Boxing

Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions were among a long list of sports organizations granted government money.

Thai boxing matches resumed on Saturday after more than three months as the nation eases its coronavirus lockdown, but fans of the popular sport will have to make do with watching on television for now. Leaders of the sport hailed the return to the ring after the shutdown, which left hundreds of boxers and referees without work, and said they hoped spectators would be allowed to attend matches again soon. Thailand's government has eased most curbs to try to revive an economy badly hit by the pandemic, with sports competitions among the latest activities to resume.

Panamanian Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran was released from hospital Thursday after being treated for coronavirus, the six-time boxing world champion announced via social media. The message included a video showing him leaving the hospital in a wheelchair and wearing a face mask, as medical personnel around him wave small Panamanian flags. Duran, 69, checked into a private hospital in Panama City on June 25 after showing symptoms of a bad cold that turned out to be the coronavirus.

Golden Boy president Eric Gomez told Yahoo Sports that the company has lost in excess of $1 million since the pause in boxing because of the coronavirus pandemic, which began in March.

Vanessa Wanjera packs a punch. The 14-year-old Kenyan took up boxing two years ago but she already has big dreams. Wanjera is one of a group of children who train at the Mathare North Boxing Club in Nairobi, where head coach Bernard Muiruri hopes the programme will help keep kids out of trouble.

International Boxing Hall of Famer Roberto Duran was diagnosed with the coronavirus, his son announced Thursday. In an Instagram post, Robin Duran wrote that his 69-year-old father recently tested positive after originally believing that he had merely the common cold.

Panamanian Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran, six-time boxing world champion, was hospitalized in non-life-threatening condition Thursday with the novel coronavirus, his children said on the same day that Panama hit a new record of daily cases. "Test results have just arrived for my dad, and they confirm he is positive for COVID-19," the legendary fighter's son Robin Duran said on Instagram. Robin Duran had posted hours before that the 69-year-old had been hospitalized as a precaution for a "respiratory virus," which turned out to be COVID-19.

An alleged Irish gangland figure will play no further role in brokering deals for Tyson Fury fights, the British world heavyweight champion's promoter Bob Arum has said. The American, 88, told the Daily Telegraph that while both he and Fury "admire and respect" Daniel Kinahan, they had agreed that Arum should handle future deals. Fury has reached agreement over a two-fight deal with fellow British boxer Anthony Joshua to determine the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Franco dropped Moloney in the 11th and came on down the stretch to win a unanimous decision and claim the WBA super flyweight title at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.

Herring, one of the best guys in boxing, announced Tuesday on Twitter that he tested positive last week for COVID-19.

The twins are in Las Vegas on a mission, out to not only win their upcoming fights but to prove that a pair of Australians who compete in weight classes that get precious little attention in the U.S. can somehow break through and become stars.

“We had no choice in the matter because this is the commission’s protocol via the contact tracing,� Top Rank COO Brad Jacobs told Yahoo Sports.

The controversial boxing promoter helping to arrange the all-British heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua has been dropped as an adviser to a Bahraini sports organization that is looking to bring high-profile bouts to the region. Daniel Kinahan was recently hired as special adviser to KHK Sports, which is owned by the Prince of Bahrain, and was publicly praised by Fury for bringing together the camps of the current two world champions in boxing's heavyweight division for a possible two-fight deal. KHK said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday it has ''discontinued engagement with Daniel Kinahan and he is no longer an adviser to'' the organization.

It’s hard to believe, but the legendary Roberto Duran is celebrating his 69th birthday today.

Professional boxing is set to return to Mexican television after a three-month halt on matches due to the coronavirus pandemic, promoters said Tuesday. The bouts are scheduled for Saturday in a television studio with no spectators. Mexico has had 150,246 confirmed coronavirus cases and 17,580 deaths.

A weekly look at boxing's hottest topics.

Cynthia Calvillo shook off a slow start to control Jessica Eye on the ground and secure victory via unanimous decision in a main-even flyweight bout Saturday night at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. Calvillo (9-1-1), who moved up a weight class and was in her first five-round fight, had just a few weeks to train for the fight and came out a bit sluggish. Eye (15-8) -- who came in a quarter pound over the non-title flyweight limit of 126 pounds -- landed several jabs to control the first round, giving Calvillo a small cut on the nose.

For a few days in March, Ginny Fuchs thought her biggest challenge of the year would be managing her obsessive compulsive disorder during a viral pandemic while still training to box at the Olympics. The Tokyo Games were postponed, adding another delay to the dreams of a tenacious fighter who has spent a decade working toward her first Olympic appearance. Through it all, Fuchs is still fighting.

U.S. Olympic team boxer Virginia Fuchs will face no punishment for failing a doping test after the U.S. Anti-Doping Association determined the violation had been caused by two substances transmitted by her boyfriend through sex. USADA announced its ruling Thursday clearing the 32-year-old Fuchs, who intends to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics next year as a flyweight. Fuchs has served as a recent captain of the U.S. Olympic team, which returned to Colorado Springs this week for its first training camp since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Anthony Joshua's first blockbuster bout with Tyson Fury is unlikely to take place in Britain, according to promoter Eddie Hearn. Saudi Arabia, which staged Joshua's win over Andy Ruiz Jr in December, has already emerged as favourite to host the contest. Hearn admitted that while he would love the bout to be staged in Britain, financial practicalities make it much more likely that it will take place in the Middle East or China.

British heavyweight world champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have agreed in principle to meet in two blockbuster fights, according to both camps on Wednesday. Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn has been negotiating with Fury's management for several weeks and he said the terms were in place for the fighters to go head to head. No contracts have been signed yet, but Hearn expects WBA, IBF and WBO belt holder Joshua to face WBC champion Fury to determine the undisputed king of the heavyweight scene in 2021.

An all-British world heavyweight title showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in 2021 is a step closer. Fury said Wednesday that an agreement has been reached with Joshua's camp on a two-fight deal between the current holders of the heavyweight belts. ''The biggest fight in British boxing history has just been agreed,'' Fury said in a video message posted on Twitter.

Fury still needs to fight former champion Deontay Wilder, but said in a video he shared on social media that his manager, Daniel Kinahan of MTK Global, reached a deal with Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn.

The discussions over an undisputed world heavyweight title showdown between the two fighters began in early May and they have now agreed on initial terms for two encounters. Joshua holds the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts, while Fury is the reigning WBC champion. "We're making great progress," Joshua's promoter Hearn told Sky Sports News.

The former world light heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk has retired, his manager said Wednesday. Egis Klimas wrote on Instagram that ''he is retiring'' and wished the 33-year-old Ukrainian luck in his new career. Gvozdyk won the WBC title in December 2018 when he knocked out Adonis Stevenson, who had held the belt for five years.

Undefeated American Shakur Stevenson stopped Felix Caraballo with a punishing body shot in the sixth round Tuesday to win the main event of boxing's first major fight card since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. The 22-year-old Stevenson easily won the 10-round non-title fight by delivering a devastating left hand to Caraballo's rib cage for the knockdown at 1:31 of the sixth round. Stevenson, who is the World Boxing Organization featherweight champ, completely dominated the Puerto Rican to improve to 14-0 with eight knockouts.

In the main event of boxing’s first fight in the U.S. since the coronavirus pandemic began, Stevenson put on a show at the MGM Grand Conference Center against a tough but outmatched Felix Caraballo.

Shakur Stevenson ended the most unusual week of his boxing life with his usual dominance in another victory. Stevenson stopped Felix Caraballo with a body-punch knockdown in the sixth round Tuesday night in the first major boxing event held in North America since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. ''It's a different atmosphere,'' Stevenson said.

No one was more shocked when Mikaela Mayer tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday — three days before her planned super featherweight fight at the MGM Grand Conference Center against Helen Joseph — than Mayer herself.

On Tuesday night, Top Rank will produce its first boxing show since the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Bob Arum is never shy in praising his prospects, but he lavishes the praise on the slick lefty from Newark, New Jersey, who will meet Felix Caraballo on Tuesday.

The U.S. promoter of Tyson Fury is hoping to stage a third heavyweight fight between the British boxer and Deontay Wilder by the end of the year, potentially in the Chinese enclave of Macau. Bob Arum told The Associated Press that Fury ''owes'' Wilder a third fight after claiming the WBC belt off the American with a seventh-round stoppage in February. Only then would Fury turn his attention to an all-British fight with Anthony Joshua, the WBA, IBF and WBO titleholder, in early 2021.

Boxer Mikaela Mayer tested positive for the coronavirus and will miss her scheduled junior lightweight bout on Tuesday against Helen Joseph. The 10-round bout was scheduled to be one of the featured fights on the Top Rank card at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Mayer, who turns 30 next month, made the announcement on social media on Sunday and called her positive test "a complete surprise" since she believed she was taking all required precautions to stay safe from COVID-19.

Junior lightweight contender Mikaela Mayer has tested positive for COVID-19 and won't fight in the co-main event of Las Vegas' first major boxing card since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Mayer announced her positive test on social media Sunday, two days before her scheduled bout against Helen Joseph in the Top Rank show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Tuesday night. Mayer is asymptomatic, but she tested positive for the virus on Saturday, she says.

"I am heartbroken to report that I will no longer be fighting on Tuesday’s Top Rank card due to a positive result in my COVID-19 test yesterday."

World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua told a Black Lives Matter march on Saturday that protesters were the "vaccine" to the "virus" of racism. "The virus I am referring to is called racism," he said, comparing its effects to the damage done by COVID-19. Worldwide protests under the banner of Black Lives Matter took place Saturday in response to the death of George Floyd, a black American man who died in Minneapolis last month while being arrested by police officers.

Pete Rademacher, who won a boxing gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and fought Floyd Patterson for the heavyweight title in his first professional bout, has died. A family member told the Media Gazette that Rademacher died Thursday at the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky. Rademacher won gold in Australia by knocking out Russian Lev Mukhim in the title match.

The odds are against Forrest ever wrapping a heavyweight title belt around his waist, though his new promoter, Lou DiBella, would take issue with that.

Jared “The Real Big Baby� Anderson is a 20-year-old first year pro who is 3-0 with three knockouts after a modest amateur career.

It’s not hard to imagine Ali speaking out against the looters while at the same time standing strongly on the side of the protesters.

Former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather has offered to pay for George Floyd’s funeral and memorial services, and the family has accepted the offer. Mayweather personally has been in touch with the family, according to Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions. TMZ originally reported Mayweather’s offer, and said he will also pay for services in Minnesota and North Carolina.

Curtis Cokes, the Hall of Fame welterweight who became Dallas’ first world champion in 1966, has died. Erwin “Sparky� Sparks, Cokes’ partner at the Home of Champions gym, told The Dallas Morning News that Cokes died Friday after a week in hospice. Cokes took the World Boxing Association welterweight title in 1966 belt with a unanimous decision over Manny Gonzalez in New Orleans and added the World Boxing Council crown three months later with a unanimous decision over Jean Josselin at Dallas’ Memorial Auditorium.

PARIS (AP) -- Hassan N’Dam, former middleweight boxing champion of the world, wanted to repay the French hospital that cared for his father-in-law through his bout with COVID-19.

With the coronavirus pandemic still raging, Pacquiao is idled and there have been no talks about his next fight, the president of Pacquiao’s promotional company told Yahoo Sports.

Boxing could be back on in Las Vegas in June, with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to consider bout applications at a May 27 meeting. The commissioners will also consider an application from Dana White's mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship to hold bouts in Vegas on May 30 and June 6. Approval of the applications will depend on whether the commission decides it can remove or modify the restrictions it imposed after Nevada governor Steve Sisolak closed the state, including all casinos, in March.

Promoter Bob Arum said Thursday he plans to stage a card of five fights on June 9 at the MGM Grand, the first of a series of fights over the next two months at the Las Vegas hotel. A second fight card will be held two nights later, with ESPN televising both cards, kicking off twice weekly shows at the hotel in June and July. No fans will be allowed, and Arum said fighters and everyone else will be tested at least twice during fight week for the new coronavirus.

The 39-year-old Bulgarian was scheduled to meet Joshua on June 20 but the fight was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak with promoter Eddie Hearn floating the idea for the two Brits' unification bout in the event of a long postponement. Joshua has also said that a blockbuster fight with Fury, who is set to meet Deontay Wilder in a rematch later this year following a seventh round stoppage win in February, was needed to determine a single dominant figure in the division.

Tyson Fury has set his sights on emulating Wladimir Klitschko's sustained dominance as the British fighter warned he can remain a world champion until he retires. Klitschko was the undisputed world champion for over four years until Fury earned a shock win against the Ukrainian in 2015. Fury was unable to defend those titles amid mental health problems, but he has bounced back impressively.

Heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn is planning to organise fights in his own back garden when professional boxing returns in July from the COVID-19 lockdown. Hearn's mansion home and headquarters in Brentwood, to the north-east of London, has extensive grounds and he told Saturday's Daily Mail he envisaged fight nights on four consecutive weekends behind closed doors.

Leonard, who turns 64 on Sunday, won six world titles in five weight divisions but his career was as much about who he fought and how he fought them as what he won. As the 1970s ended, the iconic heavyweight era of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Joe Frazier was over and Leonard was moving to centre stage along with three other men, whose careers would all be defined by their rivalry. Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns fought each other nine times between 1980 and 1989 in the welterweight or middleweight divisions.

Boxers are often remembered for epic one-off fights or career-defining rivalries but few faced as many truly brilliant rivals as Sugar Ray Leonard or beat them with enough regularity to be considered peerless in a time of greats. Leonard, who turns 64 on Sunday, won six world titles in five weight divisions but his career was as much about who he fought and how he fought them as what he won. As the 1970s ended, the iconic heavyweight era of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Joe Frazier was over and Leonard was moving to centre stage along with three other men, whose careers would all be defined by their rivalry.