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The cable television networkESPN has occasionally broadcastboxing events over the majority of its history, as part of several arrangements, including contracts with specific promotions and consortiums such asGolden Boy Promotions,Premier Boxing Champions, andTop Rank, as well asFriday Night Fights—a semi-regular series that was broadcast by ESPN andESPN2 from 1998 through 2015. ESPN stopped covering boxing in 2025.[1]
From 1980 to 1996, ESPN broadcast fights from the promoterTop Rank through a weekly series known asTop Rank Boxing; it was an early staple of ESPN's programming in the 1980s. Top Rank and ESPN later broke away from the partnership; Top Rank shifted its focus on targeting Spanish-language audiences in the U.S., while ESPN succeeded the broadcasts with a new series,Friday Night Fights, which would feature bouts from other promoters. In 2009, ESPN and Top Rank began discussing a renewed deal; co-founderBob Arum expressed dissatisfaction at the promotion's previous package forVersus, which featured a large number of low-quality bouts. Arum explained that he would be more likely to deal with ESPN for individual fights rather than a long-term contract, explaining that "I ain't coming to them saying, 'Will you buy this fight or that fight.' We're past that. Give me a couple of dates and let us program them. You like them? Fine, give us a couple of more."[2]
On June 17, 2017,The Ring reported that Top Rank was nearing a two-year deal to air a package of fights on ESPN, citing growing dissatisfaction with cuts toHBO's boxing coverage that limited scheduling options for fights. As a result, Top Rank declined to give HBO the rights to the then-upcomingManny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn. The partnership was also said to include access to ESPN's archives for a planned Top Rankover-the-top service. On June 19, 2017, ESPN announced that it had acquired rights to broadcast Pacquiao vs. Horn, marking Pacquiao's first fight on a non-premium channel, and his first non-pay per view fight since 2005.[3][4] After a negotiation window with HBO expired, ESPN officially announced that it would broadcast two more Top Rank cards in August, includingVasyl Lomachenko vs.Miguel Marriaga, andTerence Crawford vs.Julius Indongo.[5]
On August 26, 2017, ESPN formally announced that it had reached a four-year deal to become the exclusive broadcaster of Top Rank bouts in the United States and Canada. The fights will be distributed through ESPN's television and digital platforms (including Spanish-languageESPN Deportes, replacing Top Rank's program forUniMás, and Canadian rights for ESPN's local partnerTSN), theESPN+ subscription streaming service, and pay-per-view. ESPN broadcast 18 cards in the first year of the deal.[6][7] On August 2, 2018, ESPN announced an extension of the agreement through 2025.[8]
The deal would also call for Top Rank to acquire U.S. rights to 24 international cards per-year for broadcast on ESPN+; in September 2018, ESPN and Top Rank acquired rights to cards in the United Kingdom from British promoterFrank Warren—a friend of Arum.[9] In February 2019, Top Rank entered into a co-promotion agreement with Warren's Queensberry Promotions centered uponTyson Fury, under which ESPN would hold the U.S. media rights to his bouts, and at least two per-year would occur in the United States. The deal was stated to have potential complications on prospects for a rematch againstDeontay Wilder (whoselast fight ended in a split draw), as Wilder is associated withPremier Boxing Champions (whose rightsholders includeFox Sports, andShowtime—who produced the PPV for Wilder and Fury's initial fight).[10][11][12]
In April 2019, ESPN broadcast its first Top Rank PPV, featuringTerence Crawford againstAmir Khan for theWBO Welterweight title.[13][14]
In December 2019, it was announced that aWilder/Fury re-match had been scheduled for February 2020, and that the PPV would be a joint presentation of ESPN andFox Sports.[15] The broadcast was largely produced by ESPN staff, with Fox Sports personalities joining those of ESPN.[16] ESPN ended boxing coverage in 2025.[17]
| Boxing on ESPN | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | ESPN Friday Night Fights ESPN Championship Boxing (1996–1998) |
| Presented by | Bernard Hopkins |
| Starring | Various personalities |
| Narrated by | Joe Tessitore,Teddy Atlas |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English (occasional interpreters) |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | Various |
| Original release | |
| Network | ESPN2 |
| Release | October 2, 1998 (1998-10-02) – May 22, 2015 (2015-05-22) |
| Related | |
| Friday Night Lights Out (Spike) MetroPCS Friday Night Knockout (truTV) | |
In 1998, ESPN premieredFriday Night Fights;[18] the series traditionally featured bouts involving both up-and-coming and seasoned professional boxers, along with studio segments covering headlines and developments across the sport. As implied by its title, the program was primarily broadcast on Friday nights, semi-regularly.[19]
Ringside commentary was provided byJoe Tessitore andTeddy Atlas; previous seasons featured boxing analystMax Kellerman alongsideBrian Kenny and sportscasterBob Papa in Tessitore's role ringside with Atlas. The program spawned spinoffs,Tuesday Night Fights andWednesday Night Fights. A Spanish-language version,Noche de Combates, aired onESPN Deportes andESPN Latin America.
Boxers who have fought onTuesday Night Fights:
Boxers who have fought onWednesday Night Fights:
On March 19, 2015, ESPN announced thatFriday Night Fights would air for the final time on May 22, 2015, covering the finals of the 2015 Boxcino tournament. The network announced that it had reached a multi-year deal withAl Haymon'sPremier Boxing Champions to broadcast 11 events per-year on the main ESPN network, primarily on Saturday nights, and an afternoon event onABC. Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will carry over to serve as hosts. ESPN is one of several major broadcasters that airs fights through the promotion, which also includesNBC,CBS, their respective cable sports networks, as well asSpike.[18] ESPN aired its last PBC fight in mid 2016.[20]
On January 19, 2017, ESPN announced an agreement withGolden Boy Promotions to broadcastGolden Boy Boxing on ESPN. Under a two-year deal, ESPN and ESPN Deportes broadcast 42 Golden Boy-promoted cards, with 18 airing in 2017 and 24 airing in 2018. The contract included an option for a third year.[21]
End was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).