Boxing

A star on the social media platform TikTok said that YouTube-star-turned-boxer Jake Paul forced her into a sex act without consent in the summer of 2019. Justine Paradise said in a 20-minute video posted on YouTube last Friday that she didn’t say anything about the alleged attack sooner because she signed a nondisclosure agreement and

The date for Ryan Garcia bout against Javier Fortuna has been finalized. Garcia will face Fortuna on July 9, Golden Boy Promotions announced Tuesday. Venue and undercard details have yet to be determined. Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) is coming off the biggest win of his young career. The 22-year-old recovered after an early knockdown to

Moments after the biggest win of his career, Vergil Ortiz Jr. immediately looked into the crowd at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. He spotted welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford, who was ringside to watch Ortiz dispatch Maurice Hooker, a former 140-pound champion who, like Ortiz, recently moved up to welterweight. Ortiz looked directly

Joe Smith Jr. appeared to be fading down the stretch, the possibility of being a world champion seemingly slipping away Saturday night at the Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was getting all he could handle from Maxim Vlasov and was being pushed back with his left eye closing, a cut on the brow dripping

Another boxing legend is stepping back into the ring. Evander Holyfield will fight Kevin McBride in an exhibition on June 5, Triller Fight Club’s Peter Kahn confirmed to ESPN’s Mark Kriegel on Sunday. Holyfield’s return will be on the undercard of Teofimo Lopez’s unified lightweight title defense against George Kambosos in Miami that will be

12:40 AM ET Ben Baby Close ESPN Staff Writer ESPN Staff Writer Previously a college football writer for The Dallas Morning News University of North Texas graduate Michael Rothstein Close ESPN Staff Writer Previously covered University of Michigan for ESPN.com and AnnArbor.com Also covered Notre Dame for Fort Wayne Journal Gazette Joe Smith Jr.’s best

WBO/WBA/IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and WBC and lineal champion Tyson Fury on Sunday will be presented with final offers regarding the date and venue for their upcoming fight, promoter Eddie Hearn told ESPN’s Mark Kriegel. Hearn said there are “several” offers from locations around the globe that hope to host the first four-belt heavyweight

Light heavyweight contenders Joe Smith Jr. and Maxim Vlasov will fight in the main event of Saturday’s Top Rank Boxing card with the vacant WBO world title on the line. The show takes place at the Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma (ESPN and ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET, with undercard fights on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m.

WBO junior flyweight champion Elwin Soto has officially switched one of his promoters. Soto has signed with Matchroom Boxing, the company announced Friday afternoon. Soto joins the Eddie Hearn-led outfit ahead of an upcoming defense of his 108-pound belt, which Matchroom said would be announced soon. “I’m very excited to announce my next defense and

Joe Smith Jr. did not take the path of least resistance to reach his second shot at a light heavyweight world title. As he prepares to step into the ring on Saturday against Maxim Vlasov at the Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma (10 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN+), with the vacant WBO belt on the

7:00 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 As the son of a famous boxer, Conor Benn has dealt with high expectations early in his career. Sometimes he wonders whether he should

7:51 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 Remember the comedy movie “Last Vegas” — featuring Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline? It was a story about a

6:16 PM 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 In a crossroads fight for Jamel Herring and Carl Frampton, the winner was left looking forward to a world title unification fight while the

6:44 PM 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 Jamel Herring sent Carl Frampton into retirement with a sixth-round TKO in a third defense of his WBO world junior lightweight title Saturday. Herring

Budding lightweight contender Ryan Garcia and former champion Javier Fortuna have agreed to terms on a fight this summer, a source confirmed to ESPN. In March, the WBC ordered Garcia to fight Fortuna in a defense of the WBC’s interim lightweight title. The winner will likely be in contention to face Devin Haney, who holds

7:46 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 Carl Frampton believes beating WBO junior lightweight world titlist Jamel Herring on Saturday would make him the best boxer in Irish history. The Northern

Mar 30, 2021 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 Carl Frampton believes his experience, rather than his size and reach, will be the defining factor when he challenges Jamel Herring on Saturday. The

Mar 30, 2021 Mark KriegelESPN Fighters get better with seasoning, experience and maturity, but not, as a rule, age. That’s why I cannot share in any enthusiasm — if, in fact, there is any — for the return of Oscar De La Hoya. What plagues boxing isn’t the wave of “exhibition” fights, per se. No,