Boxing

7:08 AM ET Devin Haney recites his lightweight hierarchy without hesitation. Himself, Teofimo Lopez, Gervonta Davis then Ryan Garcia. The rankings of these top four young fighters will be debated by the boxing community often throughout 2021 — until they can settle the score. There have even been comparisons to the Four Kings (Sugar Ray

11:46 AM ET Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said a deal for the world heavyweight champion to meet Tyson Fury in an undisputed world heavyweight title bout this year is all but done, with a venue in the Middle East a front-runner to host it. Joshua beat Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev last month to retain his

2:28 PM ET One of boxing’s top events in early 2021 is officially canceled. The Jan. 30 bout between former light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and Bek Melikuziev has been nixed after Kovalev failed a drug test because of banned substances, Golden Boy Promotions announced on Friday. 2 Related Kovalev was informed earlier this week

3:16 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 Alexander Povetkin and Dillian Whyte will face each other in a heavyweight rematch on March 6, promoter Matchroom announced Friday. Despite the United Kingdom

8:58 AM ET The level of inactivity in boxing was a little higher than usual in 2020. Due to COVID-19, several of the sport’s top fighters are in the midst of unusually long layoffs. Manny Pacquiao hasn’t fought since July 2019, and Deontay Wilder took his first loss in February just before the pandemic took

3:36 PM ET Former light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev has tested positive for banned substances ahead of his next fight. The 37-year-old’s test by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association showed external testosterone and metabolites, according to results obtained by ESPN on Thursday. The sample was taken on Dec. 30 and now places his fight on Jan.

5:25 PM ET Unified light heavyweight world titlist Artur Beterbiev’s title defense against Adam Deines has been rescheduled for March 20, most likely in Russia, according to the WBC. Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs), of Russia, who also owns the IBF title, was scheduled to face Meng Fanlong in March 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic forced

8:58 AM ET In the words of Canelo Alvarez, it’s time to “be bold.” There’s no offseason when it comes to boxing, but as the calendar turns to 2021, and without any big fights scheduled just yet, it is time to indeed follow that catchphrase, be bold and offer up our biggest prognostications for the

2:11 PM ET WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring will defend his title against former two-division champion Carl Frampton on Feb. 27 in London, promoter Frank Warren announced Tuesday. It’s a long-awaited battle between Herring (22-2, 10 KOs) and Frampton (28-2, 16 KOs) that had been delayed by COVID-19 issues, but it should be a

6:32 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 Middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr. has signed with European promoter Team Sauerland as he targets a world title shot in 2021. Eubank Jr. (29-2,

8:49 AM ET Mikaela Mayer Amid the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, boxer Mikaela Mayer had a breakout 2020. Despite fight cancellations and postponements, including a false positive prefight test for the virus that led to her removal from Top Rank’s first card back from hiatus in June, Mayer captured the attention of the boxing

6:22 PM ET Former four-division title-holder Adrien Broner will make his return to the ring on Feb. 13, a source confirmed to ESPN on Friday, marking the first time in over two years he will fight. Broner hasn’t appeared in the ring since Jan. 19, 2019, when he lost a unanimous decision to Manny Pacquiao

When Teofimo Lopez stepped into the ring to face Vasiliy Lomachenko in a lightweight title unification fight, the stakes seemed simple enough. If Lopez upset one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound fighters, he would immediately position himself as one of the best in the 135-pound division, and one of boxing’s biggest attractions. When Lopez won

6:39 PM ET WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney said he doesn’t believe his mandatory challenger, Ryan Garcia, is willing to fight him next, and he’s begun shifting his attention to a potential bout with unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez for all the belts in the division. Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) is coming off a seventh-round

1:30 PM ET The WBA has ordered a unification fight between lightweight titleholder Devin Haney and interim belt holder Ryan Garcia, but Garcia wants to face Gervonta Davis next. Can that fight happen? Will the division champion, Teofimo Lopez, instead face Haney to really unify all four belts? In his win over Luke Campbell, Garcia

8:58 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN I cover sports for a living, but I’ve been a fan of sports — particularly boxing — much longer than I’ve been in the field as a journalist. On the weekends, especially growing up, fights were an event in my household. My mom would cook the best food, we would

6:30 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 David Avanesyan’s European welterweight title fight with Josh Kelly has been postponed again after professional boxing in the United Kingdom was suspended for January

7:15 PM ET Ryan Garcia proved he’s worthy of the hype. Garcia survived an early knockdown to pick up a stunning seventh-round technical knockout victory over Luke Campbell on Saturday night. In front of roughly 6,000 fans at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Garcia won the interim WBC lightweight title with a left hook