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
Richard Riakporhe is set to rematch Chris Billam-Smith on June 15 after taking a split decision win over him in 2019. For Riakporhe, this time it’s an opportunity to win a WBO cruiserweight title against a foe he once bested and he is quite confident that there’s nothing Billam-Smith will be able to do to
By Matt Bozeat EDDIE Hearn has been told he will be smiling again soon. The Matchroom chief was on the receiving end of a 5-0 whitewash from arch-rivals Queensberry in their ‘5 vs 5’ match in Saudi Arabia last weekend. If Conah Walker is right, Hearn will also remember 2024 as the year he staged
In the aftermath of reports that he had been pulled from his July 13 shot at IBF welterweight belt-holder Jaron “Boots” Ennis, Cody Crowley detailed the reasons why. “Today I met with my eye surgeon, who performed double eye surgery on me in November 2023,” said 31-year-old Crowley, 22-0 (9 KOs), who was due to
Jun 4, 2024, 12:18 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The pink house where Muhammad Ali grew up dreaming of boxing fame — and where hundreds of fans gathered for an emotional send-off as his funeral procession passed by decades later — is up for sale. The two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Louisville was
THE July 13 homecoming for Jaron Ennis in Philadelphia needs a new opponent, according to a report. Ennis, the current IBF welterweight champion, is just under six weeks away from making his ring return and was due to fight mandatory challenger Cody Crowley. However, ESPN have reported that Crowley cannot compete, having failed a pre-fight
Jaron Ennis vs Cody Crowley is off yet again, though with good reason this time. Mike Coppinger reports that Crowley has failed his pre-fight eye exam and been pulled from the bout just over a month from fight night. No word yet as to whether the card, which promoters just filled out yesterday, will go
Ivan “Iron Boy” Calderon, a former two-division titleholder at 105 and 108 pounds who helped pioneer the mainstreaming of boxing’s lower weight divisions, will later this week be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Having pushed through a difficult childhood in Puerto Rico, Calderon came to boxing at a late age and turned
By: Sean It’s happened many times before: A relatively unknown fighter steps into the boxing ring to take on an big name opponent and subsequently shocks the world. Twenty-nine year old lightweight Frank Martin hopes that his fight against Gervonta Davis on June 15th will end up being one of those instances. Although Martin has
Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing InsiderJun 4, 2024, 09:16 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 Cody Crowley was forced to withdraw from his IBF welterweight title
Having claimed titles at 154, 160, and 168, Claressa Shields is set to challenge a fourth division when she meets WBC heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse atop a July 27th DAZN show in Detroit. To clarify my wording: Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KO) beat former super welterweight title challenger Abril Argentina Vidal for the title this past
The WBC has requested further information from Ryan Garcia regarding his failed drugs tests for his fight with Devin Haney. Garcia, 25, came in overweight, and therefore was ineligible to win the sanctioning body’s super-lightweight title that Haney was defending for the first time, in April at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. He
ESPN News Services Jun 4, 2024, 01:29 PM ET Open Extended Reactions DETROIT — Two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields announced Tuesday she is moving up two weight classes to challenge women’s WBC heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse on July 27. Shields (14-0, 2 KOs) and Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KOs) of Quebec will headline the boxing
By Eric Armit In what was widely declared the best fight of the night in Riyadh. Nick Ball scored a narrow split decision over Raymond Ford to win the WBA featherweight title. Just three months after suffering world title heartbreak when his WBC crack at Rey Vargas was scored a draw, the Liverpudlian roared back
Following Zhilei Zhang’s emphatic win over Deontay Wilder over the weekend, the heavyweight spoke to Fight Hub TV to react to what transpired in the ring and how his tactics proved to best the former heavyweight titleholder. Zhang on his reaction to beating Wilder “I feel really good. This is one for myself in the
When opportunity knocks, you answer the call, especially when you’re in the business of knocking people out. Two-division champion Savannah Marshall’s business throughout her career has been boxing, but she will sidestep the sweet science for a sabbatical in the cage when she makes her MMA debut against Mirela Vargas (1-2) on Saturday during PFL
BOXING moves fast and it’s hard to keep up with all the comings and goings. Here’s a wrap-up of some of the fight announcements, signings and other bits and pieces that might’ve passed you by. Mbilli and Derevyanchenko ready for war Christian Mbilli already had a fight signed and sealed, against dependable world-class yardstick Sergiy
By Oliver Fennell THE script said the young, 6ft 7ins German with the cover star looks and the fashionably flowing locks would win the European title and then challenge Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight championship in his home country. “They forgot to tell me,” said the older, no-frills Yorkshireman with the craggy face and