4:11 PM ET Ryan Garcia’s dream of stepping into the ring to take on Manny Pacquiao will have to remain just that for now, according to his promoter. Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes the 22-year-old Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs), told ESPN Knockout that a fight between the two isn’t in the cards. “There’s nothing to
Boxing
2:39 PM ET Future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao is still a world champion. Well, kind of. Pacquiao was designated by the WBA as a “champion in recess,” the sanctioning body said in a statement on Friday night. With the vacancy, Yordenis Ugas has been promoted to become the WBA’s top titleholder in the welterweight
12:19 PM ET Ryan Garcia spoke often about his desire to face WBA “regular” lightweight champion Gervonta Davis, but when the call came to discuss a fight with legend Manny Pacquiao, Garcia pushed his intentions of building his career at 135 pounds to the side. “You get a call and somebody says, ‘You can fight
4:26 PM ET Mark KriegelESPN Top Rank CEO Bob Arum has reserved the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 8 for a long-awaited 140-pound unification fight between IBF and WBA champion Josh Taylor (17-0) and Jose Ramirez (26-0), the WBC and WBO champion, he said Friday. Canelo Alvarez will fight WBO super middleweight champion
8:55 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN The biggest and most lucrative fight of Caleb Plant’s career could lie ahead in 2021, but the current IBF super middleweight titleholder isn’t getting ahead of himself. Plant’s focus is on Saturday, when he’ll put his title on the line for the third time as he takes on former world
7:15 PM ET Super middleweight world titleholders Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders have agreed to a title unification bout in May, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Mark Kriegel on Thursday. Alvarez already is scheduled to face Avni Yildirim on Feb. 27 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, and sources said as long as
9:51 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 Tyson Fury has dislodged Josh Taylor as ESPN’s British pound-for-pound king. It was a tight decision. Taylor only had 161 seconds of action in
10:48 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 There’s no disputing the long anticipated world heavyweight clash between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua is 2021’s biggest story for British boxing, but beneath
6:59 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 Tyson Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren has said he is confident nothing will get in the way of making a Fury vs. Anthony Joshua fight
5:20 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Former WBC super middleweight titleholder David Benavidez says he will return to the ring on March 13 against Ronald Ellis. Although the location of the bout is still being finalized, a source told ESPN that it’ll most likely happen in Connecticut as a main event of Showtime Championship Boxing. Benavidez