5:43 PM ET Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A South African boxer who became disoriented during a fight and walked away from his opponent toward an empty corner of the ring while throwing punches has died of a brain injury. Boxing South Africa said Wednesday that lightweight Simiso Buthelezi died on Tuesday night

10:21 AM ET Associated Press TOKYO — While Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue was winning his title bout against Nonito Donaire, burglars were breaking into his home. Inoue stopped Donaire in the second round Tuesday night, unifying three bantamweight world titles. That same evening, two men broke into his home southwest of Tokyo, knowing Inoue and

Jun 8, 2022 Lindsay du Plessis South African boxer Simiso Buthelezi, who had been placed into an induced coma in Durban on Sunday after shadow boxing in the ring, died on Tuesday night, according to Boxing South Africa. He was 24. The lightweight boxer had been contesting for the WBF All Africa lightweight title when

8:56 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN They call Naoya Inoue “Monster” for good reason. When he met Nonito Donaire in November 2019, Inoue was genuinely tested for the first time in ESPN’s Fight of the Year. He defeated Donaire (42-7, 28 KOs) via unanimous decision on that night. But 31 months later, Inoue made easy work

8:11 PM ET Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya has a couple of goals he wants to check off in his career. One of them apparently involves getting rid of the company he founded. “I’m sitting on a billion-dollar company,” De La Hoya told ESPN. “And I can’t wait to get rid of

10:49 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Naoya Inoue can’t be denied any longer. In the wake of Canelo Alvarez’s loss to Dmitry Bivol, and now, Inoue’s second-round TKO of future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire on Tuesday in Saitama, Japan, there’s little doubt in my mind that “Monster” is the now the pound-for-pound king. While the

7:48 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Jermall Charlo’s layoff will extend past one year. The 32-year-old was set to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston, his hometown, but the fight has been postponed because of a back injury that Charlo suffered in training, Showtime announced. The fight will be rescheduled

9:08 AM ET Timothy Bradley Jr. When Naoya Inoue faced Nonito Donaire in the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight final in November 2019 to unify two world titles, nobody expected it to be such a back-and-forth battle. Inoue, the younger fighter and one rapidly ascending the pound-for-pound rankings, was coming off eight straight stoppage victories.