Boxing

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

2:54 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

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

2:05 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

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

11:30 AM ET The biggest fight in women’s boxing history is officially on the schedule. The bout between undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor and seven-division world titlist Amanda Serrano — ESPN’s No. 1 and No. 2 in the pound-for-pound rankings — has been scheduled for April 30 to headline a card in one of the

8:20 PM ET Canelo Alvarez is planning his return for May, and he reportedly has three options on the table. First, there’s a one-fight deal on the table from Premier Boxing Champions to defend his undisputed super middleweight championship against middleweight titleholder Jermall Charlo, who would move up in weight for the challenge. Second, there’s

5:50 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Every time Canelo Alvarez prepares to select his next opponent, the fate of boxers in multiple weight classes hangs in the balance. Just whom — and at which weight — Canelo fights next is still undecided, but sources told ESPN that Alvarez has received two lucrative offers that stand as

3:44 AM ET The first ESPN Africa Boxing event of 2022 is set to entertain the boxing world with seven bouts taking place at the EFC Training Institute in Sandton, South Africa on Thursday January 27. The main event will see South Africa’s Koos ‘The Great Last Warrior’ Sibiya taking on Botswana’s Steven ‘Small’ Bagwasi

12:40 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez won’t face Juan Francisco Estrada in a hotly anticipated trilogy fight after all. Estrada withdrew from the bout after he became symptomatic with COVID, sources tell ESPN. In his place, 112-pound champion Julio Cesar Martinez has agreed to a deal for a 115-pound fight with Gonzalez on

12:48 AM ET The longest active run by a male titleholder in boxing is over. Mark Magsayo upset Gary Russell Jr. by majority decision on Saturday night — 114-114, 115-113 and 115-113 — to claim the WBC featherweight title in Atlantic City, New Jersey, taking away Russell’s title after almost seven years with the WBC

7:51 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Gary Russell Jr. is boxing’s longest-reigning champion. As of Saturday, he’ll have held his title for 2,493 days. While he’s undoubtedly one of the most talented fighters in the world, that status is partially due to his low level of activity. Gary Russell Jr. fights just once a year. The