5:21 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Anthony Joshua acknowledged “change needs to happen” ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk for the unified heavyweight championship on Aug. 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The two-time champ was routed by Usyk via unanimous decision when they met in September in London. In the wake of the lopsided defeat,
Boxing
10:37 AM ET Jake Paul and WBC and WBO featherweight champion Amanda Serrano have their opponents set for their Aug. 6 dual main event card at Madison Square Garden. Paul will fight Tommy Fury and Serrano will have a mandatory title defense against Brenda Carabajal. Paul (5-0, 4 KO) was supposed to fight Fury for
7:47 AM ET In boxing, we are always looking forward to the next fight. Even before an upcoming fight is over, the focus is often on what lies ahead, especially when it comes to the sport’s biggest stars. While pressures come from many avenues — fans, social media posts or even beat writers — it’s
7:55 AM ET Artur Beterbiev’s demolition of Joe Smith Jr. on June 18 impressed most of our panelists on Saturday night. Now the unified light heavyweight champion sits comfortably at No. 7 in ESPN’s pound-for-pound rankings. Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) is the only current champion with a perfect KO percentage. “He’s ‘The Terminator’. He showed
3:58 PM ET After months out of the ring waiting for a fight, WBA strawweight champion Seniesa Estrada told ESPN on Tuesday she is returning to the ring on Aug. 6 against Anabel Ortiz. She also announced her return on Twitter on Tuesday and will be on the undercard of the Vergil Ortiz Jr.-Michael McKinson
3:17 PM ET The Claressa Shields-Savannah Marshall fight for the undisputed middleweight championship will take place on Sept. 10 at the O2 Arena in London, a source told ESPN on Tuesday. The details are still being finalized, the source said, and an official announcement is expected in early July. But the finalization process is not
4:44 PM ET Associated Press LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Fighting to keep their sport in the Olympics, boxing officials were warned on Monday to change their historical culture of breaking the rules. Investigator Richard McLaren said “corruption abounded” in the world boxing body formerly known as AIBA as he delivered a final report commissioned by the
10:27 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 Tyson Fury is coming back … or is he? The WBC heavyweight world champion insisted he would be retiring after his sixth-round stoppage win
11:45 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN NEW YORK — Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr. was billed as a can’t-miss action fight, and the ESPN main event delivered for as long as it lasted — even if it was never competitive. Beterbiev scored three knockdowns of Smith en route to a second-round TKO to capture a
12:53 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN NEW YORK — Artur Beterbiev hasn’t met his match yet, and Saturday at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden was no different. Joe Smith Jr. entered the ring with a size advantage, strength and a tremendously powerful right hand, but none of it mattered. Beterbiev was too precise, his punches