Boxing

Don't expect the same boring fight if Manny Pacquiao gets his rematch with Floyd Mayweather -- so says Manny's promoter, Bob Arum, who says his guy is a BETTER FIGHTER than he was last year.

We saw Bob out in L.A. Monday night -- and he explained why he's extremely confident MayPac2 will actually happen ... and when it does, Floyd's gonna be in some real trouble in the ring.

"I think Manny looks, really, a lot better now," Arum said.

"I think this time I give my guy Pacquiao a hell of a lot better chance."

They're not officially in negotiations, but Manny Pacquiao's promoter tells TMZ Sports there's a 75% chance of a rematch with Floyd Mayweather.

We spoke with Bob Arum -- who says the two camps are on great terms. In fact, when Floyd sat ringside at Manny's fight this weekend, it was all thanks to Team Pacquiao.

"Floyd called us and asked for tickets," Arum says, "It's a great sign. I'd love for the fight to happen. I'd make it 75% that it happens."

Arum -- who's been in the fight game for decades -- says he simply doesn't believe Mayweather's fighting days are over.

"Based on my experience, I feel like [Floyd's] getting the itch to come back."

Floyd Mayweather didn't get a standing ovation when he took his seat at the Manny Pacquiao fight this weekend ... he got booed ... and it's exactly what he wanted.

Accompanied by 3 massive bodyguards and sporting a $5,000 Gucci trench coat, Floyd made quite an entrance when he arrived at the Thomas & Mack Center in Vegas.

He wanted to create a scene. He wanted people to notice him. He wanted people talking about a Mayweather vs. Pacquiao rematch ... and he got his wish.

Now, the question is ... will it happen? Here's what Manny told reporters on Sunday:

"If the rematch happens, I want to make sure the fans love it ... I will give all I can to give my best to the fans."

Stay tuned ...

Ronda Rousey just got verbally annihilated by a female fighting goddess -- ex-boxing champ Christy Martin who ripped Ronda for being a bad role model, a bad champion and an idiot.

48-year-old Martin -- one of the greatest female boxers of all time -- went off on Rousey to FightHype.com ... saying she wishes she was 10 years younger so she could teach the UFC superstar a lesson.

Check out why Christy thinks Ronda will never set foot in the Octagon again ... despite having a scheduled fight in December.

Shannon Briggs has a real plan to resurrect boxing ... by using something fake ... saying he thinks he can make the sweet science hot again ... by acting like a WWE wrestler.

TMZ Sports talked with Briggs who's fighting for the WBA heavyweight title by the end of the year against journeyman Lucas Browne.

Of course this fight comes after years of some of the most entertaining smack talk, antics, and borderline harassment we've seen (poor Wladimir Klitschko) ... with Briggs saying it's all part of the plan.

Shannon's point -- embrace the crazy and make the sport fun again.

Meantime, check out the clips below and relive some of Briggs' greatest hits (sorry again, Wlad).

Manny Pacquiao rolls deep -- and tells TMZ Sports he bought more than 2,000 TICKETS for his friends and family to attend his fight against Jessie Vargas this weekend ... spending over $1 MILLION!!!!

BTW, he's being serious.

The fight goes down on Saturday night in Vegas -- and it's clear Manny wants to be surrounded by his famously gargantuan posse.

Before Demi Lovato took down Rocky Balboa in a sparring match, she got lessons on how to take down Rocky ... from Rocky.

Sylvester Stallone shared a clip of them practicing a jab sequence -- exactly like Sly does when he's shooting a movie. He gave Demi a handful of cues and choreography for their boxing skit.

Maybe our suggestion Demi could be a good fit for the "Creed" sequel wasn't that far off. Chick's fight game is focused, for sure.

Demi Lovato's got hands of stone ... just ask Sylvester Stallone.

Demi and Sly strapped on the gloves Wednesday at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable gym on the Sunset Strip -- and she obviously has some ring experience ... of the Hollywood variety, at least.

Rocky was having fun, although he claims he slipped when he hit the mat. Decide for yourself.

BTW, the "Creed" sequel is slated for November, 2017. Get DL a script, stat!

Just sayin' ...

Bad news for the guys in the Bears vs. Jaguars fan fight -- Oscar De La Hoya thinks you all suck at violence.

The legendary boxer joined the guys on "TMZ Sports" and weighed in on the fan brawl that took over in the Internet on Monday ... and one thing's clear -- nobody's getting a Golden Boy contract.

You gotta check out Oscar on the show Monday (airs on FS1) -- he also makes a pretty big announcement about a boxing LEGEND.

One of Adrien Broner's good friends, Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin, has a heartfelt message he wants to send to the embattled boxer -- God is real and he can help you.

Kid Chocolate -- one of the top middleweight boxers in the world -- says he was worried about Broner when he saw the disturbing suicidal messages on social media Wednesday.

The boxer says he hasn't reached out to Broner yet because he knows his family comes first -- but wanted to send this message.

"If he do get to see this at any time, God is real and the spiritual battle is real," Kid Chocolate said ... Don’t ever forget that."

"Your kids is important and you got a lot of reasons to live."

Heavyweight boxing champ Tyson Fury has voluntarily vacated his WBO, WBA and IBO titles so he can "fully focus on his medical treatment and recovery" ... so says a rep for the fighter.

In a statement issued by Fury's marketing team, Hennessy Sports -- they never mention cocaine specifically ... but they do make reference to a "serious medical condition."

"[Vacating the belts] will also allow him the time and space to fully recover from his present condition without any undue pressure and with the expert medical attention he requires and his close family support."

Fury failed two drug tests leading up to his fight with Wladimir Klitschko -- both tested positive for cocaine -- and Fury later admitted he's had a ton of blow over the years.

"I feel that it is only fair and right and for the good of boxing to keep the titles active and allow the other contenders to fight for the vacant belts that I proudly won and held as the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world when I defeated the long-standing champion Wladimir Klitschko," Tyson said in the statement.

2:05 PM PT -- Law enforcement sources in Cincinnati tell us they've also made contact with Broner and confirmed he's ok.

Good news on the Adrien Broner front ... his fiancee says the boxer is okay ... despite some disturbing posts in which he hinted that he was going to take his own life.

Arie Nicole -- aka Miss Louiebags -- went to Snapchat and posted a message moments ago that simply read, "Adrien is okay."

We also spoke with some of Broner's friends who say the boxer has been taking their calls and they're confident he's safe and in a better place now.

As we previously reported, Broner went to social media and posted a photo of a gun and suggested he was going to commit suicide.

The clock's tickin' on Tyson Fury's reign as WBO heavyweight champ ... 'cause the boxing org. hit the fighter with an ultimatum ... tell us why you should keep your belt, or lose it.

In case you missed it ... Fury pulled out of his Oct. 29th rematch with Wladimir Klitschko after testing positive for cocaine.

Now, the WBO has spoken ... telling Fury he has 10 days to "show cause why your title should not be vacated due to inactivity, breach of contract and performance enhancing drugs and stimulants."

The letter was delivered Oct. 7th ... giving Fury til' October 17th to respond.

And if he doesn't answer? A rep for the WBO tells us he'll likely be stripped of his title.

Regardless, the rep says they'll decide Fury's fate next week at the WBO convention in San Juan.

They've trashed each other for YEARS -- but boxing superstar Deontay Wilder is putting his feud with Tyson Fury on hold ... saying he truly wants Fury to get help for his cocaine problem so he doesn't die.

TMZ Sports spoke with Wilder -- who tells us the "real" Tyson Fury is not the monster you see in the media ... "He really is a good dude."

Wilder says he was really impacted when he learned about Fury's drug problem and suicidal thoughts -- and says he's even willing to fly to England to lend his support to his embattled rival.

That being said, Wilder still wants to beat the hell out of him ... saying, "We didn’t promote [a possible fight] this many years to be beat behind some kind of drug activity."

In the past, Fury has threatened to sexually assault Wilder.

Wilder said he was going to baptize Fury with his fists.

Oscar De La Hoya says battling cocaine addiction is the toughest fight there is -- but he's confident heavyweight champ Tyson Fury can beat his blow problem ... as long as he gets help.

The producers of a Mike Tyson documentary straight-up jacked photos from the Tyson-Holyfield bout for the film ... so claims the photographer in a new lawsuit.

Famed boxing photographer Teddy Blackburn says Xenon Pictures stole 4 of his shots from Tyson's infamous ear-biting 1997 fight against Evander Holyfield.

Xenon released the documentary in 2004 but, according to docs, never bothered to ask Blackburn for his permission to use the photos. Important note ... none of the photos are of Tyson's bite.

Blackburn's suing for a cut of the profits and other damages.

A spokesperson for Xenon Pictures tells TMZ ... the company licensed the film from a production company in the UK and says the licensor "fully warranted that all material used in the program (including the photos allegedly belonging to the plaintiff) were properly purchased."