By: Sean Crose Speaking to Fight Hub former welterweight titlist Errol Spence made it clear that he feels his fighter, Frank Martin, is going to shock the world by besting Gervonta “Tank” Davis on June 15th in Las Vegas. “I see him getting his hand raised,” Spence said of the undefeated Martin. “I feel like
Jun 6, 2024, 01:44 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Undisputed heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk said he might return to the cruiserweight division following his rematch with British heavyweight Tyson Fury later this year. Usyk — now the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO champion — defeated Fury by split decision in a thrilling contest at
LIKE plenty of children, every decision made and turn taken by Xander Zayas in his early years was one governed by necessity rather than the luxury of choice. He moved to America from Puerto Rico at the age of 11, for example, simply because that’s where his mother and stepfather wanted to put down their
ESPN’s Salvador Rodriguez reports that after winning the purse bid for their vacant IBF flyweight title fight, Zanfer Promotions will stage Angel Ayala vs Dave Apolinario on August 9th in Mexico City. Zanfer regularly partners with Top Rank, so we can presumably expect this on ESPN or ESPN+. Top Rank is reportedly also planning to
In a long, long overdue move, Lance Pugmire reports that the WBC has finally ordered featherweight champion Rey Vargas to defend his title against interim champ Brandon Figueroa. Less than a month after Vargas (36-1-1, 22 KO) unsuccessfully challenged O’Shaquie Foster for the vacant super featherweight title, Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KO) overpowered Mark Magsayo for
Junior middleweight contender Vito Mielnicki Jr. has signed a long-term promotional contract with Top Rank. Mielnicki, from Roseland, New Jersey, is ranked No. 4 by the WBA. His signing was announced Thursday during the final press conference for a fight card headlined by another rising junior middleweight star, Xander Zayas. The date of Mielnicki’s Top
Regis Prograis is ready to rebuild and revive his career to make a third run at a junior welterweight title. Prograis (29-2, 24 KOs) will have to pick up the pieces again following a one-sided December defeat to WBC titleholder Devin Haney. “Rougarou” Prograis is still a rock-solid contender at 140 pounds, a stacked division
Andreas Hale, ESPNJun 6, 2024, 05:58 PM ET Open Extended Reactions A brawl broke out between members of Nate Diaz‘s and Jorge Masvidal‘s teams during a news conference for their July 6 boxing match after Diaz abruptly left before faceoffs. The news conference took place in Anaheim, California, to promote the new date and location
Nick ParkinsonJun 6, 2024, 12:56 PM ET Close Reports on boxing for ESPN.com and has been covering British boxing for over 25 years. Open Extended Reactions For Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton, the finest moment of his boxing career was the night it all began, 19 years ago this week — his fight against Kostya Tszyu
THE next opponent for Anthony Joshua could be announced at a press conference on Tuesday, June 26. His promoter Eddie Hearn spoke to Boxing News yesterday at the Johnny Fisher-Alen Babic launch press conference and revealed the next foe for ‘AJ’ is likely to come from one of three names. “I’ve seen [Zhilei] Zhang on
JARED ANDERSON will face the toughest test of his career to date when he tackles Martin Bakole on August 3. The 24-year-old unbeaten heavyweight had been linked to a fight against former WBC champion Deontay Wilder at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles but that was ruled out after Zhilei Zhang stopped ‘The Bronze Bomber’
In a clash of veteran junior middleweight sluggers, Vladimir Hernandez delivered a knockout of the year candidate by stopping Guido Schramm in the sixth round of the main event on “Wednesday Night Fights” at ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida. Hernandez, who took the fight on two weeks’ notice, knocked out Schramm with a
By: Sean Crose He’s widely seen as one of the faces of boxing’s future. At just 26 years of age, Jaron “Boots” Ennis is a powerful, sharp and extremely fluid welterweight waiting for a big fight. Or, in this case, any fight at all. For the 31-0 Ennis was set to fight Cody Crowley for
Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing InsiderJun 5, 2024, 07:27 PM ET Close Mike Coppinger has covered boxing since 2010 with roles at USA Today, Ring Magazine and The Athletic before he joined ESPN in 2021. You can follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger Open Extended Reactions RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Oleksandr Usyk wore a stone-cold scowl as
No word yet as to whether Vergil Ortiz Jr will face a replacement foe on Los Angeles’ August 3rd Terence Crawford vs Israil Madrimov show, but we did get some good news today. Turki Alalshikh announced that top heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson, who’d been tabbed to meet Deontay Wilder had “The Bronze Bomber” beaten Zhilei
UNBEATEN heavyweight prospect Johnny Fisher reckons an in-built fighting mentality will be the difference when he enters the trenches with Alen Babic. The pair came head-to-head at an open-air press conference for their July 6 showdown in the Copper Box Arena (referred to frequently by participants as the “Copper Bosh” in relation to Fisher’s catchphrase).
A fired-up welterweight Adrien Broner passionately addressed those who had left him in the past then singled out his current promoter, Don King, as the only one willing to help him secure fights. Broner returns after nearly a year-long layoff to face Blair Cobbs, an eccentric welterweight contender, on Friday taking place at the Seminole
Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing InsiderJun 5, 2024, 02:05 PM ET Close Mike Coppinger has covered boxing since 2010 with roles at USA Today, Ring Magazine and The Athletic before he joined ESPN in 2021. You can follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger Open Extended Reactions Jared Anderson, the top American heavyweight champion hopeful, will face his