(Mikey Williams / Top Rank) By David GreismanThis past Saturday, Top Rank fighters were active at a pair of events – even though the company has been without a major broadcasting partner since this past summer, when its relationship with ESPN concluded. At one show, run in Puerto Rico by the storied promotional company, Xander Zayas unified two junior middleweight titles in the main event with a split decision over Abass Baraou in front of more than 12,000 fans. A few other Top Rank fighters competed on the undercard.At another show, put on in New York City by Matchroom Boxing, Top Rank’s Teofimo Lopez lost his junior welterweight championship to Shakur Stevenson (who parted with Top Rank in 2024) in the main event, while the company’s Bruce Carrington captured a featherweight title with a knockout of Carlos Castro, and stablemate Keyshawn Davis debuted at junior welterweight by stopping Jamaine Ortiz.Lopez vs. Stevenson was a pay-per-view available on DAZN, a streaming service that Matchroom and other promoters have deals with. Zayas vs. Baraou, meanwhile, was on the Top Rank Classics channel carried by a number of FAST services – free, ad-supported streaming TV – such as The Roku Channel, Tubi and Vizio.Top Rank has needed to be both creative and collaborative in lieu of network money. While that has a bearing on how often its fighters can compete, Carrington says he is confident in, rather than concerned about, the company that promotes him.“I’m not worried about Top Rank. They’re going to figure it out,” Carrington, now 17-0 (10 KOs), said Monday on The Ariel Helwani Show. “They’ve been a company that has gone through adversity before. Obviously not this long of a layoff, but, you know, adversity nonetheless. “I remember one of the main reasons why I signed with them was because of how they handled Covid. They were the ones pushing out fights week after week after week in ‘The Bubble.’ So consistently, way more than any other promotion company that was out at that time. And they were just really thinking fast on their feet. And their longevity. How long they’ve been around, and they’ve been adjusting with the times. I feel like they’re gonna figure it out. So I’m not really worried about it.” Top Rank does not have any upcoming events listed on its website. Beyond the boxers who just competed over this past weekend and in recent months, eight more of its fighters do have matches…
2026-02-03 04:00:00
Bruce Carrington confident that Top Rank will rebound post-ESPN
