Boxing

4:45 PM ET Elwin Soto will defend his WBO flyweight world title against former strawweight champion Katsunari Takayama on the Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders undercard on May 8 at AT&T Stadium, multiple sources told ESPN on Friday. Soto (18-1, 12 KOs), 24, of Mexico, will be making the first defense under the Matchroom Boxing banner,

7:47 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 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

5:15 PM ET Gervonta “Tank” Davis and title defenses by both Charlo twins headline Showtime’s upcoming fight schedule. Davis will face Mario Barrios on May 26 for an inferior version of the WBA’s junior welterweight title. Barrios (26-0, 17 KOs) currently holds the WBA’s No. 2 belt in the division, while Davis (24-0, 23 KOs)

12:52 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 Four years ago, Welsh boxer Liam Williams was defeated in a majority points loss which set him on a path to clean up his

11:21 AM ET ESPN News Services LOS ANGELES — Two-time Olympic boxing gold medalist Claressa Shields has a date and an opponent for her mixed martial arts debut with the Professional Fighters League. Shields will fight Brittney Elkin on June 10, the PFL announced Wednesday (TV: 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+; 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The

11:54 AM ET 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

5:25 PM ET A star on the social media platform TikTok said that YouTube-star-turned-boxer Jake Paul forced her to perform 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

8:24 AM ET While the world waits for Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury, Jose Ramirez-Josh Taylor and Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos, the boxing spotlight will be placed on the sideshows as celebrities and former champions are making their way into the squared circle. There is little doubt that boxing purists hate what’s on tap this weekend, but the

9:00 AM ET 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.

11:07 PM ET 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

7:30 PM ET 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

12:09 AM ET 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

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

5:23 PM ET 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+

6:29 PM ET 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

7:48 AM ET 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

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