Saturday night’s blockbuster fight between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford in Las Vegas is widely considered the most significant boxing match of the year. But unfortunately, it sounds like ESPN’s most esteemed and iconic boxing reporter will not be allowed to cover it.
According to the New York Post, Showtime and Al Haymon’s PBC has blocked the credential of ESPN reporter Mike Coppinger, barring him from covering Saturday night’s massive fight.
The Post reported that it “was not immediately clear” why Coppinger’s credential was blocked, but that the decision was made by PBC. The Post also reported that ESPN “went deep to the mat” to try to get PBC to reverse its decision, but the network’s attempts were unsuccessful and Coppinger’s credential remains blocked.
ESPN will not be without coverage of the event, however, as the network’s highest-paid star Stephen A. Smith will be contributing to the coverage of the fight on Saturday night. But the network’s top boxing reporter will not be in attendance.
This is not the first time an ESPN reporter has been denied credentials to a major boxing event. Back in 2015, then-ESPN host Michelle Beadle and then-CNN host Rachel Nichols initially did not receive credentials for the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Though both decisions were reversed before the event, neither reporter attended the fight.
