Boxing

Mike Coppinger, ESPNFeb 24, 2024, 07:08 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Junto Nakatani scored a sixth-round TKO victory over Alexandro Santiago on Saturday in Tokyo to become the WBC bantamweight champion, his third division title. Japan’s Nakatani (27-0, 20 KOs) floored Santiago with a straight left in Round 6. Moments later, a crisp right hook

Mike Coppinger, ESPNFeb 23, 2024, 01:49 AM ET Open Extended Reactions David Benavidez will move up to light heavyweight for a June fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Benavidez announced via social media Thursday. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said the fight would be contested for the interim light heavyweight title, which would place the winner in position

Mike Coppinger, ESPNFeb 22, 2024, 06:59 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Gervonta Davis and Frank Martin have struck a deal to fight for Davis’ WBA lightweight title in late spring or early summer, sources told ESPN. Davis, one of boxing’s top stars, will compete for the first time since he scored a seventh-round TKO victory

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 22, 2024, 02:46 PM ET Open Extended Reactions A rematch between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury in boxing could lead to a clash between the two inside a cage. Nakisa Bidarian, Paul’s business partner and the co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, told ESPN that an offer is on the table

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 22, 2024, 01:22 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Francis Ngannou is two weeks away from his second appearance in a professional boxing ring, but he’s already considering his eventual return to mixed martial arts. Ngannou

Mike Coppinger, ESPNFeb 21, 2024, 07:42 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia are two of the youngest stars in boxing, though they find themselves in decidedly different positions in the sport’s ecosystem. Haney is unquestionably one of boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighters (rated No. 6 by ESPN). At just 25 years old,

Associated Press Feb 18, 2024, 09:30 AM ET Open Extended Reactions LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The International Olympic Committee will not change its rules to let boxing great Manny Pacquiao compete at the Paris Games aged five years beyond the entry limit. Pacquiao, who retired in 2021, wanted to box at age 45 in the Olympic

Mike Coppinger, ESPNFeb 17, 2024, 12:27 AM ET Open Extended Reactions O’Shaquie Foster retained his WBC junior lightweight title with a split-decision victory over Abraham Nova on Friday at New York’s Theater at Madison Square Garden. One judge scored it 114-113 for Nova but was overruled by scores of 115-112 and 116-111 for Foster. The

Mike Coppinger, ESPNFeb 16, 2024, 07:05 PM ET Open Extended Reactions A heavyweight fight between Jared “Big Baby” Anderson and Ryad Merhy is booked for April 13 in Corpus Christi, Texas, sources told ESPN on Friday. Anderson, ESPN’s No. 8 heavyweight, last fought in August when he scored a fifth-round TKO victory over Andriy Rudenko.

Feb 15, 2024, 07:51 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Friday night’s card at The Theater inside Madison Square Garden in New York features a world champion defending his title in the main event and a co-main event in which a young fighter could make the jump from top prospect to title contender (ESPN/ESPN+, 9 p.m.