5:44 PM ET William Weinbaum GREENWICH, Conn. — A week before Thanksgiving, disabled former boxer Magomed Abdusalamov calmly showed what doctors said could be impossible for him after a catastrophic injury in the ring six years ago. Emotion. Expression. Engagement. Capacities most of us take for granted disappeared for Abdusalamov in the hours after he

2:06 PM ET LAS VEGAS — After Deontay Wilder retained his heavyweight world title by a crushing one-punch, seventh-round knockout of fellow big banger Luis “King Kong” Ortiz in their rematch Saturday night, the chatter only intensified along press row. Is Wilder one of the best punchers, if not the best, in boxing history? Many

2:19 AM ET Dan Rafael Close ESPN Senior Writer 2013 BWAA Nat Fleischer Award winner for excellence in boxing journalism ESPN.com boxing writer since 2005 Five years at USA Today Steve Kim LAS VEGAS — Deontay Wilder spent the better part of seven rounds searching for an opening, giving Luis Ortiz a big head start

12:10 AM ET LAS VEGAS — When Leo Santa Cruz began as a professional boxer, his goal was to win a world title. But once he accomplished that, he wanted to win one in another division. And when he accomplished that, he went for one in a third weight class. When the opportunity to win

1:23 AM ET Deontay Wilder nearly lost his heavyweight title to veteran Luis Ortiz last March, and in Saturday night’s rematch, he wasn’t exactly wowing anyone during the first half of the fight. But in Round 7, Wilder showed that all he needs is one opening to close the show, delivering a straight right to

Nov 24, 2019 LAS VEGAS — Heavyweight world titleholder Deontay Wilder said over and over that his rematch with Luis “King Kong” Ortiz would end in a knockout. He promised one and advised all who would be watching not to go to the bathroom or to get a snack or to check their cellphones because

10:31 PM ET LAS VEGAS — A few minutes after heavyweight world titlist Deontay Wilder weighed in Friday for his rematch with Luis “King Kong” Ortiz and finished an interview with the United Kingdom’s Sky Sports, he wandered toward the stands to mingle with the fans inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Wilder laughed and

8:48 PM ET ESPN News Services LOS ANGELES — Canelo Alvarez shot back Friday at statements made by his most recent opponent, Sergey Kovalev, who suggested he took the Nov. 2 title bout against Alvarez for the paycheck despite a grueling schedule. Alvarez scored an 11th-round knockout to grab Kovalev’s light heavyweight world title at

7:06 PM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — An appeals court has refused to revive a lawsuit filed by fight fans and pay-per-view subscribers upset that boxer Manny Pacquiao wasn’t completely healthy for an intensely watched 2015 bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Thursday that

Nov 22, 2019 Steve KimESPN The World Boxing Council announced Friday that it is implementing a new method for judging the effectiveness of its judges — and will be doing so in real time. “Basically, it’s a system that is aimed at evaluating ring officials,” said Mauricio Sulaiman, the head of the WBC. “We’re doing