Boxing

5:42 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Terence Crawford is looking to become undisputed in a third weight class, but he’s not limiting himself to welterweight. The 34-year-old became a promotional free agent after his long-term contract with Top Rank expired in November, eliminating one major roadblock to his pursuit of Errol Spence Jr., who holds two

8:00 AM ET ESPN staff Sonny Bill Williams has blasted Barry Hall out inside two minutes and says Paul Gallen could be his next opponent. New Zealand’s dual code rugby star Williams demolished AFL great in Sydney on Wednesday night, dominating from the opening seconds. Williams jolted the Sydney Swans premiership winner in the first

7:45 AM ET Timothy Bradley Jr. There are 17 weight divisions in men’s boxing, and in each one there is a champion determined by each of the four major sanctioning bodies: the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF. Some of these organizations also have a secondary titlist or an interim titlist, and all four have rankings

6:05 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua are going to run it back this summer. Usyk received permission to leave Ukraine from the country’s sports minister and will begin training camp for the heavyweight title rematch this summer after crossing the border to Poland, sources told ESPN. The unified champion joined a

9:55 AM ET ESPN Africa Boxing 15 will be headlined by a fight for the IBF Africa female Jr. Welterweight belt, between South Africa’s Hedda Wolmarans and Malawi’s Ruth Chisale March 24. The main event is a bout that sees Chisale, a Malawian soldier given special leave by her commanding officer for the event, looking

6:53 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN George Kambosos won’t be fighting Vasiliy Lomachenko after all. Lomachenko had agreed to a deal last month for a fight with Kambosos on June 5 in Melbourne, Australia, but the two-time Olympic gold medalist has elected to remain in Ukraine with his family rather than leave the country for training

12:28 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin (GGG) filed a lawsuit against Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions on Friday in Los Angeles seeking at least $3 million in damages in connection with the September 2018 rematch with Canelo Alvarez. According to the complaint, obtained by ESPN, GGG wants to be paid

1:57 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Edgar Berlanga steadily created buzz during the first 16 fights of his career, all of which ended via first-round knockout victory. Following Saturday’s win over Steve Rolls before a sold-out crowd at New York’s Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden — Berlanga’s third consecutive decision win — much of the

2:35 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Edgar Berlanga and Xander Zayas both remained undefeated Saturday in New York, but their decision victories leave them on very different paths. For Zayas, it’s another step in his development. At just 19, he appears to improve in each and every fight, and his performance over Quincy LaVallais was no

2:15 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr. have agreed to a deal for a light heavyweight title unification on June 18 in New York, sources told ESPN. The Top Rank Boxing on ESPN main event could take place at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, but a site has not

7:49 AM ET Saturday’s fight card at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden could provide a glimpse of future world champions (ESPN/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET, with prelims on ESPN+ at 7:10 p.m. ET). The Top Rank card inside one of boxing’s most historic venues features two of the promotional company’s most interesting prospects —

6:12 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Vergil Ortiz Jr., a rising star at 147 pounds, has been forced to withdraw from a March 19 fight against Michael McKinson in Los Angeles for undisclosed reasons, sources told ESPN. The fight was set to headline a Golden Boy Promotions on DAZN card. McKinson could fight a replacement opponent,

10:15 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN As Vasiliy Lomachenko works to help defend Ukraine from Russia’s ongoing invasion, efforts are being made by his team to allow him to leave his native country to train for a proposed fight against undisputed lightweight champion George Kambosos, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. Lomachenko, 34, joined a territorial defense

10:56 AM ET Recent U.S. Olympian Keyshawn Davis has a new date for his next fight. The junior welterweight will face Esteban Sanchez on April 30 in Las Vegas, a source familiar with the bout told ESPN. It will be on the undercard of the Shakur Stevenson-Oscar Valdez junior lightweight title unification at the MGM

12:52 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Stephen Fulton will defend his unified 122-pound championship against Daniel Roman in a PBC on Showtime main event on June 4, sources told ESPN. Fulton, 27, and Roman, 31, are among the sport’s most reliable-action fighters, two volume-punchers who fight aggressively but with craft. Fulton (20-0, 8 KOs) threw over

Oct 21, 2019 Steve KimESPN XANDER ZAYAS SAT at dinner alongside his mother, stepfather and sister on Dec. 17, 2018, just a few weeks after capturing the 2018 USA Boxing Youth National Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah. The 16-year-old and his family were joined by his trainer, Javiel Centeno, and manager, Peter Kahn. The

4:47 PM ET Former ESPN anchor Alan Massengale has died, his former TV station KCBS reported. He was 63. Massengale was diagnosed with colon cancer more than six years ago and was placed on life support after suffering a brain bleed following a slip and fall. Massengale was a SportsCenter anchor in the 1980s. His

7:33 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 Leigh Wood produced a stunning comeback win to halt Michael Conlan with a brutal knockout in the 12th round and retain his WBA “regular”