One of the biggest boxing events of the year will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ on April 12 at 11 p.m. ET from the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. The reigning WBA/WBO lightweight – and widely regarded pound-for-pound –champion, Vasiliy Lomachenko (12-1, 9 KOs), is set to defend his unified lightweight world title against mandatory challenger Anthony Crolla (34-6-3, 13 KOs). The undercard bouts will also stream live on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET. All the evening’s fights will be available in Spanish on ESPN+.
Friday’s Top Rank on ESPN card coincides with the one-year anniversary of the launch of ESPN+ – the leading direct-to-consumer sports streaming service.
Calling the action for ESPN will be Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), former two-division world titleholder Tim Bradley (analyst) and former pound-for-pound two-division world titleholder and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward (analyst). The on-location desk team will feature analysis from Mark Kriegel and Max Kellerman, and the ESPN+ Spanish coverage includes play-by-play from Jorge Eduardo Sánchez and former boxing champion Juan Manuel Márquez as analyst."
ESPN’s official coverage of fight week kicked off Sunday, April 7, with Countdown to Lomachenko vs. Crolla, where viewers follow rival boxers Vasiliy Lomachenko and Anthony Crolla as they prepare for a must-see world title fight on April 12. See inside the training camp of pound-for-pound superstar Lomachenko as he trains at his home base in Oxnard, Calif., while former world champion Crolla trains to return the WBA title he once held to its rightful owner.
ESPN.com will have the fight covered throughout the week with a feature on Anthony Crolla from Nick Parkinson, a unique look at how the world’s best boxing trainers would prepare their fighters to face Vasiliy Lomachenko from Steve Kim and a complete guide to the fight from Dan Rafael. Rafael and Kim will be at the fight offering their unique insight as the action goes down.
Top Rank on ESPN (All times Eastern) 2018
Date
Time
Event
Platform
Sun, Apr 7
11:00 p.m.
Countdown to Lomachenko vs. Crolla
ESPN2
Tue, Apr 9
1:00 a.m.
Countdown to Lomachenko vs. Crolla (re-air)
ESPN2
Wed, Apr 10
1:00 a.m.
Top Rank on ESPN: Lomachenko vs. Pedraza (re-air)
ESPN2
5:00 a.m.
Countdown to Lomachenko vs. Crolla (re-air)
ESPN2
3:00 p.m.
Top Rank on ESPN: Lomachenko vs. Crolla Official Press Conference (live)
ESPN+
7:00 p.m.
Top Rank on ESPN: Lomachenko vs. Pedraza (re-air)
ESPNEWS
10:00 p.m.
Countdown to Lomachenko vs. Crolla (re-air)
ESPN2
Thu, Apr 11
4:00 p.m.
Top Rank on ESPN: Lomachenko vs. Crolla Weigh-in (live)
ESPN2
4:00 p.m.
Top Rank on ESPN: Lomachenko vs. Crolla Weigh-in (Entire card, live)
ESPN+
7:00 p.m.
Top Rank on ESPN: Lomachenko vs. Crolla Weigh-in (re-air)
ESPNEWS
8:00 p.m.
Countdown to Lomachenko vs. Crolla (re-air)
ESPNEWS
Fri., Apr 12
12:00 p.m.
Top Rank on ESPN: Lomachenko vs. Crolla Weigh-in (re-air)
ESPNEWS
7:30 p.m.
Countdown to Lomachenko vs. Crolla (re-air)
ESPN2
8 p.m.
Top Rank on ESPN: Lomachenko vs. Crolla Undercards
ESPN+
11 p.m.
Top Rank on ESPN: Lomachenko vs. Crolla Main Card
ESPN+