 AM ET Nestled among the trees in suburban Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in a building that looks like a long storage container, is a gym that serves as the home of the heavyweight champion of the world. Above a garage-style door hangs a sign that reads, “Parking space reserved for Mr. Wilder.” It’s an unexpected setting
7:53 PM ET Steve KimESPN Middleweight world titleholder Gennadiy Golovkin has suffered a right calf injury that is likely to once again push back his mandatory defense against Kamil Szeremeta, sources told ESPN. Golovkin and his team have filed for an extension with the IBF, and the fight now will likely take place in May
8:35 AM ET Mark KriegelESPN LAS VEGAS — In the summer of 2010, a 21-year-old Irish Traveler showed up unannounced at the Kronk gym in Detroit and requested an audience with the renowned trainer Emanuel Steward. “Who are you?” the 6-foot-9 visitor was asked. “I’m the next heavyweight champion of the world,” Tyson Fury said.
3:15 PM ET Tyson Fury has done a lot thinking about his future in recent years. After coming off a 2½-year hiatus from boxing, Fury resurrected his career against Deontay Wilder in December 2018 in one of the most memorable heavyweight fights of the past 20 years. On the eve of Saturday’s rematch, with both
9:15 AM ET Bob Arum, the chairman of Top Rank who has promoted fights for more than 50 years, went into his best presidential State of the Union vocal imitation. “The state of the heavyweight division is strong,” he said. Indeed, boxing’s marquee division is as healthy as it has been in years, with three
8:52 AM ET Heavyweight world titlist Deontay Wilder and lineal champion Tyson Fury will meet in a rematch on Saturday, but the fight could become a trilogy, the Briton’s promoter Frank Warren has said. The pair drew on points in their first meeting in December 2018 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, where Fury outboxed
11:52 PM ET Super middleweight world titlist Caleb Plant’s dream since he was a child was to have a world title fight in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. He not only realized it on Saturday night, but won in dominating and emphatic fashion. Plant beat down game mandatory challenger Vincent Feigenbutz for the entire fight
11:55 AM ET Welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr., the heavy-hitting 2019 ESPN prospect of the year, will make his 2020 debut against battle-tested veteran Samuel Vargas on March 28, Golden Boy Promotions announced on Saturday. The scheduled 12-round bout, which had been agreed to for the past couple of weeks but is now signed, will take
12:59 AM ET Steve KimESPN ANAHEIM, Calif. — In an eye-opening performance, Ryan Garcia stopped Francisco Fonseca in the first round of their lightweight bout with a blazing counter left hook that left his foe flat on the canvas Friday night at the Honda Center. Referee Raul Caiz Sr. counted out Fonseca at 1 minute,
2:38 PM ET The New York State Athletic Commission, which initially issued a surprisingly heavy punishment to welterweight Ivan Redkach for biting Danny Garcia during their title elimination bout Jan. 25, has dramatically reduced his punishment. Initially, the New York commission announced that it had issued Redkach the maximum fine of $10,000 “for engaging in
2:27 PM ET Unified light heavyweight world champion Artur Beterbiev, boxing’s only current titleholder with a perfect knockout percentage, will make a mandatory defense against Meng Fanlong on March 28, Top Rank announced on Friday. The fight will headline a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card (ESPN and ESPN Deportes, 10 p.m. ET with preliminary
11:05 PM ET Popular 1990s Samoan heavyweight contender Jimmy Thunder died on Wednesday in his hometown of Auckland, New Zealand, due to complications from a brain tumor. He was 54. Thunder, who was born Ti’a James Senio Peau and went by Jimmy Peau before adopting his boxing stage name, had recently undergone surgery in Auckland
7:09 PM ET Steve KimESPN The California State Athletic Commission says it has determined the contents of a squeezable bottle in Jermell Charlo’s corner during his 11th-round knockout of Tony Harrison in December to be water and that no rules were broken. The CSAC, in a statement released to ESPN on Thursday, said it came
4:45 PM ET Super middleweight titleholder Callum Smith, the No. 1-rated 168-pounder in the world, has turned down an offer to defend his belt against Canelo Alvarez on May 2. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya, who promotes Alvarez, and Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, who promotes Smith, both told ESPN on Thursday
4:54 PM ET Middleweight world titlist Gennadiy Golovkin’s mandatory defense against Kamil Szeremeta remains unsettled and likely will move into at least April, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn told ESPN on Wednesday. Initially, the plan was for Golovkin to defend against Szeremeta on Feb. 29, probably at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, but that was backed
9:04 AM ET For as long as six-year pro and super middleweight world titleholder Caleb Plant can remember, he dreamed of having a world title fight in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. “It’s something I have wanted, really, since I was a little kid,” said Plant, who grew up outside of Nashville in Ashland City,
10:54 AM ET Featherweight world titleholder Josh Warrington has signed with Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing after parting ways with Hearn rival Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions. Warren said in a statement issued on Wednesday that they had ended their relationship at the conclusion of his Warrington’s promotional agreement. “I am happy to say that