Boxing

8:31 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Yordenis Ugas hoped to unify 147-pound titles with Errol Spence Jr. in his next fight, but he’s getting another tough challenge instead. Ugas, who’s coming off a victory over Manny Pacquiao, and Eimantas Stanionis agreed to a deal Wednesday to avoid a scheduled purse bid the following day in which

8:03 PM ET Champion boxer George Kambosos is vowing to reign for years to come after arriving home to a hero’s reception in Sydney. More than 200 fans mostly from the Greek community chanted “Georgie, Georgie, Georgie” when Australia’s newly crowned world lightweight champion paraded his IBF, WBO and WBA belts through the Sydney International

7:25 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Former lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko returns to the ring for his second fight of 2021, as he faces Richard Commey in the main event of a Top Rank boxing card at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Saturday (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+). Lomachenko (15-2, 11 KOs), of Ukraine, hoped to

3:53 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN When Roy Jones Jr. defeated James Toney for the super middleweight championship in 1994, they were two of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world. Eighteen years later, they’ll be enshrined into the International Boxing Hall of Fame together. Jones and Toney, along with Miguel Cotto, highlight the Boxing Hall’s

5:02 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Tyson Fury has his sights set on his potential next opponent. The WBC on Tuesday ordered Fury to defend his heavyweight championship against Dillian Whyte, who was the organization’s No. 1 contender for more than 1,000 days without a title shot. Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) has one fight remaining on

8:49 AM 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 After fighting the likes of Errol Spence and Manny Pacquiao earlier in his career, Chris Algieri said he is now a more educated fighter

8:30 AM ET Tommy Fury has withdrawn from his upcoming fight against Jake Paul, who confirmed the news on Monday, with Tyron Woodley stepping in. Fury and Paul were set to fight in Tampa, Florida, on Dec. 18, but reports said Fury — half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury — was injured and Paul later

12:33 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN LOS ANGELES — Gervonta Davis shot to stardom with the support of Floyd Mayweather and a bundle of explosive knockouts. “Tank” had Mayweather, his promoter and mentor, watching from ringside, but the fight-ending shot never materialized. In fact, Isaac Cruz, a major underdog from Mexico, never appeared to be in

2:52 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN LOS ANGELES — Nine days and three fights later, we’re still not much closer to finding true clarity in boxing’s loaded lightweight division. Gervonta Davis remained undefeated on Sunday night with a tougher-than-expected unanimous decision victory over Isaac Cruz. For the first time in Tank’s career, he was extended the

7:47 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Gervonta Davis defends his WBA “regular” lightweight title against Isaac Cruz in the main event of a Showtime PPV card Sunday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles (8 p.m. ET). Davis (25-0, 24 KOs), 27, of Baltimore, Maryland, is one of the most exciting young boxers in the

12:46 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN LAS VEGAS — Faced with his stiffest competition yet, Devin Haney came of age with the best performance of his career. Haney, 23, retained his WBC lightweight title with a unanimous-decision victory over Joseph Diaz Jr. on Saturday at MGM Grand Garden Arena, but the challenger made him earn it

10:50 AM ET Mark KriegelESPN Teofimo Lopez was risking his life and should have been in a hospital — rather than a boxing ring — when he lost his four lightweight belts to George Kambosos last week at Madison Square Garden, according to a doctor who subsequently examined him and reviewed his medical records. “He

4:46 PM ET Ginny Fuchs, the captain of the 2020 U.S. Olympic women’s boxing team in Tokyo, told ESPN she has decided to turn professional. The 33-year-old Houston native will begin her career at flyweight, the weight she has competed at over the past eight years — including in Tokyo, where she reached the second

10:42 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Gennadiy Golovkin’s wait to become a two-time unified champion will have to last a little longer. GGG was slated to meet Ryota Murata in a middleweight title unification on Dec. 29 in Saitama, but the fight is now postponed, sources tell ESPN, due to new COVID restrictions that prohibit foreigners

1:44 PM ET Claressa Shields, who has been the undisputed champion at junior middleweight since defeating Marie-Eve Dicaire, is vacating some of her titles in the division as she pursues an undisputed title at middleweight. It will be the second time Shields attempts to become the undisputed middleweight title holder. The 26-year-old, who holds the

7:48 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN George Kambosos Jr.’s victory over Teofimo Lopez shook up the lightweight division in ways few could have anticipated, setting the stage for a scintillating stretch of fights in one of boxing’s deepest divisions. Now that Kambosos stands as the guy at 135 pounds, the hierarchy looks drastically different than it

Anthony Yarde has vowed he will return to winning form in Saturday’s rematch with Lyndon Arthur, after admitting a combination of tactical mistakes in the fight and dealing with the loss of four family members led to a brutal defeat to his bitter rival. Across 2020, four of Yarde’s family members died of COVID-19 —

7:49 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Floyd Mayweather and Gervonta “Tank” Davis were vacationing together in Miami several years ago. The two lounged on Mayweather’s yacht and rode bicycles in South Beach. Davis got a taste of the life of luxury that Mayweather enjoys as the biggest pay-per-view draw in boxing history. During that trip,