Boxing

Claressa Shields isn't playin' around when it comes to Jake Paul ... the boxing and MMA superstar is throwing down the gauntlet, challenging The Problem Child to a fight, and promising to beat his ass.

TMZ Sports talked to the 26-year-old 2x Olympic gold medalist who just recently vowed to NEVER fight on a Paul undercard, claiming it'd be disrespectful to her incredible career.

"I wasn't talking s**t about Jake Paul yesterday. What I was speaking was facts. Jake Paul gets inside a boxing ring with me, he's getting his ass whooped!"

And, Shields is down to put her money where her mouth is ... and if the YouTuber turned boxer doesn't want to a real, sanctioned fight -- Claressa is down to spar and let his cameras roll the entire time.

"I bet you Jake Paul would get hurt, he probably get dropped, he would have a newfound respect for me if we spar or fight," Shields says.

"I'm not calling Jake Paul out because I know how the world looks at women fighting men, they look at it like 'oh no, ew' but I spar men daily and that's the truth."

Claressa -- the only fighter, male or female, to hold all 4 major titles in multiple weight classes -- also took issue with Paul addressing female boxing star Amanda Serrano -- who he just signed to his MVP promotions -- as the greatest female fighter ever.

"I'm the motherf***kin' GWOAT! I saw him make that post today with Amanda Serrano. He needs to know that I'm the GWOAT."

(BTW, there's ZERO beef between Claressa and Amanda. In fact, Shields says she has "love and respect" for Serrano.)

Bottom line, Shields -- who returns to the PFL MMA cage October 27 -- has a message for Jake ... and anyone else who thinks she can't handle herself in the ring because she's a woman.

"Cut the s**t! Don't disrespect my skills. Look, just because a man is a man and he's in boxing doesn't mean that they can beat me and there's a lot of guys who's been in boxing for years who cannot do nothing with me, let alone Jake Paul".

Manny Pacquiao is done with competitive fighting ... the boxing legend announced Tuesday night he's retiring from the sport for good.

Pacquiao revealed the news in an emotional video on his social media page ... thanking his family, friends, trainers and everyone else who helped him along his journey to becoming one of the greatest of all time.

"This is the hardest decision I've ever made," Pacquiao said, "but I’m at peace with it. Chase your dreams, work hard and watch what happens. Good bye, boxing."

Pacquiao absolutely dominated in the ring from the day he took his first pro fight back in 1995 -- finishing his career with a brilliant record of 68-8-2.

He earned victories over guys like Keith Thurman, Adrien Broner, Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya and so many more in his 26 years in the sport.

"Even me," said Pacquiao, who ended up winning a staggering 12 world titles in his career, "I'm amazed at what I have done."

The 42-year-old -- a current senator in the Philippines -- will now be able to put all of his focus behind his political career ... one in which he's hopeful will end with him being the president of the Philippines in the not too distant future.

Forget a bottle, get Alex Volkanovski a shoe ... 'cause that's what the UFC star was chuggin' champagne out of at the Raiders game, celebrating his win over Brian Ortega.

And, we got it all on video!

The 32-year-old Aussie fighter hit up the Dolphins vs. Raiders game on Sunday -- after his crazy unanimous decision victory the night before at UFC 266 -- and the football game was LIT!

Check out this clip ... you can clearly see AV enjoyin' himself in Allegiant Stadium's "Wynn Field Club," watching the game with his UFC belt and a crowd of people.

That's when Alex really starts to party -- in the most Australian way -- by chuggin' some bubbly outta somebody's shoe!

And, get this, it wasn't Volkanovski's sneaker ... it was some dude's navy Vans.

One drink wasn't enough ... the champ yelled 'give me some more!' -- and promptly got a shoe refill.

FYI, there's a name for this sorta thing -- a "shoey" -- a popular way to drink beer in the Land Down Under. Alex subbed champagne for beer ... he was celebrating, after all.

Of course, Volkanovski wasn't the only one in Vegas who got a W -- the Raiders secured an overtime victory, and are 3-0.

Now, who's thirsty?!?

"Dana White, if you're listening, this is a real message. Forget the cringe, forget the persona, this is straight-up me. I am the greatest combat athlete of all-time and I promise you, give me that opportunity, I will knock [Alex Volkanovski] out in less than 3 rounds."

That's 34-year-old Henry Cejudo making it crystal clear, he wants to un-retire and fight the UFC's featherweight champion, telling TMZ Sports he believes he'd KO 32-year-old Volkanovski in 15 minutes or less.

"Not only do I believe I can beat him, I know that I can stop him, dude." Triple C says.

"As much as I saw good things from Volkanovski, there still is a lot of holes. I believe my height will be a problem, because he is a couple inches taller than me. My speed, my wrestling, my experience, I've been in there with the best."

"Alexander 'The Average,' okay you had a great performance, it was a great fight, I just believe I have the 'it' factor to beat this dude, not only beat him, but stop him."

Of course, Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega at UFC 266 was a crazy 5 round war ... one that Alex won by unanimous decision.

Even Henry couldn't help but admit the fight was awesome.

"It was a great fight man. A great fight. 5 rounds, that's what a true mixed martial arts fight is. They showed striking, these guys wrestled, they showed submissions."

As for Cejudo's future, many people already consider Cejudo the most accomplished combat sports athlete ever. After all, Henry was a flyweight (125 lbs.) and bantamweight (135 lbs.) champ, in addition to an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling.

Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, and Amanda Nunes are the other fighters who have simultaneously been UFC double champs.

Simultaneous or not, no UFC fighter has ever been champ in 3 divisions ... which is exactly what Cejudo would become if he fought and beat Alexander.

Henry last fought in May 2020 ... when he beat Dominic Cruz via TKO with only seconds remaining in the 2nd round. He retired inside the Octagon following the fight.

Ryan Garcia is back from his hiatus with a plan ... telling TMZ Sports he now wants to KO JoJo Diaz Jr. next -- and then set up a mega-fight with Gervonta Davis.

The 23-year-old undefeated boxing phenom broke it all down for us at the Canelo Alvarez vs. Caleb Plant pre-fight event in L.A. this week ... saying he's in a way better place after taking some time away from the ring to focus on his mental health.

And, now, he tells us he's ready to fight Diaz Jr. in his first tilt back ... with a contract with the 32-1 former champ "95 percent" done.

"He's going to get knocked out," Garcia said of Diaz Jr. "He's going to get caught with a shot sooner or later, and he doesn't have really that good of defense."

After that, Garcia -- who's 21-0 as a pro -- says he wants Tank ... telling us, "I've been chasing that fight for so long."

"He's always going to be there. I'm hunting him down."

As for finally hammering out a deal for that huge fight with Davis ... Garcia seems to think it should be pretty easy if he makes quick work of Diaz Jr. like he expects.

"I'll make you rich," Garcia said in a message to Davis. "And, then I'll continue my great career."

MVP quarterback today ... WWE superstar after that?!?

Kofi Kingston says that's entirely possible for Lamar Jackson ... telling TMZ Sports after watching the Ravens star flip during a touchdown run this past Sunday, he could see the QB killin' it in the ring!

"I would love to see what Lamar could do in a wrestling ring," Kofi says. "He would be incredible."

Lamar put his athleticism on full display in Baltimore's huge win over the Chiefs ... somersaulting into the endzone on a key fourth-quarter play.

The 24-year-old didn't exactly stick the landing -- he joked he hurt his backside in the tumble -- but Kofi tells us the sheer athleticism of it all stuck out to him big time.

"I'd give it a 10 out of 10," Kofi said of the flip. "I don't really care about the form ... He was just out there showing off."

And, now, Kofi says he's pretty damn sure Lamar could be as big of a star as he is in Vince McMahon's world!!!

"It'd just be a matter of getting the psychology aspect of putting matches together and stuff like that," Kingston says.

Floyd Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya 2?!

Maybe, just maybe.

Our Mayweather sources tell us the 50-0 fighter is aware De La Hoya called him out ... and Floyd's actually open to a fight with Oscar, IF he really has $100 million.

But, we're told, people in Floyd's camp highly doubt he has the dough.

Remember, we saw De La Hoya leaving dinner with his GF Holly Sonders in L.A. ... and when we asked him about his fighting future, ODLH said he wanted Mayweather.

"You know who I'm gonna call out for my next fight? Floyd Mayweather."

And, that's when the Golden Boy threw out a huge money proposal ... "I'll offer Floyd Mayweather $100 million."

Of course, Oscar and Floyd last boxed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2007 ... where Mayweather won a 12-round, split decision.

Mayweather retired in 2017 following his fight with Conor McGregor ... but has been fairly active, taking several exhibition fights since -- including a bout this summer against Logan Paul.

Oscar hasn't fought since 2008 ... when he lost to Manny Pacquiao.

De la Hoya was scheduled to fight MMA legend Vitor Belfort ... but unfortunately came down with a serious case of COVID, forcing him into the hospital.

But, Oscar made it crystal clear ... he wants to fight this year, and he wants it to be against Mayweather.

Bottom line, if the bag's real, and it's big enough, Floyd will listen.

UFC star Jon Jones was arrested early Friday morning in Las Vegas for domestic violence and tampering with a vehicle, and is currently behind bars, TMZ Sports has learned.

Our law enforcement sources tell us they received a call from Caesars Palace around 5:45 AM. Cops responded to the hotel ... where they made contact with the UFC superstar.

34-year-old Jones was ultimately arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence and injuring or tampering with a vehicle, a felony.

Jones is in Vegas this week because his 2013 fight against Alexander Gustafsson was inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.

The fight was inducted Thursday night ... just hours before he was arrested.

It's not the first time Jones has been in trouble with the law. He's previously been arrested for DUI, among other crimes.

The circumstances that led to the arrest are not yet clear.

The day after Riddick Bowe was pulled from his fight with Lamar Odom, the former NBA star has a new opponent, and it happens to be a dude who knows what it's like to have an insanely famous wife ... 'cause he was married to J Lo.

TMZ Sports has learned 47-year-old Ojani Noa has agreed to fight the 41-year-old ex-hooper on October 2 at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, FL ... all part of a Celebrity Boxing card.

If you don't remember Noa, a former server, he was married to Lopez from 1997 to 1998 ... before they split.

Of course, Odom, the 2x NBA champ, was married to Khloe Kardashian from 2009 to 2016.

Odom -- who beat pop star Aaron Carter via 2nd round TKO in June -- was originally scheduled to fight former heavyweight boxing champ, Bowe.

However, after 58-year-old Evander Holyfield recently lost to Vitor Belfort ... and didn't look great in the ring, everyone from Celebrity Boxing to the Florida state athletic commission thought it best to remove him from the match.

Riddick isn't totally off the event ... Paulie Malignaggi is also boxing Corey B on the card. Bowe will referee that fight.

Ojani was actually scheduled to step in the ring against a much shorter opponent last year ... having inked a deal to scrap with Joe Giudice. However, COVID screwed up those plans.

Tyron Woodley says his body will officially say "I Love Jake Paul" this weekend ... revealing he is still going to follow through on his tattoo bet after losing to the YouTube boxer last month.

So, now the question is ... rematch back on?!

As we previously reported, Woodley claims he tried like hell to get inked up in Cleveland after JP won via split decision ... telling TMZ Sports he waited and waited, but no one was around to do the job.

Despite TW's efforts, Jake said Woodley didn't hold up his end of the deal and moved on from rematch talks to focus on Tommy Fury ... but negotiations have gone essentially nowhere.

With Jake's next opponent up in the air, Woodley told MMA reporter Ariel Helwani he's STILL going to get the tat -- and he thinks a rematch with Paul is still the smartest move for both sides.

"Tommy Fury should have never even been in position for the bag," Woodley said Wednesday night.

"I’m gonna just let the week go through and see what happens. I think the most sensible thing to do is run it back."

Woodley says he's finally getting the tat on Saturday because "it's the solid thing to do" ... so it sounds like it's for sure happening even if a Jake rematch isn't in the cards.

As for the location of the tat, Tyron says he's still not sure where to get it on his body ... but it sounds like he has no plans to get it removed in the future.

"To me, it's like this ... if a dude want to pay me to whoop his ass -- since he supposedly paid me and promoted the fight -- then I love you!!"

Andre Berto, Haitian-American former boxing champ, says President Biden needs to act NOW ... and prove he cares about Haitians at the U.S./Mexico border.

"My message to Joe Biden would be for him to get up and do something. Right now is the time. The Haitian people have been pleading, pleading for help for many years."

It's a subject that hits very close to home for the 38-year-old retired boxer. Berto's mom and dad were born in Haiti, and illegally migrated to the country before their son was born. They've long since got their papers ... but AB still understands the plight of many Haitians.

In fact, he holds dual citizenship (U.S. & Haiti) ... and has spent much time and money on the ground in the country.

The situation on the ground isn't good. Thousands of Haitian migrants flooded a border town, Del Rio, TX, last week ... with many setting up camp under a bridge, where they've lived in horrific conditions.

And, Berto says it's time America steps up and helps.

"They're literally trying to find a better life in general. They'll put babies on their back and to walk from Brazil to Chili, all the way through Mexico."

Berto continued ... "Of course with a very corrupt government, you're talking about people that are just trying to find a much better way of life. And to be treated that way here is just sick to see."

Berto even compared the border crisis to the withdrawal in Afghanistan ... where the U.S. transported Afghan refugees from the middle east to the states.

"I just want equal treatment," Berto says, adding, "You saw what they did with the Afghan refugees. They pretty much brought up over here on a red carpet type of situation."

Well, AB says the Haitians need that same treatment.

Riddick Bowe will NOT be fighting against Lamar Odom next month -- the boxing legend has been yanked from the event as a result of Evander Holyfield's performance earlier this month, TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, the 53-year old former undisputed heavyweight champ was slated to go up against the NBA champ at James L. Knight Arena in Miami on Oct. 2.

But, after "The Real Deal" suffered a brutal technical knockout against Vitor Belfort at Triller Fight Club, Celebrity Boxing founder Damon Feldman decided it was best for everyone's safety to find a different opponent for 41-year-old Odom.

Bowe had been training hard leading up to the fight ... but ultimately, the idea was scrapped.

It's probably good news for all involved ... and plenty of folks in boxing will be happy to hear it.

After all, famous promoter Lou DiBella was LIVID with the idea of Bowe getting in the ring ... saying, "No. Just NO!!!! This is barbaric and beyond dangerous."

Now, Feldman is on the search to find Odom's replacement at the last minute ... so who knows, maybe we get an Odom vs. Aaron Carter II??

Canelo Alvarez no longer hates Jake Paul's boxing ventures with a burning passion ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks the Youtuber is "maybe" good for the sport after all.

Remember, Canelo told us back in December 2020 he was NOT a fan of the Paul Bros getting into boxing ... saying they had a "lack of respect" for the fight game.

Alvarez is now softening up big time on the topic ... admitting there might be a silver lining to guys like Jake bringing a new audience to the sport, but won't go as far to say he's impressed with what Paul's accomplished so far.

"It's hard to say that," Canelo told us at his pre-fight event with Caleb Plant on Tuesday (prior to all hell breaking loose on stage) ... "Maybe it's good for boxing bringing all their audience."

"We don't know ... it is what it is."

Worth noting, Canelo has previously kept the door open on a future fight with Paul, but said the 24-year-old had a lot of catching up to do before that happens.

Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant couldn't wait 'til November to try to punch each other in the face ... 'cause the two just exchanged blows at a pre-fight event, with Alvarez making Plant bleed.

The boxers stared each other down before taking questions from media members in Los Angeles ... when suddenly, things got intense between the two.

Broadcast cameras showed Canelo shoved Plant ... and then repeatedly called him a "motherf***er."

That's when Plant came back and tried to land a huge haymaker ... which Canelo appeared to dodge.

Canelo then tagged Plant with a flurry of punches -- knocking off his sunglasses and causing the fighter to bleed from his right eye area.

Eventually, the two were separated ... but Plant needed a white cloth to get the cut to stop oozing blood.

The drama, though didn't stop there ... 'cause the guys got heated, yet again, later in the press conference, with Plant calling Canelo a "motherf***er" as well as "a bitch."

Fight night is officially set for Nov. 6 in Las Vegas ... but it's clear the two certainly wouldn't mind trying to beat the hell out of each other multiple times before then.

Devin Clark sustained one of the most gruesome injuries you'll ever see in a combat sports event ... and now the UFC fighter is answering the question -- how much it did hurt?!?

"It was probably a 7 or 8 after the fight. You fight the fight. He got his hand raised. Then that adrenaline starts coming, and it comes down quick. And, by the time I'm leaving the cage, I'm like, 'Okay, that hurts,'" Clark tells TMZ Sports.

If you didn't see the injury (lucky you) ... it was incredibly gross. Devin was fighting fellow light heavyweight fighter Ion Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night Saturday afternoon.

31-year-old Clark ate a heavy knee in the 2nd round ... a shot so hard it literally displaced Clark's teeth.

It was bothering him so much during the fight, he went back to his corner before the 3rd round, and told his team something was wrong with his teeth.

The ringside doctor even examined Clark at one point ... but somehow let him continue.

And, continue he did, despite the pain.

After the fight, Clark went to the hospital and they patched him up. On Tuesday, he plans to see his dentist ... and the road to recovery won't be easy or quick.

Jake Paul says Tommy Fury has been ducking him left and right ... claiming he's offered the boxer the biggest payday of his life, but TNT won't sign on the dotted line.

"Tommy 'Fury' has denied 2 abundant offers from my team," Jake tweeted on Tuesday.

Jake is now taking negotiations public ... saying this is his last chance to take on the biggest fight of his career.

"Timmy 'Fury' ... this is your last offer ... $1 million, 8 rounds. 4x more than you have ever made," he added.

"Either step up and fight OR accept that you and your Dad don't believe in you @tommytntfury."

The Problem Child has been going IN on Fury recently ... even mocking his recent shirtless club appearance.

As for Tommy, he previously told us he'd make quick work of Jake ... saying he'd knock out the YouTuber-turned-boxer in 3 minutes.

Tommy said Tuesday he was hoping to get back in the ring "ASAP" ... and Jake replied by saying he's down to fight in December.