Boxing Junkie

Bob Velin and Mike Coppinger of USA TODAY Sports bring on WBA welterweight champ Keith Thurman, whose June 25 fight against Shawn Porter is the most sought-after fight of 2016. Thurman talks about bouncing back from the car accident that forced the postponement of this fight against his longtime friend. Thurman also discusses the notion that he hasn't had enough time to prepare, his musical interests in his spare time, being the next star of boxing, embracing meditation, and what's on his schedule after the Porter fight.

The junkies from Boxing Junkie, Bob Velin and Mike Coppinger, give their breakdown of the May 7 fight between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Amir Khan in Las Vegas. Bob and Mike also look back at the April 30 fights in D.C., Thomas Williams' big knockout of Edwin Rodriguez and the chances for a Floyd Mayweather comeback.

For all of our coverage, visit boxingjunkie.usatoday.com.

Famed trainer Abel Sanchez steps into the ring with USA TODAY Sports' Bob Velin and Mike Coppinger. Sanchez sets the stage for the upcoming bout between his fighter Gennady Golovkin and Dominic Wade. He also dishes on the middleweight champion's future, which may or may not include Canelo Alvarez or Andre Ward. And about the proliferation of catch-weight bouts ...

Bob Velin and Mike Coppinger of USA TODAY Sports welcome former boxing champion and United States gold medalist Andre Ward to the show via telephone. Ahead of his March 26 fight against Sullivan Barrera, Ward delves into a number of topics, including his switch to light heavyweight, advice for childhood hero Roy Jones Jr., his friendship with former NFL running back Napolean Kaufman and his role in the movie 'Creed.'

The Boxing Junkie duo of Bob Velin and Mike Coppinger of USA TODAY Sports talk with Top Rank Boxing founder and CEO, Bob Arum, who talks about Manny Pacquiao's recent controversial comments, future possibilities at Top Rank and Saturday's doubleheader at Madison Square Garden.

Bob Velin and Mike Coppinger of USA TODAY Sports welcome former IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter to talk about his upcoming fight with Keith Thurman. Porter also chats about his secret to staying focused, his relationship with his trainer/father and shares the funniest moment of his career.

Bob Velin and Mike Coppinger of USA TODAY Sports break down the Sergey Kovalev-Jean Pascal rematch for the unified world light heavyweight title, and discuss Pascal's prospects at a reversal of fortunes. The 1-2 punch of Velin and Coppinger also recap Dominic Breazeale's knockout of Amir Mansour and look ahead to Shawn Porter-Keith Thurman, which has the makings to be a good one. And will anyone come out to fight Luis Ortiz?

In this week’s Boxing Junkie podcast, USA TODAY Sports boxing writers Bob Velin and Mike Coppinger welcomed special guest Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder, the WBC heavyweight champion of the world. Wilder puts his title belt on the line against Artur Szpilka on Jan. 16 on Showtime from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The undefeated Wilder, who has knocked out 34 of his 35 opponents, talks about his preparation for the fight, his ongoing feud and his inevitable meeting with lineal heavyweight champ Tyson Fury, as well as what it means to be the first American heavyweight champ in years. We also talked to Lou DiBella, whose company, DiBella Entertainment, will promote the Wilder-Szpilka fight. DiBella talked about the fight, and the state of boxing in America.

Bob Velin and Mike Coppinger are joined via phone by boxing manager Vince Caruso to analyze boxing's highlights from 2015, including fight of the year, fighter of the year, knockout of the year, trainer of the year and prospect of the year.

In this week’s Boxing Junkie podcast, USA TODAY Sports boxing writers Bob Velin and Mike Coppinger welcomed special guest Julian “J-Rock” Williams, the undefeated junior middleweight fighter who might be one of boxing’s most avoided fighters. Williams talked about the difficulties of getting a worthy opponent from the Premier Boxing Champions’ stable of fighters, and about his dream of cleaning up the sport by pushing for 24-7, 365 year-round random drug testing. The Junkies were also joined by “The Breadman,” Stephen Edwards, Williams’ trainer who talked about his rising star fighter, some of the big bouts coming up and why boxing needs to be cleaned up. And he explained how a basketball player became a boxing trainer.