Boxing

3:49 PM ET NEW YORK — Kamaru Usman has one of the top fighters in the world in his crosshairs. It just so happens that it’s not a fellow MMA fighter. The UFC welterweight champion and ESPN’s No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound mixed martial artist said Wednesday at UFC 268 media day that he is targeting a

7:00 AM ET EDDY REYNOSO IS carrying Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez on his shoulders. It’s Cinco de Mayo weekend, one of the most important days in boxing. And the two, Reynoso as trainer, Álvarez as his boxer, are celebrating another win surrounded by the largest indoor crowd to ever watch a boxing match in the United

9:24 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Vergil Ortiz, one of the fastest rising stars in boxing, is making a change. The undefeated welterweight has long been with former trainer of the year Robert Garcia. But as he prepares for his first bout of 2022, he’ll do so at Canelo Alvarez’s San Diego gym under the guidance

12:33 PM ET Jake Paul‘s next fight card will feature a familiar name to sports fans. Deron Williams, the former NBA All-Star point guard, will compete in a boxing match at the event headlined by Paul and Tommy Fury on Dec. 18 in Tampa, Florida, Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian confirmed Friday with ESPN.

6:03 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN LAS VEGAS — When Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant faced off in September, the boxers exchanged blows; the latter emerged with a cut under his right eye. This time, with tensions at a fevered pitch, security ensured the fighters didn’t throw any punches (but still allowed them to be close

1:33 AM ET Mikaela Mayer took another step toward becoming the undisputed junior lightweight champion Friday night in Las Vegas, beating Maiva Hamadouche by unanimous decision to retain her WBO title and pick up Hamadouche’s IBF crown. Mayer won the fight 100-90, 99-91, 98-92 — with two scorecards not necessarily indicative of what happened in

6:10 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Canelo Alvarez faces Caleb Plant on Saturday (Showtime PPV, 9 p.m. ET, prelims at 6 p.m. ET) and all four major super middleweight title belts are on the line. The bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, will be for Alvarez’s WBA, WBO and WBC titles and

6:34 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN LAS VEGAS — Even during those hot summer days spent in a trailer park outside Nashville, Tennessee, Caleb Plant knew he was meant for so much more. Personal tragedy served to strengthen that steely resolve. His daughter, Alia, died three months shy of her second birthday. Just over four years

1:02 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN A weigh-in fracas on Friday led to the New York State Athletic Commission barring Jose Zepeda’s brother Rene from his corner. As it turns out, Zepeda never had the opportunity to go back to his corner anyway. Zepeda eviscerated Josue Vargas, a 23-year-old prospect, with a first-round TKO on Saturday

4:03 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Nonito Donaire and Reymart Gaballo have agreed to a deal for a 118-pound title fight on Dec. 11 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, sources told ESPN. Undefeated prospect Brandun Lee will meet Juan Heraldez at 140 pounds in another bout on the Showtime tripleheader, sources said. Donaire

10:58 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Rolando Romero is on the verge of being pulled from his Dec. 5 fight with Gervonta Davis, multiple sources told ESPN on Saturday. On Thursday, a woman posted on Twitter accusing Romero, 26, of sexual assault. She did not say when the alleged incident occurred, but tweeted Friday that she

2:15 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Jaron “Boots” Ennis is a can’t-miss fighter, and Saturday’s performance was the best proof yet. The Philly welterweight needed less than two minutes to dispatch veteran gatekeeper Thomas Dulorme by knockout in the first round Saturday in Las Vegas, a PBC on Showtime co-feature. Ennis, 24, dropped Dulorme (25-6-1, 16

11:39 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Jose Ramirez and Jose Pedraza have agreed to terms for a 140-pound bout on Feb. 5 that will headline Top Rank Boxing on an ESPN platform, multiple sources have told ESPN. The fight pitting top-10 junior welterweights will be held at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California, Ramirez’s hometown.

1:01 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN The IBF middleweight title eliminator between Esquiva Falcao and Patrice Volny will serve as chief support for the Terence Crawford-Shawn Porter welterweight title bout Nov. 20 on ESPN+ pay-per-view, sources tell ESPN. Janibek Alimkhanuly, ESPN’s No. 8 middleweight, will fight former titleholder Hassan N’Dam in another undercard bout in Las

3:16 PM ET One of the knocks on Jake Paul has been that he has not fought a “real boxer.” That criticism will be mostly addressed at the end of this year. Paul, the YouTube-star-turned-prizefighter, will fight fellow undefeated boxer Tommy Fury on Dec. 18 in Tampa, Florida, it was officially announced Friday. The bout

11:21 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Claressa Shields has suffered the first defeat of her professional fighting career. In her second MMA bout, Shields was outpointed by Abigail Montes via split decision on Wednesday at Hard Rock Live. One judge scored the bout for Shields, 29-28, overruled by two 29-28 tallies for Montes.

2:27 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Jose Uzcategui tested positive for the banned substance rEPO, multiple sources told ESPN, and he’s been pulled from his Nov. 13 fight with David Benavidez. Benavidez, ESPN’s No. 2 super middleweight, will face a new opponent in the Showtime main event on Nov. 13 in Phoenix, Arizona, sources said. Recombinant

7:49 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN When COVID took hold of the world in March 2020, it also greatly hampered sports, but perhaps none more so than boxing. After all, the fight game hinges on major live gates to deliver its truly marquee events. While the other major sports leagues experienced plenty of pauses and cancellations,