Boxing

1:19 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN When Robson Conceicao challenged Oscar Valdez for a 130-pound title in September, he wilted down the stretch in a controversial decision loss. In his first fight since the first pro defeat of his career, Conceicao fought far more aggressively and dominated en route to a unanimous-decision victory over Xavier Martinez

5:01 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Teofimo Lopez is preparing to mount a comeback. Top Rank is exploring the possibility of a 140-pound bout between Lopez and Arnold Barboza Jr. in the spring, sources told ESPN. Lopez, who defeated Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020 to win the undisputed 135-pound championship, was upset by George Kambosos Jr. in

2:54 PM ET Bantamweight Ebanie Bridges is getting her second shot at a world title in the span of a year. The 35-year-old Australian fighter will be facing IBF bantamweight titleholder Maria Cecilia Roman on March 26 in Leeds, England, as part of the Kiko Martinez-Josh Warrington IBF featherweight title card. Roman, 39, has held

2:05 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN For the first time since September 2019, Tyson Fury will fight someone other than Deontay Wilder. Fury’s co-promoter, Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, won the rights to the WBC heavyweight title fight between Fury and Dillian Whyte with a commitment of $41 million at Friday’s purse bid. Fury, the champion, is

7:45 AM ET Mike Coppinger Andres Ferrari Close ESPN Editor Andres Ferrari is ESPN.com’s boxing and MMA editor. Robson Conceicao dropped a controversial decision against Oscar Valdez in September, but he has another opportunity Saturday to prove he’s a player at 130 pounds. The winner of the fight between Conceicao and Xavier Martinez (10 p.m.

2:12 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte will meet in the ring after all. There was an agreement in principle for both Whyte and Anthony Joshua to step aside and forego planned bouts with Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, respectively, in exchange for millions of dollars, but the deal fell apart after parties

11:30 AM ET The biggest fight in women’s boxing history is officially on the schedule. The bout between undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor and seven-division world titlist Amanda Serrano — ESPN’s No. 1 and No. 2 in the pound-for-pound rankings — has been scheduled for April 30 to headline a card in one of the

5:50 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Every time Canelo Alvarez prepares to select his next opponent, the fate of boxers in multiple weight classes hangs in the balance. Just whom — and at which weight — Canelo fights next is still undecided, but sources told ESPN that Alvarez has received two lucrative offers that stand as

8:20 PM ET Canelo Alvarez is planning his return for May, and he reportedly has three options on the table. First, there’s a one-fight deal on the table from Premier Boxing Champions to defend his undisputed super middleweight championship against middleweight titleholder Jermall Charlo, who would move up in weight for the challenge. Second, there’s

3:44 AM ET The first ESPN Africa Boxing event of 2022 is set to entertain the boxing world with seven bouts taking place at the EFC Training Institute in Sandton, South Africa on Thursday January 27. The main event will see South Africa’s Koos ‘The Great Last Warrior’ Sibiya taking on Botswana’s Steven ‘Small’ Bagwasi

12:40 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez won’t face Juan Francisco Estrada in a hotly anticipated trilogy fight after all. Estrada withdrew from the bout after he became symptomatic with COVID, sources tell ESPN. In his place, 112-pound champion Julio Cesar Martinez has agreed to a deal for a 115-pound fight with Gonzalez on

12:48 AM ET The longest active run by a male titleholder in boxing is over. Mark Magsayo upset Gary Russell Jr. by majority decision on Saturday night — 114-114, 115-113 and 115-113 — to claim the WBC featherweight title in Atlantic City, New Jersey, taking away Russell’s title after almost seven years with the WBC

7:51 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Gary Russell Jr. is boxing’s longest-reigning champion. As of Saturday, he’ll have held his title for 2,493 days. While he’s undoubtedly one of the most talented fighters in the world, that status is partially due to his low level of activity. Gary Russell Jr. fights just once a year. The

1:46 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Sergey Kovalev and Meng Fanlong are finalizing a 185-pound catchweight fight on March 12 in Los Angeles, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. The Triller Fight Club headliner will be Kovalev’s first bout since November 2019, when Canelo Alvarez brutally knocked him out to capture a light heavyweight title. Kovalev, a

7:20 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Promoter Kalle Sauerland announced last week that Tony Yoka accepted an IBF heavyweight title eliminator with Filip Hrgovic, a rematch of the 2016 Olympic super heavyweight semifinal, but the fight is now in jeopardy due to a contract dispute. Yoka, an Olympic gold medalist, signed to fight Martin Bakole on

8:40 AM ET Former world titleholders Heather Hardy and Terri Harper are both heading back to the ring — to face one another. Hardy, the former WBO world featherweight titlist, and Harper, the former WBC world junior lightweight titlist, are scheduled to fight on March 12 in Nottingham, England, in a lightweight bout as part

2:37 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Shakur Stevenson and Oscar Valdez are in the process of finalizing a deal for a 130-pound title unification fight on April 30 in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN on Sunday. Sources said no financial agreement has been reached for the proposed ESPN main event. After Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) scored

12:13 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Joe Smith Jr. made the first defense of his WBO light heavyweight title with a ninth-round TKO of Steven Geffrard on Saturday in Verona, New York. Smith (28-3, 22 KOs) dished a beating on Geffrard (16-3, 12 KOs) from the opening bell before finally dropping him to a knee in