Oct 9, 2021 Mike CoppingerESPN Anthony Joshua exercised his contractual right to an immediate rematch with Oleksandr Usyk for the unified heavyweight championship, Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, announced on Saturday. Hearn said he plans to stage Usyk-Joshua 2 in early spring. “Back in the game and looking for him to become a three-time world champion,”
Boxing
Oct 9, 2021 Jamie Mitchell became the WBA bantamweight title-holder Saturday afternoon in England after beating former champion Shannon Courtenay by majority decision. It was a fight filled with drama before either participant stepped into the ring. Courtenay lost the title on the scales Friday after missing the 118-pound weight limit by 2.5 pounds —
Oct 6, 2021 Mike CoppingerESPN Gervonta Davis, one of boxing’s biggest draws, and Rolando Romero will meet Dec. 5 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Davis announced on social media Wednesday. “Tank” Davis’ last fight was his first at 140 pounds, but sources told ESPN this bout will be contested at lightweight, where Davis is
2:26 AM ET Mark KriegelESPN LAS VEGAS – As the evening began, Deontay Wilder looked as if he stepped out of a comic book. The shoulders, the arms, the fearsome arch of his torso — it all suggested a character on loan from the Marvel universe. Turned out, he was even more than that. He
1:15 AM ET Tyson Fury stopped Deontay Wilder in the 11th round of their trilogy fight to retain his WBC and lineal heavyweight titles. Brett Okamoto, Ben Baby and Michael Rothstein react to the night filled with impressive heavyweight performances and a prospect who learned a valuable lesson. Immediately after the second chapter of the
12:40 AM ET Brianna Williams Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder 3 did not disappoint in the slightest. Fury defeated Wilder by knockout to retain his WBC heavyweight title. It was a spectacular fight and one that will be considered by many as the fight of the year for 2021. The hype leading up to the
7:47 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN LAS VEGAS — Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder both tipped the scales at the heaviest of their careers on Friday, one day before they’ll meet in a heavyweight championship trilogy fight (9 p.m. ET, ESPN+ PPV). Fury weighed 277 pounds, four more pounds than he weighed in his February 2020
4:38 PM ET WBA women’s bantamweight title holder Shannon Courtenay lost her belt on Friday by missing weight ahead of her bout against Jamie Mitchell. Courtenay weighed in at 120.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds over the bantamweight limit for the fight before her first defense of the title on the undercard of the Liam Smith- Anthony
6:28 AM ET Mark KriegelESPN IT WAS AROUND 4 a.m. on Feb. 23, 2020. Malik Scott had just landed back in Los Angeles. He was tired. He was distraught, and quite suddenly, he was being offered a new job. “I’m going to make changes,” Deontay Wilder said. “I want you to be my head trainer.”
11:57 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Ryan Garcia and Joseph Diaz Jr. have agreed to a deal for a lightweight fight on Nov. 27 in Los Angeles, both boxers told ESPN. The DAZN main event will be Garcia’s first since he withdrew from a July 9 bout with Javier Fortuna to focus on his mental health.