DAZN Cuts Max Kellerman as ‘Inside the Ring’ Host, Hollywood Star to Replace Him

DAZN surprised everyone by announcing the new face of its Inside the Ring boxing show. The broadcasting company revealed on social media on Tuesday that Hollywood star Mario Lopez would host the show. However, the real shocker followed with reports that the company was parting ways with the show’s original host, Max Kellerman.

According to a Front Office Sports report, DAZN has effectively cut Max Kellerman and LeSean McCoy from hosting the second season of its flagship boxing show. The outlet subsequently reached out to the producer of the show, Omaha Productions, and third-party members of DAZN, but has received no response so far.  

Kellerman launched the Inside the Ring boxing show on DAZN with co-host Mike Coppinger in 2025. After hosting an entire season, the 53-year-old is now out of the program, but Coppinger did not suffer the same fate. 

As per the report, Coppinger will remain a vital part of the show. However, rather than continuing as the main co-host, he will serve as the lead insider alongside new full-time host Mario Lopez and a rotating panel of boxing experts to deliver fresh takes. Plus, the show will expand to air twice a week on DAZN and Ring Magazine’s YouTube channels. 

Despite the broadcaster’s decision to shake up its panel, it’s hard to deny that Kellerman served as a credible voice on the program. The veteran personality has over three decades of experience covering boxing, dating back to his early years in the ’90s.

On the other hand, Mario Lopez, who is stepping in as Kellerman’s replacement, has years of broadcasting experience himself. Lopez has appeared in many movies and TV shows, such as Saved by the Bell: The College Years and the 2020 sequel series. But besides that, the Hollywood star also appears to have extensive competitive boxing experience.

Lopez trained seriously in his early 20s at Freddie Roach’s famed Wild Card Boxing Club in West Hollywood. Plus, he also has experience in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which only adds to his credentials.

Perhaps for all those reasons, DAZN decided to replace Kellerman with Lopez, who is trained in boxing. But this is not the first time Kellerman has been let go by a major organization.

Max Kellerman was previously dropped from other shows 

One of the most notable periods of Max Kellerman’s professional life came during his time at ESPN. The 53-year-old used to host First Take alongside renowned sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith.

However, their differences grew over time, which ultimately forced Kellerman to leave the show in September 2021 following Smith’s request. 

Smith later reflected on the split and said he didn’t have the best “chemistry” with his co-host. Two years after that fallout, ESPN parted ways with Kellerman in June 2023, marking another setback in his career.

Later reports indicated that ESPN paid Kellerman $5 million annually and paid out the remainder of his deal, $10 million, to release the broadcaster from the company because he was still under contract.

Following those incidents, Kellerman joined Bill Simmons’ podcast and took some shots at Stephen A. Smith for pairing with a competitive debate partner, calling himself Muhammad Kellerman.

“If you’re doing a debate show and you’re a competitive person, why would you want me as a partner?” he said. “That isn’t good. You want to go 15 rounds every day with Muhammad Kellerman? That isn’t good. It’s embarrassing.”

Now, with Max Kellerman’s tenure on DAZN’s show finally coming to an end, it will be interesting to see how the situation unfolds. Will Kellerman launch a new show? Or will the company move on from him for good? Hopefully those questions will be answered soon.

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