Boxing

Mike Tyson and his family are going to bat for 100 women who spent time in prison ... starting a charitable organization aimed at helping the former inmates reenter society.

Tyson's mother-in-law, Dr. Rita Ali -- along with Tyson and his fam -- created We 2 Matter ... designed to "empower 100 formerly incarcerated women and offer them reentry resources and support."

W2M -- who teamed up with Van Jones' prominent prison reform group, Dream Corps/Cut50 -- will provide a variety of different services to the women.

The program also aims to educate the general public on the challenges mothers face as they attempt to rejoin society.

The Tysons celebrated the We 2 Matter with a fancy Mother's Day brunch over the weekend ... inviting 10 Los Angeles-based mothers who were recently behind bars (and their kids) to Mike's Tyson Ranch in SoCal.

It's a topic that's near and dear to Mike's mother-in-law's heart. Dr. Ali was formerly convicted of a crime (she maintains her innocence) ... and says she knows how difficult it can be for a woman leaving prison.

In addition to the good work that Tyson's non-profit is doing ... the party was also pretty awesome.

Lamar Odom is looking GOOOOOOOD ... new sparring footage obtained by TMZ Sports shows the ex-NBA star is really getting the hang of boxing ahead of his bout with Aaron Carter.

The 41-year-old has been training like a mad man for his June 11 Celebrity Boxing tilt against the pop singer at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City ... and it's clear the former hooper has hands!!

Check out the footage ... Odom -- who by the way is looking svelte and in shape -- is stringing together combos and moving around the canvas like a pro.

The power might not be there just yet -- but, hey, it's still a month away from fight night!!

As for Aaron, he's been taking the scrap seriously too ... getting in training sessions constantly and hitting the mitts as well.

In fact, we've also obtained some clips from one of Carter's recent sparring sessions ... and he ain't looking half bad either!!

We know ... it's not exactly Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury here -- but the event is still shaping up to be some must-see TV.

Plus, we're told Ice-T will be on the broadcast providing color commentary!!

Logan Paul says he and his brother are taking no chances after Floyd Mayweather's "I'll kill you" threat ... telling TMZ Sports they now have security watching them "at all times."

Floyd dropped the menacing warning to Jake Paul after the younger Paul bro famously stole the boxer's hat during a confrontation at the Logan-Mayweather pre-fight news conference in Miami last week.

Most considered it an empty threat -- after all, nobody really thinks Floyd's going to commit murder over a baseball cap -- but Logan tells us he's taking absolutely no chances.

As for why -- the 26-year-old YouTube star explained it this way ...

"Dawg, when you have a guy with the resources and the wealth that Floyd Mayweather has and the connection and the network and he's saying s***, 'I'mma kill that motherf***er' -- kill?! Death?! You're gonna kill my brother over a f***ing hat?! Yo, we take that s*** seriously man!"

Logan says the Paul bros now have bodyguards with or around them "everywhere at all times."

Logan, though, says he and his brother will NOT be going to cops or filing anything in the court system over the threat -- the older Paul brother said that idea is straight-up "bitch s***, bro."

There's more ... Logan also says there's a chance he makes $20 MILLION for fighting Floyd -- and he also explained why a fight card that would feature both him and Jake vs. Mayweather would never happen.

The injury Billy Joe Saunders suffered during Saturday night's loss to Canelo Alvarez was even worse than it looked ... and it's possible he may never fight again.

The 31-year-old didn't get off his stool at the end of the 8th round after it became clear his right eye was badly damaged.

Billy Joe was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation where he was diagnosed with a quadripod fracture, according to The Athletic's Mike Coppinger.

FYI, the injury essentially means Saunders' orbital bone was smashed so badly, his cheekbone area caved in.

BJ's promoter, Eddie Hearn, announced he would undergo surgery on Sunday -- though unclear how it went at this point.

Hearn told Coppinger the recovery will take several months -- and it doesn't seem like it's a certainty Saunders will ever be able to fight again.

The long story short, the integrity of BJ's cheekbone area has been structurally compromised since it was broken in 4 spots ... and for a guy who gets punched in the face for a living, that's a VERY bad thing.

Dr. David Abbasi -- an orthopedic surgeon who sometimes works combat sports events -- broke down the injury and it's scary stuff.

Saunders was 30-0 before the Canelo fight -- and looked pretty good in the moments before the fight ended.

He was sticking and moving and landing real shots ... but in the end, Canelo's power proved too much.

Here's hoping Saunders can make a complete recovery and get back to doing what he loves.

Floyd Mayweather COULD beat up both Logan Paul and Jake Paul on the same night ... but he won't, according to the man who runs Mayweather Promotions.

Remember, Floyd took the mic at Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday and said he would have no problem beating "two fake fighters" on the same night.

Jake Paul confronted Floyd about the situation -- and with news cameras rolling, Floyd yelled for his manager to draw up the paperwork.

Hell broke loose after that ... but when things finally calmed down, we spoke with Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe and asked if there was any real chance fans would get a 2-for-1 special on June 6.

"Realistically, he could [fight both brothers], but no ... from a business standpoint, no."

Ellerbe continued, "[Floyd] and Logan are gonna have a great exhibition on the 6th of June and the whole world will be entertained."

As for the possibility Floyd could fight Jake on another date down the road? The door seems to be open on that ...

Who knows?! Who knows what the future might hold?!"

TMZ Sports: "Do you think Jake Paul can win?"

Mike Tyson: "No. He's gonna get beat up pretty bad."

There it is ... Mike Tyson keeping it all the way real when asked how Jake Paul would fare against Floyd Mayweather if they ever step in the ring.

Don't get it twisted, Mike is NOT a hater -- he loves both Jake and Logan Paul ... but he's also a walking boxing encyclopedia who knows more about the sport than almost anyone else on the planet.

So, with Logan slated to fight Floyd on June 6 and Jake also gunning for a shot at Mayweather, we asked Mike if either guy had a snowball's chance in hell.

Look, our photog was extremely excited to talk with Mike and fudged the names ... but you get the gist of what he's trying to say.

Bottom line ... Mike ain't even offering up the "puncher's chance" argument for either Paul -- which basically states that anyone with knockout power has a chance of winning a fight, even if they're out-skilled.

Oscar De La Hoya took a break from training for his return to the boxing ring ... to SING with a mariachi band on Cinco de Mayo, and TMZ Sports has the footage.

The 48-year-old hit up Maestro, a Mexican food restaurant in Pasadena (he's like the mayor over there) and started feeling himself when the mariachi band began to play.

So, Oscar -- who once released a Latin Pop album back in the day -- decided to grab the mic and take over the lead singing duties.

Look, he ain't exactly Marc Anthony ... but it's not bad for a guy who was mowing down his dinner just minutes before taking the stage.

The crowd loved it and cheered him on as he sang hits like "Amor Eterno" by Rocio Durcal and "Sigo Siendo el Rey" by Vicente Fernandez.

FYI, Oscar's self-titled album was released in 2001 and actually got nominated for a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album alongside Shakira, Christina Aguilera and Luis Miguel!!!!

Oh, he lost to Shakira's MTV Unplugged album -- which, in her defense, still holds up.

As for the boxing side of things, Oscar announced he'll be returning to the ring on July 3 ... but his opponent has still not been announced.

The black eye and bloody mouth will fade ... but Jake Paul was still able to get a permanent reminder of his altercation with Floyd Mayweather -- immortalizing the incident with a new tattoo!!

The YouTube superstar showed off his new ink Thursday night -- just hours after he was roughed up at Hard Rock Stadium by Floyd and the boxer's bodyguards ... and it's pretty damn funny.

The tat -- located just below his right knee -- reads "Gotcha Hat" and features a picture of a baseball cap.

Of course, after Jake famously stole the hat off Floyd's head following the Floyd-Logan news conference in Miami -- he shouted repeatedly, "Gotcha hat!"

The scene was wild ... Jake got pummeled after stealing the cap -- and showed off a shiner and a bloody mouth in a video of the aftermath.

But, Jake's been having a great time with it all regardless ... talking all kinds of smack, getting the tat AND selling new "Gotcha Hat" merch.

Logan and Floyd are set to face off on June 6 ... and we're fired up for that -- but there's got to be Jake vs. Floyd immediately after that.

Logan Paul insists the dust-up between his brother and Floyd Mayweather was NOT a scripted stunt ... telling TMZ Sports, "I f**king wish that wasn't real."

"I wish it was staged," Logan added ... "That s**t is not funny. It's not fun for anyone."

As we previously reported, Jake Paul took over the media event at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Thursday and got right into Floyd's face ... stealing his baseball cap and touching off a violent altercation.

Floyd was PISSED -- chasing after Jake while screaming that he was going to "kill" the YouTube superstar.

We spoke with Logan after the incident and he told us the whole situation is giving him even MORE motivation to flatten Mayweather when they step in the ring on June 6.

"That s**t just got personal by default. It was supposed to be like a cute little press conference ...come together, get people excited for the fight. Not people talking about killing people! What the f**k!?"

We asked Logan if he had a message to Floyd ... and of course, Logan delivered.

"This is gonna be the craziest f**king evening to ever take place in the history of combat sports."

"My message to Floyd is this ... we're gonna get you that hat back, Floyd."

By the way, the Floyd incident was the talk of Hollywood on Thursday -- just ask rapper Rich the Kid, who weighed in on the incident when we spotted him in Beverly Hills.

Conor McGregor says Floyd Mayweather should be "embarrassed" by his run-in with Jake Paul on Thursday ... saying the fact he's feuding with YouTubers is just "sad."

The UFC superstar dropped some strong criticism about his old opponent after things went sideways at Thursday's media event at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami ... calling out Mayweather CEO Leonard Ellerbe for allowing Floyd to get involved with such a circus.

"Hey [Leonard Ellerbe], what the f**k is Floyd at?" Conor posted on IG.

"The kid [Jake Paul] curled up, didn’t fight back once, and Floyd is still running around acting the tough guy."

"The kid actually just pulled this shambles of a situation Floyd is in out of the drain for him. He should thank him. It’s embarrassing!"

Conor's point is Floyd is too accomplished and too big of a draw to be fighting unaccomplished non-professionals like Logan Paul and Jake.

"Pro to pro it’s embarrassing," Conor continued.

McGregor predicts the June 6 PPV event will ultimately be a failure -- saying Floyd "will not scratch $10 million for this fight and he knows it."

"It was cancelled once already. The world is watching this on Twitter. He’d fight a half decent pro and command 20m upwards, yet its this s**t."

"Whatever way you spin this, it’s sad. Fight someone for real, on your record, or f**k off mate. Slap head!"

Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders are fighting in front of a MASSIVE crowd Saturday night, but promoter Eddie Hearn says you should NOT worry about Covid ... 'cause there are precautions in place to keep fans safe.

The fight's going down May 8 at AT&T Stadium in Texas -- where there are no restrictions -- and will likely be the most attended event in America since the pandemic struck early last year.

"We're gonna be just under 70,000. So it's gonna be incredible," Hearn says ... "I think I remember seeing Canelo box Liam Smith and it was about 40,000 people there and the atmosphere was just absolutely insane. This is gonna be a very, very special atmosphere."

Some people have said packing the building with fans is a bad idea ... so we asked Eddie to address the situation.

"We're not the first in terms of big numbers returning to Texas. All sports now have been bringing crowds back. You've seen no spikes because of that," Hearn says.

"There will be masks worn, mandatory, on Saturday night. I've noticed, to be honest with you, as a Brit coming into states that have opened up like Texas and Florida, people aren't going out there care-free and just ignoring rules."

"People are actually being sensible and they will be Saturday night, and everyone will have a safe night."

Canelo Alvarez is now mocking his opponent Billy Joe Saunders over a beef about the size of the boxing ring they'll use Saturday night ... telling TMZ Sports size doesn't matter to him at all!

Billy Joe had threatened to pull out of the highly anticipated fight at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas ... claiming Canelo's camp was trying to force the fight to take place in an 18-foot ring, much smaller than Billy Joe is used to.

Billy Joe reportedly wanted a 22-foot ring -- which gives fighters more room to move around ... it's less of a phone-booth-style fight.

The two sides announced they had come to an agreement by Wednesday afternoon ... so, the fight is on -- though the official ring size has still not been announced publicly.

We spoke with Canelo (55-1-2) who told us "I don't care about the size of the ring. I can give him the entire stadium. I don't care."

Canelo says he's not going to let the pre-fight drama mess with his fight strategy -- he's still planning on destroying Saunders with a "cool mind."

We also spoke with Saunders who essentially says he feels like Canelo's camp has jerked him around before the fight ... and the ring size dispute was just unnecessary drama.

Saunders is 30-0 with 14 KOs -- and has been touted as the most legitimate threat to beat Canelo since Gennady Golovkin.

There's more ... we also spoke with Canelo about his good friend Ryan Garcia, who recently revealed he's dealing with mental health issues.

Canelo was extremely supportive of Garcia and told us he expects Ryan to eventually return to the ring to fight again since that's what he was born to do.

Garcia pulled out of his July 9 fight against Javier Fortuna -- explaining he's been struggling with "depression and anxiety for some time."

"I pushed thru so many times but I need some time off and I'm choosing to finally get some help with my mental health," Garcia said.

Move over Aaron Carter and Lamar Odom ... Matt Barnes says he's got interest in a big celeb boxing match of his own -- telling TMZ Sports he's down to scrap with Chad Ochocinco!

... but, only if the price is right.

The former NBA superstar was out at Tierra Rejada Golf Club in California on Wednesday when he told us he doesn't hate the idea of getting in the ring with the ex-Cincinnati Bengals receiver, who's looking for an opponent after agreeing to participate on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul event next month.

Barnes, though, tells us his fighting days are winding down quickly ... so it would take some serious convincing and serious cash to make it all work.

"I do box," Barnes said at the Golf Beef event (which promotes black-owned businesses) ... before adding, "but, to be honest with you, like, it's not something that I really want to jump into, to be honest with you."

"To me, I'm kind of past that stage of my life. But, if it ever came across and the money was right, I'd consider it."

The matchup is pretty intriguing ... both guys are tough dudes who have been known to hit the mitts during workout sessions.

And, with both their ages being similar (Chad's 43, Matt's 41) ... it could make for a helluva tilt!!

"Beat him back to YouTube!!!"

That's Michael Rapaport BEGGING Floyd Mayweather to whoop Logan Paul's ass ... saying the social media star is destroying the sport of boxing by claiming to be a real fighter.

"This is a message directly to Floyd Mayweather," Rapaport said during an interview that will air in its entirety on "Drinks With Binks" on fubo Sports Network at 8 PM Wednesday.

"For every coulda, shoulda, woulda-been-a contender, for every golden gloves champion, every golden gloves loser, for your uncle, for your father, for every rope you skipped and heavy bag you punched -- kick this guy's ass!"

Rapaport's beef with Logan is simple ... he believes the guy is disrespecting the sport by not taking it seriously, yet he's still headlining cards and getting massive paydays.

Michael wants Floyd to put a hurting on Logan BADLY ... saying he believes that'll end the streak of YouTubers thinking they're real fighters.

"It is such a disrespect to the sport of boxing," Rapaport says ... "For every blow that Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier took and gave each other -- he has to kick his ass."

"I know a lot of people don't like Floyd Mayweather but the irony of it is that the whole world, I think, I hope, is going to be rooting for Floyd Mayweather and this will end in an embarrassing fashion."

Rapaport added that Floyd should "take the money and beat the s*** out of him."

Despite being hit with criminal charges in connection with the horrific death of a pregnant woman and her unborn child ... boxer Felix Verdejo WILL continue to have a contract with Top Rank as long he's not convicted -- so says Bob Arum.

The legendary boxing promoter explained the situation in an interview with WAPA-TV this week ... saying he has no plans to cut Verdejo at this time, even in light of the disturbing allegations against the 27-year-old.

"A man -- no matter how bad it looks -- is innocent until proven guilty," Arum says.

"And, we will not release him from the contract and terminate our relationship with him unless or until he's convicted."

While Arum's point is legitimate -- Verdejo's got a mountain to climb to avoid a conviction ... because there seems to be a ton of very compelling evidence against him as it relates to the death of 27-year-old Keishla Rodriguez and her unborn child.

Law enforcement says a witness has come forward and claimed he helped Verdejo kill the woman in Puerto Rico last week ... saying the boxer abducted her, punched her, injected her with foreign substances, and ultimately threw her off a bridge with a heavy block tied to her.

Law enforcement says cell phone data appears to corroborate the witness' story. Investigators also say they have surveillance video which appears to show a dark SUV at the scene of the crime similar to the one Verdejo had previously been spotted with.

Still, Arum says, "We're not going to release him until and unless he is convicted."

Verdejo surrendered to Puerto Rican authorities over the weekend ... and is currently being held without bail.

Puerto Rican newspaper El Vocero de Puerto Rico reports he's due in court on May 11 for a hearing in the case.

Welp, here's a scary threat from Kamaru Usman to Jake Paul -- cut the crap before you get hurt, for real.

Yeah.

Okay, here's the quick backstory ... Jake Paul has been looking for ALL THE SMOKE from UFC fighters after ferociously knocking out Ben Askren.

He's called out Conor McGregor, beefed with Tyron Woodley and went face-to-face with Daniel Cormier at UFC 260.

Kamaru -- the reigning UFC welterweight champ -- told TMZ Sports back in April he was getting sick of Paul's trash talk and said he would love the opportunity to "beat the s**t" out of him.

Paul responded to Usman, "Challenge accepted" -- adding, "If your boss Dana gives you permission to box me and make more money than you ever have, let me know and we can lace them up. I promise it will be your biggest pay day."

The two continued to trade shots over social media -- with Jake accusing Usman of "backing out."

Which led to Usman responding yet again on Wednesday morning ...

"I understand you think this is a game which is probably why you don’t realize that this is how people Truly get hurt," Usman said.

"I don’t play fighting and I can change your life in the worst way."

He's not kidding ... Usman is coming off one of the most violent KO's of the year when he flattened Jorge Masvidal with a killer right hand at UFC 261.

Usman's manager Ali AbdelAziz certainly wants a fight to happen -- telling us he thinks it would be one of the most successful PPV events in combat sports history.