Boxing

Anthony Joshua insists he is "hungry" to regain the world heavyweight title as the dethroned champion sets his sights on knocking out Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch in Saudi Arabia.

The buildup for the trilogy fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin is getting heated as Golovkin didn't hold back on his trash talk.

British boxer Tommy Fury has been denied entry into the United States before a press conference to preview his forthcoming fight against Jake Paul.

Olympic and triple world boxing champion Andy Cruz was caught trying to escape Cuba, the island nation's boxing federation said on Tuesday, accusing the the fighter of "serious indiscipline".

Japan's Naoya Inoue wants to prove he is worthy of his status as boxing's new pound-for-pound king, by becoming undisputed bantamweight world champion, the man known as "Monster" said Monday.

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez said Friday he plans to finish Gennady Golovkin's career when the two boxing rivals meet for the third and probably final time later this year.

Usyk will return to the ring and not only have the confidence that he’s beaten Joshua once, but also buoyed by the resiliency of his countrymen and the desire to deliver a positive message to a war-weary nation.

Britain's Anthony Joshua deflected concerns over "sportswashing" on Tuesday as he appeared in Saudi Arabia to promote his heavyweight boxing world title fight against Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine.

World heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk will defend his titles in a rematch with Britain's Anthony Joshua in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 20, promoters announced Sunday.

It looks like Beterbiev may be forced into a mandatory with Yarde, the WBO’s No. 1 contender.

Light-heavyweight world champion Artur Beterbiev knocked out American rival Joe Smith Jr. inside two rounds on Saturday to add the WBO title to his WBC and IBF belts.

Beterbiev dropped Smith once in the first, twice more in the second and had Smith wobbly around the ring when referee Harvey Dock stepped in to call a halt to the carnage.

Beterbiev, who is 17-0 with 17 knockouts, is a -900 favorite over Smith, who is at +475.

It’s at moments like this which often provide the best insight into a fighter.

Kattar’s been in the UFC for nearly five full years at this point and has developed a reputation as a fighter who is as tough as they come, as well as one who will accept all challengers.

Smith’s got a chance at becoming the unified champion and is two wins away from being undisputed for a simple reason: He never gave up.

Elite fighters of today will stand the test of time.

Reigning world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk will "most likely" face off in a rematch with Britain's Anthony Joshua on August 20, Usyk's promoter told AFP on Wednesday.

Japanese boxing champion Naoya Inoue reacted with horror on Wednesday after reports said his home had been burgled while he was busy taking down Nonito Donaire at a much-anticipated match.

Nonito Donaire said he was felled by "the hardest punch I've ever been hit with" as bantamweight king Naoya Inoue inflicted a sensational second-round stoppage on the Filipino veteran in Saitama.

Inoue is 29 years old and still very much in the prime of his career.

Japan's unbeaten "Monster" Naoya Inoue set his sights on becoming the undisputed world bantamweight champion after demolishing Nonito Donaire inside two rounds on Tuesday to claim his third title.

Donaire, 39, chose to stand and fight a toe-to-toe battle with Inoue, pound-for-pound arguably the most vicious puncher in boxing.

“Having her [as my trainer] is the biggest weapon I have because I can stay on track with the game plan as compared to other people,” Donaire said.

Haney set himself apart from all of the other lightweights, but there are still plenty of hills to climb.

Haney won by scores of 116-112 twice and 118-110, cruising to an easy one-sided victory. Yahoo Sports had Haney 117-111.

Browne, who is 43 years old, is now 31-3 with 27 KOs.

Winning a major world championship fight is a career highlight for most boxers. Doing it the way Joe Cordina did against Kenichi Ogawa Saturday put it into the history books.

George Kambosos is an underdog against Devin Haney on Saturday but could overwhelm his opponent with pressure.

"If you truly want to make something big, it’s up to us fighters to make it happen."

Boxing’s stakeholders — promoters, television executives, managers — need to convene a meeting with the heads of these sanctioning bodies and point out how harmful it is to the sport for them to keep pulling these shenanigans.

As the nation reels from two major mass shootings this month, a stampede broke out early Sunday in New York as rumors spread of gunfire just after a boxing match ended, injuring almost a dozen people, police said. As boxing fans filed out of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn after Saturday night's match where Gervonta Davis retained his lightweight title against Rolando Romero, word of gunshots spread among the crowd, police said. "People heard loud noises and thought it was gunfire," a New York City police spokesman said.

Davis conclusively answered any questions about his ability on Saturday.

In a battle of knockout artists, a counter left hand by Davis is all it took to end the fight at 2:39 of the sixth round.

Romero remains largely an unknown to the wider boxing world, though he’s 14-0 with 12 knockouts and is one of the hardest hitters in the lightweight division.

The outcome of Canelo-GGG 3 will go a long way in determining how Golovkin is remembered.

Abjectly mediocre opposition continues to haunt Benavidez.

The renewal of one of boxing’s most compelling rivalries is now within sight.

“Sparring was bad. Something was off. At the fight, I didn’t want to be there.”

“I want the respect that I’m warranted and that I should be given from him,” Castaño said.

Alvarez should be commended, not criticized, for having the audacity to believe he was good enough to unify the 175-pound division the way he had so easily done with the super middleweight division.

All three judges scored the bout 115-113 for Bivol.

Alvarez has the lessons he learned from his only career loss to thank for putting him on the rocket to greatness that he’s on now.

A fight between them is unlikely to happen for a myriad of reasons, but just the fact that Alvarez thinks along those lines is what should make him your boxing hero.

This is the biggest moment of Bivol’s career, and though he’s viewed by many as a lamb being led to slaughter, he’s far more than that.

While Bivol is good, maybe even very good, Alvarez is great. So it’s Alvarez’s fight, barring a disastrous and highly unlikely mistake.

Alvarez was a great fighter — yes, great — even before he fought Gennadiy Golovkin in 2017. But what he’s done since then should significantly change the perception of him from an all-time perspective.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr has maintained his wide lead in the Philippines presidential election race in a new survey released on Monday, but some political observers say the game may not be over for closest rival Leni Robredo. Support for Marcos, the son and namesake of the ousted dictator who ruled the Philippines for two decades, remained at 56% ahead of next week's ballot, while Robredo, the incumbent vice president, slipped to 23% from 24% a month ago in the Pulse Asia surveys. Multi world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and Manila mayor Francisco Domagoso had 7% and 4% support respectively.

Stevenson lost his moment in the sun because of it, though he was brilliant enough in the ring before a national audience on ESPN that his words at a news conference won’t be missed.