Junior welterweight world titleholder Jose Ramirez (23-0, 16 KOs), 26, of Fresno, California, will make his second defense in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Feb. 10 -- a Sunday night -- Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti told ESPN on Tuesday. The site is not set yet but the aim is to have the fight in Fresno, where is a popular ticket seller, Moretti said. Ramirez won a vacant 140-pound title by lopsided decision over Amir Imam in March in New York and made his first defense in an action-packed but lopsided decision win against Antonio Orozco on Sept. 14 in Fresno.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer19h ago

Junior welterweight Gary Antuanne Russell (7-0, 7 KOs), 22, a 2016 U.S. Olympian, and bantamweight Gary Antonio Russell (12-0, 10 KOs), 25, both of Capitol Heights, Maryland – and both the younger brothers of featherweight world titlist Gary Russell Jr. – were due to fight separate opponents on the Dec. 22 Premier Boxing Champions on Fox card at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but both have withdrawn from their bouts due to personal reasons. Interim middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo will defend his belt against Willie Monroe Jr. in the main event and Jermell Charlo will defend his junior middleweight world title against Tony Harrison in the co-feature.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer1d ago

Claressa Shields (8-0, 2 KO) remained undefeated and retained her middleweight titles by pitching a 10 round shutout over Femke Hermans (9-2, 3 KO). All three judges at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, had Shields -- a two-time Olympic gold medalist for the United States -- winning by the scores of 100-90. Shields, 23, holds the IBF, WBA and WBC womens middleweight belts.

Steve Kim, ESPN4d ago

Larry Merchant, who for years was part of the HBO Sports broadcast team, will be making a cameo tonight, in what will be their last boxing telecast from the StubHub Center in Carson, California. When asked for his favorite fights on the network, he said he doesn't have a particular ranking but one event stands out. April 22, 2001 in South Africa, when Hasim Rahman shocked the world by stopping Lennox Lewis in 5 rounds for the heavyweight title. But during that week, he got a chance to talk boxing with Nelson Mandela. "It doesn't get better than that," said Merchant.

Steve Kim, ESPN4d ago

Welterweight Alexander Besputin (12-0, 9 KOs) scored two knockdowns against Juan Carlos Abreu (21-4-1, 19 KOs) and won 100-88 on all three scorecards in a dirty fight on the Lomachenko-Pedraza undercard.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer4d ago

Heavyweight world titlist Deontay Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) and lineal champion Tyson Fury (27-0-1, 19 KOs) have both said repeatedly since their split draw in a terrific fight last Saturday in Los Angeles that they want a rematch and while the camps can certainly get together and hammer out deal, they are about to be mandated to make one. The WBC, which sanctions Wilder’s title, plans to order an immediate rematch, according to a source with knowledge of the sanctioning body’s plans. The WBC board of governors is in the process of voting on the proposal and ordering a direct rematch has near-unanimous support, according to the source.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer6d ago

Japanese national hero Ryota Murata (14-2, 11 KOs), 32, who lost his secondary middleweight title by surprising one-sided decision to Rob Brant on Oct. 20 in Las Vegas, announced at a news conference this week in Tokyo that he plans to continue his career although he has not decided it will fight at middleweight or move up to super middleweight. “When the fight was over, I once thought I would retire from boxing,” said Murata, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist. “Then my determination was 98 percent sure. I won’t make the Brant bout my last performance. I’d like to climb up to the ring with the world belt on the line again.” Murata had a contractual option for an immediate rematch with Brant but he declined to pick it up, according to Top Rank.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer6d ago

Sources have informed ESPN.com that WBO junior middleweight titlist, Jaime Munguia (31-0, 26 KO), 22, will be making his 2019 debut on January 26 in Houston, Texas. He will be facing Takeshi Inoue (13-0-1, 7 KO), 29, from Japan. Munguia, recently signed an extension that will see him be co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, alongside his lead promoter, Zanfer Promotions. This bout will be streamed by DAZN, which entered into a deal with Golden Boy for 10 cards a year, including shows that feature Canelo Alvarez, who fights next week at Madison Square Garden against WBA "regular" super middleweight champion Rocky Fielding.

Steve Kim, ESPN6d ago

Hall of Fame broadcaster Larry Merchant, an integral part of HBO’s boxing telecasts for 34 years from 1978 until his retirement in 2012, will make a return to the network for a special appearance during the network’s final boxing telecast on Saturday (10:20 p.m. ET/PT) at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, not far from Merchant’s home in Santa Monica. He will chat with longtime broadcast partner and friend Jim Lampley between one of the fights on the “Boxing After Dark” tripleheader. “Nothing cosmic, but I’m pleased to be invited to hang with the old gang, and fans, one last time,” Merchant, 87, told ESPN.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer8d ago