12:07 PM ET Steve KimESPN Ali Salaam, the father and trainer of former WBC junior middleweight champion Tony Harrison, has died because of the coronavirus. He was 59. The Premier Boxing Champions confirmed the death of Salaam, who was a professional welterweight from 1984 to ’89 and compiled a record of 11-7 with 5 KOs.
Boxing
9:04 AM ET Steve KimESPN As the boxing industry waits for fights to come back, key figures in the industry are exploring all of the options at their disposal. The prevailing thought is that, at least at the beginning, the fights that could happen would take place in a studio or other controlled environment with
12:10 PM ET Steve KimESPN Longtime boxing referee Eddie Cotton died Friday morning after being hospitalized for over a week due to the coronavirus, IBF president Daryl Peoples confirmed to ESPN. He was 72. The resident of Paterson, New Jersey, began working fights professionally in 1992. He was a referee until 2014 and had been
8:54 AM ET Terence Crawford unleashes a smile as he hears another one of Errol Spence Jr.’s recent proclamations to “wash” him if the two best welterweights in the world finally face off in the ring. Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs), the WBO world titleholder, isn’t much of a talker. In a boxing world of brash
2:52 PM ET Associated Press TOLEDO, Ohio — Carmen Williamson, who in the 1940s and ’50s was a top U.S. amateur boxer and then in 1984 became the first black boxing referee and judge at the Olympic Games, has died. He was 94. Williamson died of COVID-19 complications April 8 at a hospital in Toledo,
7:58 PM ET Steve KimESPN With the boxing world at a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic, CEO Bob Arum and Top Rank have turned their attention to staging smaller cards that would not involve a live audience. At this point, the question is where and how. “What we’re doing is looking at facilities, including
5:53 PM ET Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz confirmed his interest in working under 2019 Trainer of the Year Eddy Reynoso, whose fighters include four-division title holder Canelo Alvarez, as he looks to revitalize his career. Ruiz, who pulled off a surprising knockout of Anthony Joshua in June only to lose the WBA, IBF and
2:46 PM ET Steve KimESPN The World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight finals between Yuniel Dorticos and Mairis Briedis, which was set for May 16 in Riga, Latvia, has been canceled. The bout had been originally scheduled for March 21, but it was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The organization released this statement: “WBSS is
2:43 PM ET Steve KimESPN Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder said he had surgery on his left bicep following his seventh round loss to Tyson Fury on Feb. 22. “Recovery is going well,” the 34-year-old Wilder told the PBC podcast. “I’m in therapy. I ended up injuring it in my last fight, somewhere up