Signs continue to point towards an undisputed heavyweight title fight on the horizon as ESPN reports that perhaps the biggest obstacle — Oleksandr Usyk being Anthony Joshua’s mandatory challenger — won’t be a problem as Usyk has gone forward with entertaining negotiations to face Joe Joyce for the WBO’s interim title. Adam Morallee, who’s part
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Light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera had a very frustrating 2020 campaign. He spent most of the year training for a showdown against Sergey Kovalev that failed to materialize because of the coronavirus pandemic and other factors. With Kovalev having since failed a test for PEDs, that fight won’t be a possibility anytime soon. The promotional
Posted on 01/25/2021 By: Sean Crose “I’m like five-eleven, six feet,” Dominique Crowder tells me. That’s tall for a bantamweight, very tall. Yet it works well for the 7-0 Baltimore native. A protégé of Mark Breland and Jose Guzman of the famed Boca boxing gym, the 27 year old Crowder is looking to impress again
2:12 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 Joe Joyce is being lined up to dispute the WBO interim heavyweight title with Oleksandr Usyk, clearing the way for Tyson Fury and Anthony
Ra’eese Aleem (18-0, 12 KOs) handed Victor Pasillas (15-1, 8 KOs) his first professional loss with an impressive 11th-round technical knockout. Aleem, 30, entered the fight ranked in the top-10 by the WBA and IBF at 122 pounds and captured the vacant interim WBA world super bantamweight title with his win over Pasillas. It was
Rankings go up on Mondays at Noon ET. Upcoming Fights: Super Middleweight: (2) Caleb Plant vs Caleb Truax, Jan. 30 Notes: No official updates to make, but Fury-Joshua seems to be trending in the right direction. Bob Arum is very confident it’s getting done, and Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren seem to believe it will,
Given the way factions align, and subsequently behave, in the current environment there are realistic and sometimes unrealistic hopes for fans. The most realistic hope, the place where fans should hold factions most accountable, is in delivering the best of what they can. Where healthy matches are available under one umbrella, are they being made?
Floyd Mayweather Continues To Dog Conor McGregor: “Conor Can’t Even Win In His Own Sport” Posted on 01/24/2021 By: Hans Themistode Floyd Mayweather doesn’t have an issue with anyone attempting to put a few bucks in their pockets, no matter how whacky the idea. However, some ideas just don’t make any sense. For the past
7:55 AM ET The COVID-19 pandemic robbed fans of some big boxing fights in 2020, but hopefully the circumstances ultimately give the boxing world even more to look forward to in 2021. Although some of those previously postponed fights are likely to come in the second half of this year, when a vaccine is more
History • Issue • Premium Looking back at the careers of Jim and Bob Williams IN November last year, Watford referee Bob Williams was officiating at Wembley Arena on a bill topped by Conor Benn. Bob handled two of the five contests – a six and an eight-rounder – and acted as a judge for
Feature • Issue • Premium Renowned photographer Neil Leifer tells Paul Wheeler about his life in boxing WITH over 160 of his pictures having adorned the front cover of Sports Illustrated, and more than 40 having graced the cover of Time, Neil Leifer is what you would call photography royalty. And there is one subject
Feature • Issue • Premium ‘Fighters should know what boxing is doing to their brain.’ Margaret Goodman has been a fierce advocate for the health and safety of fighters for decades. Now she’s getting her due, writes Thomas Hauser SOMETIMES the boxing gods get things right. This June, Dr. Margaret Goodman, a pioneering ring physician
Friday, Jan. 29 DonKing.com, TBD, “Return to Greatness”. Don King is promoting a card behind a $19.95 PPV paywall, which would be one thing, except (1) it’s totally up in the air whether or not this actually happens right now, and (2) the web site the card is supposed to stream through pings as a
There was a moment of amazement on the Showtime telecast’s commentary on Stephen Fulton’s title-winning performance over Angelo Leo on Saturday night. With ten seconds to go in the second round, Al Bernstein chimed in, breaking convention of letting play-by-play man Mauro Ranallo tie a bow on the round. As if he were just remarking
Posted on 01/24/2021 By: Sean Crose If you thought Manny Pacquiao facing UFC star Conor McGregor in a boxing ring would be an over the top endeavor, consider and consider well the possibility of Pacquiao squaring off with boxing’s most notable rising star, Ryan Garcia…because, according to reliable sources, a Pacquiao-Garcia bout is a legit
Queensberry Polska promotes a show in Lublin (Poland) on March 6. Headlining the bill is Polish-British light heavyweight Pawel August (12-0). As for the opponent it’s still not clear yet. On the undercard French amateur star Sofiane Oumiha makes his long awaited pro debut. Oumiha won bronze in the Olympics 2016 and became amateur world
Posted on 01/24/2021 By: Sean Crose First things first – there’s a lot of gloating and mockery going on now that Conor McGregor has lost another fight. That’s understandable. McGregor wasn’t interested in making friends when he was on top of the world and there’s a flip side to every coin. Here’s the thing, though
Miguel Berchelt and Oscar Valdez are not sworn enemies, there’s no huge grudge angle to sell their Feb. 20 ESPN main event. It’s just a good fight people want to see, one that could very well be an absolute war. And Berchelt, despite his friendship with his Mexican countryman, says he’s not going to show