Boxing

Ronda Rousey says Floyd Mayweather taking an MMA fight is NEVER gonna happen ... 'cause he'd get his ass handed to him inside the Octagon!

Ronda straight laughed off Floyd's apparent interest in fighting for the UFC on "Golic and Wingo" Tuesday ... telling them why she thinks it's "all talk."

"That'll never happen ... I don’t think he’d do well in MMA at all,” Rousey said.

The topic was brought up 'cause of her transition to WWE, as well as Conor McGregor's temporary move to boxing.

Ronda clearly doesn't think all career switches are created equal ... and/or still doesn't think highly of Mayweather, even though he tried to squash their beef last year.

Chael Sonnen says Floyd Mayweather coming outta retirement is already a done deal ... 'cause he's a "dumb-dumb" who's burned through his billion-dollar fortune!!

And that ain't all -- Chael is guaran-damn-teeing Floyd's next fight will NOT be in the UFC.

"Floyd's not gonna do MMA but he is gonna box again," Sonnen told TMZ Sports. "I will tell you unequivocally, right now, Floyd Mayweather does, and is planning, to box one more time."

Chael ain't disputing Floyd's insane paydays for the McGregor and Pacquiao fights ... but says Money spends his cash even faster than he makes it.

"Floyd's broke ... it does not matter what you made, it matters what you kept, and he is a dumb-dumb!"

"Look, he's just not a very bright guy. He's surrounded with even less bright guys."

Chael says the one thing Mayweather IS smart about is staying relevant -- which is why he's been hyping a switch to MMA.

UFC champ Tyron Woodley says he's gonna start training Floyd ASAP ... so stay tuned.

Bob Arum says Canelo Alvarez should go away for a long time if he's taking steroids to get an edge on GGG ... but the top boxing promoter ain't gonna throw the book at him just yet.

Don't get it twisted -- Bob says Canelo blaming his positive PED test on Mexican beef is like telling your teacher, "the dog ate my homework" -- but he says Canelo's owed due process even though his excuse smells like BS.

"If drugs were taken to bulk him up, they gotta suspend him, and they gotta suspend him for a long period," Arum told TMZ Sports. "If it was inadvertent ... then give him a pass."

FYI, Canelo was temporarily suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission over the weekend ... just days after GGG slammed him as a long-time juicer.

Floyd Mayweather says it'll take him 6-8 months to be an MMA star ... and according to UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley, that journey starts NEXT WEEK!!

The welterweight champ joined the guys on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) ... and the conversation of course turned to Floyd's preparation for his new career.

It was Woodley who first broke the news Floyd was serious about training on "The Hollywood Beatdown" ... Mayweather then confirmed it when we got him out in L.A. ... and now it's time to get things poppin'.

"I think we're gonna start most of it next week. I think we're gonna start some of the strategy talks next week and we might get some sessions in as well."

With that being said ... T.W. breaks down exactly what they're gonna focus on.

"He does not have to go out there and start learning how to kick like Bruce Lee. He does not have to go out there and become a black belt over night."

Canelo Alvarez is pissed GGG publicly blasted him as a longtime steroids user -- and the Mexican boxing star is firing back with some good ol' fashioned American trash talk.

"I'm gonna kick your f**king ass ... little bitch," Canelo wrote on social media.

Alvarez ain't just talking ... he's also showing Gennady Golovkin how he plans to do it with some lightning-fast shadow boxing!!

FYI, GGG destroyed Canelo in an interview on Wednesday ... calling his tainted beef excuse a bunch of BS -- "It’s not Mexican meat. Canelo is cheating. They’re using these drugs, and everybody is just trying to pretend it’s not happening."

Gervonta "Tank" Davis made it known that he wants to smash on UFC fighters -- but before that, he says he's gotta remind the boxing world why he's known as the "mini Mike Tyson."

"I have to prove myself to show people that I am a champion," Davis told TMZ Sports. "I'm ready to take over the sport of boxing."

Tank admits he didn't bring his A-game in his last scrap -- the co-main event of Mayweather vs. McGregor -- even though he won by KO ... taking 8 rounds to finish Francisco Fonseca.

But, Gervonta says he's made all the right moves leading up to his April 21 bout with Jesus Cuellar -- from leaving his hometown to hiring a personal chef ... so he's expecting a vicious rebound.

Remember, Tank recently said he's also gunnin' for a UFC fight like his mentor, Floyd Mayweather, so he ain't lackin' confidence.

UFC star Dominick Cruz thinks it's an absolute joke Floyd Mayweather says he can get Octagon ready by the end of 2018 ... saying he'd crush Floyd with 1 ARM if he made the move that quickly.

"He's only got 2 tools -- he doesn't have the other 8," Cruz told the guys on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs tonight on FS1).

FYI, Floyd recently told us he's applying for a pro MMA license -- and set 6 to 8 months as his timetable for getting ready to rumble with a UFC foe (probably Conor McGregor).

Dom says Mayweather would be lucky if he could nail JUST takedown defense in that amount of time ... and that's if he puts in consistent work with UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley -- a stud college wrestler.

Sounds like fightin' words to us -- your move, Floyd.

Canelo Alvarez's meat problems could be over -- a San Diego butcher shop is vowing to provide free, CLEAN meat to the middleweight champ for the rest of his training camp.

Alvarez recently tested positive for traces of Clenbuterol -- a banned performance-enhancing drug -- and he blamed the whole thing on tainted Mexican beef.

Canelo says he immediately moved his training camp from Mexico to the U.S. -- and he's already got a butcher shop near his training base in S.D. down to hook him up with roid-free beef.

"This really seems like a case where contaminated, factory farmed meats almost cost someone a monumental event in their life," Heart & Trotter owner, Trey Nichols, tells TMZ Sports.

"We are happy to offer clean, locally raised and sustainably-sourced meats that will not only be free of chemicals, hormones and antibiotics, but will help Canelo Alvarez reach his peak performance during training."

Nichols says the butcher shop has previously supplied clean meat to the Lakers and Chargers ... so teaming up with Canelo to preserve the May 5 showdown with GGG is a no-brainer.

CM Punk has been in the gym -- THREE TIMES A DAY -- training his ass off since his unsuccessful UFC debut ... and now Tyron Woodley says he's CONVINCED Punk can win in his return.

"I just talked with him yesterday," Woodley said on "The Hollywood Beatdown" ... "He's putting in more work than some of these guys who claim they wanna be at the top."

Woodley -- the reigning UFC welterweight champ -- says he's been in the gym with Punk and is incredibly impressed with his training regimen.

In fact, once UFC selects an opponent for Punk, Woodley says he'll help the ex-WWE superstar break down tape to prepare for UFC 225 in June.

There's more ... Woodley also reacts to Floyd Mayweather's MMA self-ranking -- and tells us how he plans to get Floyd ready to destroy Conor McGregor whenever they finally get in the octagon.

Ivan Drago -- the Russian murderer who beat Apollo Creed to death -- is now training his son to a be a human killing machine, too ... and he's getting the boy in shape on Rocky's home turf.

Dolph Lundgren was spotted out at the famous Rocky statue Thursday in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art ... shooting a scene with Florian "Big Nasty" Munteanu -- the boxer who's playing his son in the sequel.

Of course, the museum steps and statue are part of the Rocky legend -- it's where Balboa proved to himself that he had the heart, the will and the EYE OF THE TIGER in multiple 'Rocky' movies.

Drago famously trained in a high-tech Russian lab (while doping his face off) before he got his clock cleaned in "Rocky IV" -- but now it seems he's using Rocky's methods to train up his kid.

Why? Maybe the Russians took the loss harder than we thought and kicked his ass outta there.

R.I.P. Creed.

Floyd Mayweather's protege is gunnin' for the Octagon, too -- and if he gets the chance to cross over, he says he'll beat ANY UFC FIGHTER in his division.

Boxing star Gervonta "Tank" Davis -- the co-headliner for Mayweather vs. McGregor -- has been going back-and-forth with a bunch of UFC guys on social media ... after hinting he'd be down for an MMA fight like his mentor.

We caught up with Tank to see if he's really down -- and he let us know what's up.

"If the opportunity's up for grabs then I'm definitely willing to fight any one of them guys near my weight class," Davis told TMZ Sports. "Dana White, I'm waiting on your call, baby."

FYI, Gervonta fights at 130 pounds -- around the same weight as killers like Demetrious Johnson, Cody Garbrandt and T.J. Dillashaw.

As for Floyd -- Tank told us why he thinks a Conor rematch could be in the cards ...

Talk about swift justice ... boxer Vinny Paz already had his day in court after being arrested for domestic violence Thursday morning ... and he got off relatively easy -- avoiding any jail time.

Paz was arrested this morning in Rhode Island after cops say V.P. refused to exit his house after allegedly beating up his GF ... forcing cops to bust down his garage door.

Less than 10 hours after being charged with 2 misdemeanor domestic violence counts -- Paz appeared in front of a judge and immediately copped a plea ... pleading no contest to domestic violence simple assault.

The other charge was dismissed.

Paz won't spend time behind bars ... but he ain't free and clear. The judge ordered him to take domestic abuse and substance abuse counseling, participate in a mental health program, and give up his guns.

Former boxing champ Vinny Paz was arrested for domestic violence in Rhode Island early Thursday morning after cops say he beat up his girlfriend and then tried to hide inside of his home.

The Warwick Police Dept. says it had to use force to break down Paz's garage and enter the home to apprehend the 55-year-old at around 3 AM.

Cops initially received a call from a member of Paz's GF's family who said Paz got violent. The woman reportedly suffered injuries to her face.

When cops arrived, the woman was taken from the scene in a stretcher.

Paz refused to answer the door, answer his phone and had turned off all the lights -- so cops decided they had to make a move "out of an abundance of caution" ... and entered the house to get Paz.

He was eventually taken into custody around 4 AM and hauled to a nearby station where he's being booked for domestic violence charges.

Floyd Mayweather says he's DEAD SERIOUS about taking an MMA fight -- confirms he'll start training with Tyron Woodley -- and breaks down his wrestling and kicking skills.

THIS CLIP IS AWESOME!!!!!

Floyd was leaving Katana in L.A. with his TMT crew on Wednesday when he opened up about EVERYTHING ... and admits gearing up for the octagon is "probably gonna be a little difficult."

As we previously reported on "The Hollywood Beatdown," Mayweather and UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley have agreed to train together ... and Floyd thinks he can REALLY elevate his ground game.

"I can wrestle," Floyd says ... "My wrestling game is not that bad. On a scale of 1 to 10, it's probably a 7 and I think we could take it up to like a 9."

Floyd also breaks down his kicking game -- and explains why he scores himself a 4 out out 10.

So, how much MONEY will it take to lock Floyd for an MMA fight, possibly with Conor McGregor?

"It's all about presenting the right numbers and of course, they gonna present the right numbers and we gonna make it happen."

Here's undefeated boxing champ Oscar Valdez proving even winning hurts in boxing -- showing his totally jacked up fist (and face) following a big win in an absolutely brutal fight this past weekend.

Valdez gutted out a tough victory over Scott Quigg Saturday night in a controversial and dangerous bout -- mostly because Quigg came in overweight for the fight and made it a slugfest.

FYI, Valdez (24-0) and Quigg (34-2-2) were supposed to fight at 126 lbs ... but Quigg missed weight and then ballooned up to 142 lbs on fight night while Valdez DID make weight.

Oscar won on points to keep his featherweight title, but had to have his jaw wired shut after the fight -- and judging by these recovery room pics, dude might have someone opening his sodas for a while.

As for Quigg, he also posted a post-battle photo -- and, although he does look a little like Mr. Magoo, he's not in the hospital. He did suffer a broken nose.

Still wanna be a boxer when you grow up?!

"Don't sleep on Floyd Mayweather" when it comes to MMA ... because the guy can REALLY wrestle -- so says Floyd's hired muscle.

We spoke with Floyd's personal private security force -- Jizzy Mack and Greg La Rosa -- and asked them how their boss is prepping for his MMA debut.

The guys say they haven't seen Floyd training with UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley yet -- but acknowledge "he's a beast" and would definitely be the man to get Floyd UFC-ready.

But, the most interesting part ... both guys claim Floyd has legit ground skills.

"Floyd's tough all around ... he can wrestle."

These guys spend MOST of their lives right by Floyd's side -- from traveling to the gym -- and they would know how Floyd's been training for his rumored transition into MMA.

As for Tyron, he says he's spoken with Floyd and agreed to train him -- and even spelled out how his training camp would go on "The Hollywood Beatdown."