Jun 24, 2023, 06:59 AM ET The Asian Boxing Confederation aims to withdraw from the embattled International Boxing Association after the global governing body was stripped of its Olympic recognition for failing to meet a set of reforms. The Asian group’s board of directors met in Bangkok on Thursday and Friday after the International Olympic

Mike Coppinger, ESPNJun 23, 2023, 12:44 PM ET Joshua Franco was stripped of his WBA junior bantamweight belt Friday after he weighed 121.25 pounds for his 115-pound title rematch against Kazuto Ioka in Tokyo on Saturday. Ioka (29-2-1, 15 KOs) can still capture the title with a victory. In the event of a draw or

Mike Coppinger, ESPNJun 22, 2023, 06:15 PM ET Canelo Alvarez, boxing’s top star, will defend his undisputed super middleweight championship against Jermall Charlo in September, likely Sept. 16 on Mexican Independence Day Weekend, sources told ESPN on Thursday. Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) struck a three-fight deal with PBC, with the other two fights expected to

Mike Coppinger, ESPNJun 22, 2023, 01:03 PM ET Overtime, known for its elite basketball league for players aged 16 through 20, will debut its boxing venture Aug. 4 in Atlanta with a junior featherweight main event between Elijah Pierce and Mike Plania, Overtime officials told ESPN. The four-fight Friday night series on DAZN from Atlanta’s

Mike Coppinger, ESPNJun 22, 2023, 02:33 PM ET Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and Sunny Edwards have signed contracts for a flyweight title unification fight, Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing announced Thursday. The matchup pits ESPN’s top two boxers at 112 pounds: Rodriguez, who holds the WBO title, and Edwards, the IBF champion who is rated No. 2.

Associated Press Jun 22, 2023, 08:04 AM ET GENEVA — The International Boxing Association was banished from the Olympic family Thursday, ending a yearslong dispute fueled by defying advice and instructions from the IOC. Boxing, however, will keep its status as an Olympic sport at the 2024 Paris Games. The International Olympic Committee voted to

Jun 22, 2023, 09:42 AM ET Super middleweight contender Edgar Berlanga returns to Madison Square Garden in New York to headline a boxing card against Jason Quigley on Saturday. The fight at The Theater will be Berlanga’s 21st professional bout. Berlanga (20-0, 16 KOs), 26, of Brooklyn, New York, and Puerto Rican descent, started his

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJun 21, 2023, 04:41 PM ET UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens will face Chris Avila, a longtime teammate of Nate Diaz, in a pro boxing match on the undercard of the Jake Paul-Nate Diaz card Aug. 5 in Dallas. The bout, which was announced Wednesday, is contracted for 168 pounds over eight

Mike Coppinger, ESPNJun 21, 2023, 07:53 AM ET Former unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez Jr. announced his arrival at junior welterweight with a sensational performance on June 10, a decision over the previously undefeated Josh Taylor to capture the WBO belt and the lineal 140-pound championship. Lopez’s first two bouts in his new division were

Mike Coppinger, ESPNJun 20, 2023, 11:07 PM ET Jared Anderson will fight former heavyweight titleholder Charles Martin on July 1 in Toledo, Ohio, after Kazakhstan’s Zhan Kossobutskiy was forced to withdraw with a visa issue, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. Anderson (14-0, 14 KOs), a 23-year-old rising star in the heavyweight division, has finished his