Boxing

Roy Jones Jr. tells TMZ Sports he doesn't believe Canelo Alvarez's loss to Dmitry Bivol will affect his star power one bit ... saying the guy is "still the biggest ticket in boxing" outside of the heavyweights.

Canelo suffered just his second-ever loss on Saturday night after moving up in weight to fight Bivol ... dropping the contest via a unanimous decision.

Some believe the L could hurt Canelo going forward ... but, when we spoke to Jones Jr. about the result on Monday, he said he doesn't expect it to impact the 31-year-old at all.

In fact, Jones Jr. said the 57-2-1 fighter's elite legacy is still in-tact ... and no matter who he fights next, his name will still draw plenty of eyeballs.

"[He's] the biggest ticket in boxing outside of the heavyweight division right now," Jones Jr. said.

Jones Jr.'s advice for Canelo now is simple -- fight Gennady Golovkin for a third time, and then go from there.

"Fight Triple G first because that's one that people will pay big money to see," Jones Jr. said. "It's one that'll generate interest and you could do it as a middleweight."

No word yet on what Canelo's plans are next ... but when we spoke to Bivol on Monday, the boxer sure seemed like he wasn't in any race to give a rematch to Canelo.

Bivol told us his goal by fighting Canelo was to gain notoriety ... and then pursue more belts elsewhere.

Stoolies rejoice -- Dave Portnoy is promising the full "Barstool experience" when he takes the mic for the Canelo Alvarez fight this weekend ... and by the sound of it, viewers will undoubtedly be entertained.

Pres and Big Cat are slated to give their expert analysis on an alternate PPV broadcast of Canelo's bout against Dmitry Bivol on DAZN on Saturday ... a move that Portnoy called "one of the great no-brainers in the history of Earth."

Of course, the gang has experience calling their "Rough N Rowdy" fights over the years -- as well as some work for the Jake Paul fight in August -- but this is the first time they get to provide commentary for one of the world's greatest.

Dave says it's a great idea to get the younger audience to tune in to the champ's fight in Vegas ... and despite going big time, they're not going to lose sight of what makes them unique.

"We're going to be ourselves," Dave added. "DAZN hired us to be ourselves, so we're going to be ourselves and do it how we'd do it if was on Barstool."

The guys are going to look the part and don suits for the bout ... but as Big Cat points out, his might be a bit tight.

"The last time I wore the suit was for the Jake Paul fight in August ... put it on for the first time last night, your boy's gained about 20 pounds. So, you also get to see me squeeze into a suit tomorrow."

Kayla Harrison attempts to defend her PFL crown once again Friday night, but, she tells TMZ Sports she was originally scheduled to fight two weeks ago ... against Cris "Cyborg" Justino!

"I thought I was gonna be fighting Cris Cyborg on April 22 in Hawaii. So, yes, I'm interested in the fight," the 2-time PFL champ says, adding ... "I'm more than ready and willing to step up for that opportunity. I think the fans want it, I know I want it, I know PFL wants it. I'm ready! I thought that that was gonna happen this year, I thought it was gonna happen last week."

Then, why's 31-year-old Kayla fighting Marina Mokhnatkina tonight?

It all goes back to Harrison's free agency a few months ago. She and manager, Ali Abdelaziz, tested the waters amongst the major MMA promotions, and actually struck a deal to face Cris.

But, Harrison's contract dictated PFL had an opportunity to meet any offer she received elsewhere, and that's exactly what they did.

"I accepted [against Cyborg] and PFL had the right to match and ultimately they did. I'm happy, I'm very happy with where I'm at. I'm excited about the season, you know, I'm excited for the potential fight with Cyborg but I have four fights in front of me in five and a half months. It's no easy feat. It's a grind."

The fight with Cris is super important to Kayla ... as she's made it crystal clear her desire is to show she's the baddest MF'er in MMA.

How do Kayla and 36-year-old Cris match up? Justino, regarded as one of best female MMA fighters of all-time, has only lost twice in her career. One L was to the G.O.A.T., Amanda Nunes in 2018. The other was literally her first ever pro fight ... in 2005.

Kayla, who got into the sport in 2018 following two Olympic gold medals in Judo, is undefeated at 12-0. She's twice entered, and won, the Professional Fighters League tourney.

The Island Boys will have an opportunity to show off their hands -- and secure the bag -- 'cause Flyysoulja and Kodiyakredd just got an offer to be cast on a boxing competition pitting social media stars against each other in the squared circle.

The new reality show is called "Ultimate Social Boxing" ... and will pit 32 social media stars against one another as they attempt to fight their way to the top, and the winner will receive $1 million!

TMZ Sports talked to LiveOne founder Rob Ellin (brother of 'Entourage' creator Doug Ellin), and one of the people behind the show. Ellin is currently beginning to cast the series.

Two of those spots ... well, Rob would like the Island Boys to enter the competition.

"We want you. It looks great. It looks energetic. It looks like those guys have those promotional skills. Again, to have that energy of becoming a true brand. Steve Austin, right? The Rock. Hulk Hogan. You want dolls made of you? You want a career? You wanna build brands? You want to own tequila companies? Yeah, sure. But, you better get yourself into boxing shape," Ellin said.

Of course, the bros blew up after their song, "I'm An Island Boy" exploded in popularity last year.

And, they've seemingly taken up boxing lately ... showing off their skills (😬) on social media, doing bag and mitt work.

Boxing and entertainment have become more intertwined over the last few years ... and particularly since Jake Paul burst onto the boxing scene.

Paul flipped the sport on its head in many ways ... but that could only happen because, like him or not, Jake's a talented fighter.

Will Smith isn't down to fight Chris Rock's brother after an open invite, but another Philly native -- and former 'Real World' star -- is ready to take his place in the ring.

Josh Colon, known for his time on "The Real World: D.C.," has signed on to go up against Chris' brother, Kenny, at the South Florida Rumble in June, presented by Bitcoin Rodney.

Josh, who was on 14 episodes of the reality series, says he's doing this for Will ... and is ready to represent the entire city of Philadelphia, from where they both hail.

As you know, Kenny was ready to fight Will in April after first signing onto the event ... he was confident he could take a W over W, even though Will once played Muhammad Ali on the big screen.

Kenny slammed Will for slapping his brother at the Academy Awards, and was looking for some payback.

The event's got a bunch of celebs attached -- Omarosa, Flavor Flav and Rashad Evans will all be involved ... and the evening's main event has Benzino up against Aaron Carter. Blac Chyna will also be on the card, but her opponent has not been announced.

Those of you who wanna see Francis Ngannou box Tyson Fury -- the world's best heavyweight fighter -- ear muffs ... 'cause Dana White tells TMZ Sports it's just silly talk.

"Nobody is beating my door down for this fight. And I love Tyson Fury, I'm friends with Tyson. He's one of the greatest boxers of all time. One of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time going in against one of my MMA guys. We saw this movie before. We know how this story ends," the UFC president plainly told us.

There's been some discussion around Francis and Tyson boxing in the past ... but it really heated up once Ngannou went into the ring following Fury's brutal 6th round knockout of fellow British heavyweight star Dillian Whyte.

The champs in their respective sports exchanged some friendly talk ... and hinted they'd face each other in a hybrid boxing match (say MMA gloves, boxing rules).

The issue for Francis ... he's currently under contract with the UFC. So, in order to box Fury, Dana's got to give the fight his blessing.

And, of course, White's done it before ... allowing, and then promoting, Conor McGregor in his quest to defeat the undefeated legend, Floyd Mayweather.

But, Dana doesn't believe the interest in Ngannou-Fury is anywhere near where it was for McGregor and Mayweather.

"The difference was the Conor-Floyd thing became bigger than -- everywhere I went people were talking about it. All the media was talking about it, fans wanted to see it."

FWIW, according to stats online, Conor and Floyd is the 2nd most bought pay-per-view fight ever ... with 4.2 million buys at $100 a pop.

Dana also mentioned Francis' last fight ... when he took on interim champ Ciryl Gane. Ngannou used more wrestling in that fight against Ciryl -- an incredibly athletic striker -- than ever before in his MMA career. It's also worth noting the UFC champ sustained a serious leg injury leading up to the bout.

As good as Gane is, Fury's boxing ability is so freakin' good it's hard to imagine an MMA fighter, even with otherworldly power like Francis, have the ability to land flush shots on Tyson ... a sentiment with which Dana agrees.

"100% and he just fought Ciryl Gane and wrestled him. Silly conversation."

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There's more.

We also talked to Dana about Tuesday's premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 30 (a show near and dear to  ... starring coaches Amanda Nunes and Julianna Peña.

The UFC honcho talks about everything from Peña still believing she's the underdog to the Lioness, to Julianna's desire to fight on the same card as her buddy Jon Jones -- something Dana says isn't happening.

Conor McGregor took some time out of his Tuesday to gush over his fiancee ... showering her with compliments and calling her "my big busty woman!"

The Notorious left the sweet message on Dee Devlin's most recent social media post ... one that showed the couple cheesin' in bathing suits while on a boat in France.

"My big busty woman I love you baby what floor we on again ?" McGregor wrote. "And which yacht 😂😂😂"

The fighter added, "ah stop don't stop my baby I love you so much dee I do all of this for you, for us, I hate everyone else, I love you ❤️ #forever"

McGregor and Devlin have been dating for years and have three kids together ... and are clearly still very much in love. Dee actually captioned her photos Tuesday by writing, "mine," with a heart emoji.

The two have plenty of time to spend together these days ... because while Conor is gunning to make a comeback to the UFC eventually -- he's still rehabbing his injured leg and slowly working his way back to octagon shape.

Floyd Mayweather may be retired from boxing professionally, but he isn't done making money ... in fact, "Money" says he plans to continue making bank into his 90s just like Warren Buffet.

The 45-year-old undefeated boxer posted a sweet video of his young grandson watching "grandpa" train. Floyd wrote the caption of his post to the young boy, and offered him some wise words.

"Grandson, I’m very thankful for your great Granddad teaching me the sweet science of boxing, to hit and not get hit. I believe in working smarter, not harder. I retired from the sport undefeated with all my accolades and on my own terms," Floyd wrote.

"Even in retirement, I’m still able to milk the game of boxing, continuing to make 8 figures or more. I will continue to do exhibition bouts making tons of money and people from all around the world will continue to pay because my hustle is just different."

FYI, Floyd's referring to his dad, Floyd Mayweather Sr., when he says "great Granddad"... a former fighter turned trainer who coached Floyd as he became the world's best and most popular boxer.

Then, Floyd made it clear ... just because he's done fighting professionally, that doesn't mean he's done making money.

"I will continue to do exhibition bouts making tons of money and people from all around the world will continue to pay because my hustle is just different. If Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, and the Waltons continue making money in their 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, then I’m not retiring from making money and I’m younger than all of them."

Of course, Elon, Bill, Jeff, and Warren are 5 of the richest people in the world ... and are all at least 50 years old.

Here's a breakdown of age and money (according to Forbes).

Musk, 50, is the world's richest (known) man ... and has a current net worth of $251 billion.

Bezos, 58, is the third wealthiest person on Earth ... amassing a fortune worth nearly $148 billion.

Gates, 66, is right behind the Amazon founder (BG's 4th wealthiest) ... he's worth $130 billion.

Buffett, 91, is the oldest person Floyd named ... but the 6th wealthiest person hasn't slowed down. The "Wizard of Omaha" is still the Chairman and CEO of his massive holding company, Berkshire Hathaway. Warren is worth $117 billion.

Now, Floyd's wealthy (he once made over $300 million for 30 minutes of work -- see Conor McGregor fight), but not that wealthy, yet.

Floyd Mayweather helped a guy turn in his back into the biggest yearbook signature page ever -- etching his name right into his skin ... just one more out of hundreds already there.

The boxing great was on hand Saturday for The Parlor Games Celebrity Basketball Classic (presented by Celebrity Sports Entertainment), where he was one of many celebs in Vegas for star-studded game on the court.

At one point, though, it appears he was approached by social media influencer Funky Matas -- who's kinda famous for all the writing on his body ... specifically, his entire back.

Stars like Will Smith, Gerard Butler, Steve-O, Michael J. Fox, Elijah Wood, Christopher Lloyd, Chris Rock, Usain Bolt, Tara Reid, Mike Tyson, Tony Hawk, Rob Schneider, Travis Barker and even the guy who voiced SpongeBob SquarePants ... just to name a few.

All in all, he's got upwards of 300 signatures -- yes, he's world record holder -- and now ... Floyd's in the pantheon too. Dude did seem a little hesitant though, and we can't blame him.

Even Shakur Stevenson -- one of the most talented boxers in the world -- is admittedly surprised he's a big favorite over undefeated opponent, Oscar Valdez, straight-up telling TMZ Sports he doesn't get it.

"I actually don't understand it. I'm thinking like the odds are gonna be closer. I was willing to go put my whole fight check up for this fight, but you gotta give him the respect he deserves ... but I don't think the fans are," Stevenson says.

"Well, not the fans but the betting odds and the people and all that, I don't think they giving him a fair shake which I understand 'cause it's me but at the end of the day, I don't understand it either."

But, don't mistake Shakur's honesty for a lack of confidence in his ability ... he's just keeping it a buck, saying what educated fans know -- Valdez has hands.

FYI, 31-year-old Valdez, who has been working with Canelo Alvarez, has never lost a professional fight ... he's 30-0 with 23 knockouts.

Stevenson is younger ... just 24 years old, and is also undefeated at 24-0 with 9 KO's.

Despite the career accolades, Oscar is a sizeable underdog ... especially for a champion. In fact, many sportsbooks require you to lay down (-)$800 simply to win $100. Believe Valdez will win (like Canelo)? You'll only have to risk $100 to win (+)$500.

Obviously, Shakur's not overlooking Valdez ... and when we asked him if it was the toughest fight of his career, Stevenson was inclined to agree.

"On paper. On paper when they look at the records and what Valdez has done in the sport of boxing already, it looks like it's the hardest fight of my career but we never know until we get into the ring."

"Stylistically, it might be one of the easiest fights or it may be the hardest fight at the end of the day. You never know until you get in the ring."

Jake Paul's bet with Eddie Hearn for this weekend's matchup between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor will NOT involve any tattoos -- just a million freakin' dollars!!

It all went down during the final presser for the huge fight going down this Saturday at Madison Square Garden ... with Hearn igniting the wager after he asked Paul about his fighter.

"You're fully confident that your charge will be victorious and become undisputed lightweight world champion?" Hearn asked Paul on Friday.

Of course, JP doubled down on his belief Serrano will come out on top -- and that's when the 25-year-old boxer placed his bet.

"I got a bet for you Eddie," Paul said. "I bet you all the jewelry that I'm wearing right now that Amanda wins the fight."

Hearn hit him back with a couple of jokes ... saying "10 grand is not a lot" -- but Paul insists his diamond chain is worth $500k!

"Maybe we can talk a million," Hearn replied ... and the two shook hands.

Of course, Paul is known for making bets when it comes to the boxing ring -- remember, Tyron Woodley had to get an "I Love You Jake Paul" tattoo after he lost to the 5-0 boxer last August.

The $1 million bet ain't the only big-money deals being made this week ... the two female boxers' purse will be more than that, Paul previously said.

"This is just historic for the sport in general."

Here's more proof Mike Tyson didn't have a care in the world after beating up an alleged heckler on a plane last week -- with the boxing legend laughing his ass off on the phone moments after the incident.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of Iron Mike in the San Francisco International Airport after being escorted off his plane to Florida around 10:49 PM on Wednesday ... and the former champ looks happy as a clam as he chats it up on his cell.

A witness tells us Tyson was surrounded by cops ... and was speaking with one of the officers following the incident.

As we previously reported, Tyson was all smiles with a fan as he exited his JetBlue gate ... an interaction that went down just minutes after he was caught on video throwing punches at Melvin Townsend III.

While Tyson doesn't seem to be sweating the whole incident, he could still face legal action ... as Townsend lawyered up with Matt Morgan from Morgan & Morgan.

A rep for Tyson told us the passenger was clearly intoxicated and the altercation broke out after a water bottle was thrown at him ... but Morgan denies his client ever threw anything.

Benzino doesn't appear to have been able to lure 50 Cent into a boxing ring, so he's settling for the next best opponent ... and, apparently, that's Aaron Carter.

Damon Feldman of Celebrity Boxing tells TMZ ... the former pop star is lacing up his gloves again this summer to fight the "Love & Hip Hop" star in the main event. We're told both contracts have been signed ... and they're slugging it out on June 11.

The match is set to go down at the Charles Dodge Center in Pembroke Pines, FL -- and Feldman says BitCoin Rodney is promoting it. Aaron is stepping up for 50 Cent ... whom DF and co. weren't able to book.

Despite the bad blood between Benzino and Fitty -- including the recent back and forth claims of outing attempts and alleged federal snitching -- it doesn't appear 50 was interested in settling their beef with hands ... dude's been mum on their public challenge.

Aaron, however, is coming back for seconds -- you'll recall ... he got pummeled by Lamar Odom last year, where he was greatly outsized. Benzino's also bigger than him, but it sounds like Aaron doesn't care ... and wants his shot to redeem himself.

No word on how much either of these guys is making for going 3 rounds, but ya gotta figure it's a sizable amount for them ... especially if Aaron's coming back after that ass-whoopin'.

Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano will make history Saturday night when they headline the first-ever female main event at Madison Square Garden ... but the fight's a lot more than the answer to a future trivia question -- Taylor tells us this fight could be remembered like Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier I.

... which also went down at the "world's most famous arena."

TMZ Sports talked to the 35-year-old undefeated champ (20-0, 6 KO's) ahead of her April 30th DAZN scrap with 33-year-old Serrano (42-1-1, 30 KO's) -- a fight that's hyped up women's boxing -- so we asked Katie if there would be a carry-over effect which would elevate the sport for years to come.

"I think so. I think the fight on Saturday night is going to absolutely be awe-inspiring for people. I feel like where our matchups are stylistically we match up very very well. I feel and it's going to make for a phenomenal fight and I think this fight is going to be talked about for years and years to come."

Taylor continued ... "I've even talked about every time you say 'Madison Square Garden' you think of the likes of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. These kinds of fighters -- fights that we still talk about to this day. So I feel like the fight between myself and Amanda will be talked about for years and years to come as well. And absolutely think there will be follow-through, carry on with regards to the payday as well."

Sure, Ali-Frazier is one of the greatest rivalries -- not just in boxing, but sports in general -- so comparing any fight to the March 1971 matchup will be viewed as blasphemous.

But, that's not what Katie's saying. Her point is the fight -- pitting arguably the two greatest female boxers against one another -- is going to be incredible, and could change women's boxing in an array of ways ... including fan interest and pay.

Bottom line for Taylor ... "Biggest fight of my career and a moment in history and this is really stuff of dreams."

Mike Tyson clearly doesn't have an issue with fans who respect his space ... take a look at a pic Mike snapped with a dude just minutes after pummeling another guy on an airplane.

Tyson is all smiles in the photo, obtained by TMZ, shot outside the gate of his JetBlue flight. We're told the pic was snapped just after Mike walked off the plane, which was of course where he unloaded his fists of fury on an "overly excited" fan's face.

Despite Mike's actions just moments before, the fan in our pic tells us he was super friendly and chill. The fan says he gave Mike the book, "Basic Economics" by Thomas Sowell -- because Tyson's such a businessman.

Funny enough, Mike was still holding the book when he touched down in Miami Thursday night.

The new photo could work to Mike's advantage, to show he's cool with fans who are cool with him. Tyson's team claimed the man on the plane, Melvin Townsend III, became overly aggressive and was harassing Mike and even tossed a water bottle at the champ, even before the plane left the gate.

As for Townsend, he's lawyered up, hiring Matt Morgan of Morgan & Morgan. Matt tells us things between the men were cool at first, but, "At a certain point, Mr. Tyson clearly became agitated by an overly excited fan and began to strike him in an excessive manner. This situation could have been avoided simply by contacting the flight attendant. Our client denies throwing a water bottle prior to being struck by Mr. Tyson."

We're told Townsend has not yet decided whether or not he will take legal action against Mike, but it sure sounds like that's where it's heading.

Jake Paul was not impressed -- not impressed at all -- with Tommy Fury's win Saturday night over Daniel Bocianski -- saying no one gave a "f***" about the fight.

Tommy won the 6-round match by decision, and quickly called out Jake ... daring him to sign on the dotted line for their ever-delayed bout. The fight was supposed to go down toward the end of 2021, but Tommy was hit with a chest infection and broken rib so it was put on ice.

It doesn't seem Jake's into the fight now, at least on the terms presented so far, but as they say ... money talks.

Tommy said after his win, "I've got one thing to say. This [Paul fight] should have been done a long time ago in December. If you want it, I'm here and I'm ready for you. I'll cut you and chop you to bits, just like I did there."

Tommy wasn't done trash-talking Jake ... "Get the contract signed you bum, let's get it done once and for all. That lad in there would kill Jake Paul on the spot, that lad's a true professional. He'd slap Jake Paul. Jake Paul – I will end your career, you're a bum and you're no good. Let's get this fight done."

Jake's response ... "Congrats on beating a 10-1 fighter. But that stadium was empty. When I fight the stadium is full. When Tommy fights no one gives a f***. And that's in his home country."