Boxing

10:44 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Bob Arum promoted Muhammad Ali. Now he’s putting on the professional debut of Ali’s grandson. Arum told ESPN on Saturday that Top Rank will be putting on the first fight of Nico Ali Walsh’s career on Aug. 14 as part of the undercard of the Andrew Moloney-Joshua Franco fight.

Jun 19, 2021 Carlo Pamintuan Hours before unified World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue was scheduled to defend against the Philippines’ Michael Dasmariñas, a big fight was signed in this division, and it involved two of Dasmariñas’ countrymen. In a move that is another step closer to crowning

1:02 AM ET Jermall Charlo accomplished something on Saturday night that isn’t easy to do. The WBC middleweight champion had an unknown but very game challenger in Juan Montiel, whose awkwardness and stubbornness decreased the likelihood of a Charlo showcase in front of a hometown crowd in Houston. It wasn’t as easy as it looked

1:07 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Naoya Inoue stepped back for a split-second in the third round, extending his arms out wide almost as if to wonder what else might be coming. To that point, Michael Dasmarinas hadn’t shown or done much inside the ring. Inoue had been dominant, already knocking him down once in

1:24 AM ET Anderson Silva made a career in MMA out of making the impossible look possible. Now, he’s done the same thing in boxing. Silva, a UFC legend, defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. via split decision (75-77, 77-75, 77-75) in a shockingly impressive boxing performance Saturday night at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico. A

1:38 AM ET Multiple Contributors It was a wildly busy night in the world of boxing, even with the postponement of the pay-per-view card centered around unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos. IBF and WBA bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue reminded the world of the otherworldy power he possesses at 118 pounds with

5:21 PM ET Michael Rothstein Close ESPN Staff Writer Previously covered University of Michigan for ESPN.com and AnnArbor.com Also covered Notre Dame for Fort Wayne Journal Gazette Ben Baby Close ESPN Staff Writer ESPN Staff Writer Previously a college football writer for The Dallas Morning News University of North Texas graduate Multiple boxing cards, featuring

10:40 AM ET Aramide Oladipo Lightweight undisputed champion Katie Taylor is in discussions with Estelle Yoka-Mossely over a potential fight, sources have told ESPN. Taylor, who is No. 1 in ESPN’s pound-for-pound rankings, has not fought since coming away with an unanimous decision victory over Natasha Jonas on May 1. Taylor (18-0, 6 KOs) appears

2:57 PM ET Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has missed weight once again. The son of the legendary Mexican boxer weighed in at 184 pounds Friday, two pounds over the contracted weight for his scheduled fight with UFC all-time great Anderson Silva, promotion officials confirmed with ESPN. The bout will go on Saturday in Guadalajara, Mexico,

7:45 AM ET When Naoya Inoue first started boxing as a first grader in Japan, he had no aspiration of fighting professionally, let alone making beating people up a career or becoming a world champion. He just did it. It was only years later, after training at the same gym as future three-division world champion

3:30 PM ET WBC junior lightweight champion Oscar Valdez has signed a new multifight contract with Top Rank, including his first defense of that belt this fall. The 30-year-old Valdez won the title in his last fight, upsetting Miguel Berchelt on Feb. 20. He is 29-0 with 23 knockouts, including winning four of his past

1:34 PM ET Oscar De La Hoya’s comeback to the ring is set. The boxing legend will meet MMA luminary Vitor Belfort in an exhibition boxing match Sept. 11 under the Triller Fight Club banner, promoter Ryan Kavanaugh confirmed Thursday to ESPN. The Athletic first reported the news. De La Hoya has not competed since

8:13 AM 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 Anthony Joshua doubts a fight with Tyson Fury will now happen, according to Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn. Talks to stage Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs)

6:58 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Deontay Wilder, clad in dark sunglasses and wearing headphones with music blaring into them, stared straight ahead during Tuesday’s news conference when emcee Crystina Poncher, sitting to his right, addressed him with a question. That was Wilder’s afternoon in a nutshell. The heavyweight boxing star gave an opening statement

8:06 AM ET MIKAELA MAYER WAS backstage at a concert in Colorado waiting for her friend. It was 2018, before Mayer had become a world champion, before she started to become more of a face of women’s boxing. A man approached her and her best friend, Ginny Fuchs, also a fighter, and started offering boxing

7:51 AM ET Editor’s note: The Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos Jr. lightweight title fight, and Franchon Crews-Dezurn’s super middleweight unification fight against Elin Cederroos were originally on this list before that card was postponed due to Lopez testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. Multiple title fights. Famous names in exhibitions. A bunch of younger fighters in

2:07 PM ET MIAMI — Teofimo Lopez has tested positive for COVID-19 and he’s symptomatic. His Saturday bout vs. George Kambosos that was scheduled to be in Miami and the whole undercard has been moved to Aug. 14, sources told ESPN. Lopez, the unified lightweight champion and No. 5 on ESPN’s pound-for-pound list, was in

7:51 AM ET Multiple title fights. Famous names in exhibitions. A bunch of younger fighters in bouts that could push their careers forward. Saturday, for a moment, might feel like boxing used to before the pandemic. There were times in the last year and a half where there were surely questions about when a day