8:22 AM ET As heavyweight world titleholder Deontay Wilder and top contender Luis “King Kong” Ortiz prepare for their rematch Saturday (Fox PPV, 9 p.m. ET) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, it’s hard not to think what might have been the first time around. Facing by far the most dangerous opponent
Boxing
2:58 PM ET Light heavyweight contenders Jesse Hart and Joe Smith Jr. will square off on Jan. 11 in the main event of the first Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card of 2020, Top Rank announced on Tuesday. Hart and Smith will meet in a scheduled 10-round bout at Etess Arena at the Hard Rock
3:03 PM ET Welterweight world titlist Manny Pacquiao plans to be back in the ring in the first third of 2020, his closest adviser told ESPN. Pacquiao, who serves as a senator his native Philippines, will next fight in “in late March or April” in the United States, said Sean Gibbons, the president of MP
3:20 AM ET Logan Paul will launch an official appeal against his split decision defeat to KSI after a two-point penalty cost the American a victory on the cards in their rematch. Paul was docked two points for hitting KSI on the canvas after knocking down the Englishman in the fourth round during the fight
8:11 PM 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 Lee McGregor won a controversial split decision over Kash Farooq in a brilliant bantamweight battle on Saturday at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland.
6:49 PM ET Steve KimESPN Rocky Fielding, who lost to Canelo Alvarez last December, got back to his winning ways Friday with a second-round knockout of Abdallah Paziwapazi at the Olympia in Liverpool, England. The 32-year-old Fielding (28-2, 16 KOs), for stretches, fought with his back on the ropes, and he let Tanzania’s Paziwapazi (26-7-1,
3:18 PM ET Maybe the third time will be the charm and Claressa Shields and Ivana Habazin will finally get into the ring to fight for a pair of vacant women’s junior middleweight world titles. The fight was scheduled for the third time on Friday and will take place on Jan. 10 (Showtime, 9 p.m.
7:16 AM ET Danny Matthews Close Danny’s journey in the sporting media has taken him to some special sporting scenes over the last decade. From the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany to the London 2012 Olympic Games and Sochi Winter Games in 2014, together with major sports events across Australia, his CV delivers quite
12:15 AM ET Junior middleweight world titlist Tony Harrison and former titleholder Jermell Charlo might have been at only the kickoff news conference for their rematch that is still more than five weeks away, but their smoldering intensity gave off the vibe of fight week on Thursday. Harrison and Charlo came face to face in
1:45 PM ET Former junior featherweight world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux is moving down in weight for a title opportunity. Rigondeaux will move down to bantamweight for the first time in his career to face Liborio Solis for a vacant secondary world title on Dec. 21 (Fox and Fox Deportes, 8 p.m. ET), Premier Boxing Champions