Dan Rafael
1,538 articles · USA Today
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Gennady Golovkin beats Vanes Martirosyan, ties Bernard Hopkins’ defense record
By Dan Rafael
CARSON, Calif. -- The fight wasn't the mega event unified middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin expected to take part in, but that did not stop him from making boxing history on Saturday…
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Gennady Golovkin: Canelo Alvarez rematch right now ‘a question mark’
By Dan Rafael
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Unified middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin is happy about this much: At least he will get to fight again on Saturday. "I feel very happy that it's all…
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Jerwin Ancajas, Khalid Yafai to defend junior bantamweight titles on same card
By Dan Rafael
Junior bantamweight world titleholders Jerwin Ancajas and Khalid Yafai will make defenses on the same card with a title-unification fight the plan for later in the year if both retain their 115-pound…
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Isaac Dogboe scores 11th-round TKO for junior featherweight title
By Dan Rafael
PHILADELPHIA -- The trash talk between Jessie Magdaleno and Isaac Dogboe was intense and personal before their fight Saturday night, but it was Dogboe who reigned supreme by scoring the knockout he…
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IBF says GGG must fight Derevyanchenko to keep belt
By Dan Rafael
The IBF on Friday granted unified middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin an exception to his mandatory defense in order to face late substitute Vanes Martirosyan, but with the stipulation that his next…
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Promoter: Hair test shows Canelo Alvarez wasn’t intentionally taking banned substance
By Dan Rafael
Canelo Alvarez submitted to hair follicle testing at the request of the Nevada State Athletic Commission and the test came back negative for the banned performance-enhancing drug clenbuterol, lending some credence to…
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Gennady Golovkin says ‘we’ll see’ on Canelo rematch in September
By Dan Rafael
Unified middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin and his late substitute opponent, Vanes Martirosyan, might not agree on how they think their upcoming fight will play out, but they do share at least…
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Donnie Nietes vacates flyweight belt, moves up for 115-pound shot
By Dan Rafael
Donnie Nietes, the most decorated fighter from the Philippines in recent decades other than Manny Pacquiao, has vacated his flyweight world title to move up in weight in search of a belt…
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‘The Contender’ adds ex-titleholder Andre Ward, trainers Freddie Roach and Naazim Richardson to cast
By Dan Rafael
Retired former super middleweight and light heavyweight world titleholder Andre Ward and noted trainers Freddie Roach and Naazim Richardson have joined the cast of the reboot of "The Contender" reality series. Premium…
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Still an underdog, Caleb Truax vows to repeat upset against James DeGale
By Dan Rafael
Until he scored easily the biggest upset of 2017, few had ever heard of Caleb Truax. If they had, it was most likely because of his three career losses that had come…
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Deontay Wilder says he’s ready to fight Anthony Joshua next in UK
By Dan Rafael
Heavyweight world titleholder Deontay Wilder has made no secret of the fact that he wants to meet unified three-belt titleholder Anthony Joshua next for the undisputed championship, and he called for the…
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Amir Khan-Phil Lo Greco bout to be featured on ESPN+ on April 21
By Dan Rafael
In announcing April 12 as the launch date of ESPN+, ESPN's new, $4.99 per month subscription streaming service, on Monday, the network also said boxing would be a significant part of its…
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Why isn’t Deontay Wilder next for Anthony Joshua?
By Dan Rafael
The opening bell: What now after Joshua-Parker? Now that Anthony Joshua has unified three major heavyweight title belts, the obvious fight -- easily the most important in boxing -- is a fight…
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Gennady Golovkin intends to fight May 5, exploring options in case Canelo Alvarez rematch canceled
By Dan Rafael
Whether Canelo Alvarez is standing across the ring from him or not, unified middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin has every intention of boxing on May 5 and his team has begun working…
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Is Deontay Wilder next? Anthony Joshua just focused on Joseph Parker — for now
By Dan Rafael
Unified heavyweight world titleholder Anthony Joshua and fellow titlist Joseph Parker head into their big-time showdown looking to preserve their perfect records and to unify three of the division's four major belts.…
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Terence Crawford to challenge Jeff Horn for welterweight belt in June
By Dan Rafael
Former undisputed junior welterweight world champion Terence Crawford's move to welterweight to challenge titleholder Jeff Horn will be rescheduled for June 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, multiple sources with…
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ESPN, Top Rank expand partnership by adding 12 more cards
By Dan Rafael
There will be even more Top Rank boxing events coming to ESPN as part of its long-term agreement with the network. In addition to the cards being televised on ESPN on a…
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Terence Crawford won’t fight Jeff Horn in April
By Dan Rafael
Terence Crawford's move up to welterweight will have to wait. Crawford, the 2017 ESPN.com fighter of the year, was due to move up to welterweight to challenge Jeff Horn for his world…
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Bob Arum says Paul Dogboe’s trash talk went too far ahead of son’s fight
By Dan Rafael
Trash talk between fighters and their teams is commonplace before boxing matches, but the comments from Paul Dogboe, the father of interim junior featherweight world titlist Isaac Dogboe, ahead of his son's…
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Manny Pacquiao announces next fight, but Bob Arum says no deal yet
By Dan Rafael
LOS ANGELES -- Manny Pacquiao's MP Promotions announced in the Philippines on Thursday that the ring legend would return to fight secondary welterweight world titlist Lucas Matthysse on June 24 in Kuala…