ESPN is moving on from boxing reporter Dan Rafael. The move, according to Bobby Burack of Outkick the Coverage, is not a cost cutting move related to the Cover-19 pandemic.
Rafael has been with ESPN since 2005. Prior to that, he wrote for USA Today.
ESPN told Phil Jay of World Boxing News that this was simply a matter of a contract expiring and not being renewed.
“Dan Rafael has been an important part of our boxing coverage for almost two decades,” a network spokesperson said. “We thank him for the many contributions he made to the coverage of the sport during that time. We wish him success in his next chapter.”
Jay notes that Rafael and Top Rank, the boxing promotion run by Bob Arum, have had their feuds in the past. Top Rank is an important partner to ESPN in terms of boxing content. Any history between those two was not directly linked to Rafael’s exit from the World Wide Leader.
