Boxing

Canelo Alvarez vs. Kamaru Usman is the boxing match combat sports fans will NOT be seeing ... 'cause the world's top pound for pound pugilist tells TMZ Sports he just ain't interested in the fight.

"I don't see. It doesn't make sense for me. I want to make history in boxing, and I don't see anything right there," Canelo says.

Of course, 34-year-old Usman made news this week when he said he was interested in boxing 31-year-old Alvarez down the line ... something his manager Ali Abdelaziz has previously told us. Kamaru also talked to Joe Rogan about the possible fight last year.

"I think that's something that [would be] the biggest ever in history," Usman said of a fight with Canelo at UFC 268 media day.

"That's what I'm looking to do. That's something that scares me. That's something that gets me up in the morning. That's something that I might risk leaving my daughter for another 12 weeks for."

FYI, both men will be in action this Saturday night. Usman is rematching Colby Covington at UFC 268 (there first fight was legendary) ... and Alvarez is fighting undefeated boxer Caleb Plant. Alvarez and Plant literally came to blows at a media event a few weeks ago.

Now, this isn't Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather ... in that there isn't any trash talk or bad blood between the two top fighters.

In fact, the Nigerian Nightmare was very complimentary of the Mexican champ.

"He's a master of his craft," Usman said.

"[Canelo's] used to these boxers. He's used to the boxing speed and the boxing movements and things like that. We're different. Sometimes different can be good. What's wrong with giving him a different look? Of course, it's a tall tree to climb, but we saw what happened the last time I was the underdog."

As for the legacy that Alvarez is building ... we asked him if he believed he could do enough to one day go down as the greatest boxer of all-time.

"I don't know, we'll see. We'll look at my number, and we'll see."

The Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury fight just got a helluva lot more interesting -- ex-NBA star Deron Williams (yes, the dude who played for the Jazz) has been added to the undercard ... and he could be going up against none other than former NFL running back Frank Gore!!!

Williams -- the third overall pick to the Jazz in 2005 -- reportedly just signed on to follow in Nate Robinson's footsteps and make his boxing debut on December 18 in Tampa Bay.

While Williams doesn't have any fights under his belt, we're told he's actually nothing to scoff at -- Deron was a state champion on the mats in Texas. He won titles as an 8 and 12-year-old in 1993 and 1997.

UFC fighter Ryan Spann -- who trains with Williams at Fortis MMA -- said he even sparred with the guy and got his ass beat!!!

As for his opponent, Shams Charania says it could be Gore -- a 5-time Pro Bowler who played 16 years in the NFL.

Gore has put in some serious training off the field and has shown he's got some skills, so it could end up being quite the interesting matchup.

Shakur Stevenson says he has no problem fighting Teofimo Lopez or Devin Haney down the road -- but his dream matchup would be a scrap with Gervonta 'Tank' Davis.

And, that's no disrespect to Teo and Devin ... the 24-year-old telling TMZ Sports, they're great at what they do.

"Teo is a great boxer-puncher," Stevenson says, "Devin is a great boxer, He's not that big of a puncher but he got really good boxing skills."

"At the end of the day, all of them guys are good fights for me later down the line."

Awesome news for boxing fans.

But, if Stevenson had to just pick one, it'd be Davis ... saying he and Tank are the best in their weight class, like Terrence Crawford and Errol Spence at welterweight.

"I feel like me and him in the ring one day would make the best versus the best," Stevenson said, "like how Bud and Errol is like 'elite versus elite' on like a whole new level of talent."

"At the end of the day, that's mainly who I would think that would be one of the best fights."

"It's like respect to Tank. I give respect to Tank because I feel like he's skillful and he's like an exciting fighter. He's a big puncher, aggressive and I respect his game."

If (and hopefully when🤞) this matchup happens, Stevenson says he would have to be on point every second of the fight ... and, so would Tank.

"I can't make no mistakes. Same with him! I feel like he can't allow me to take control of the fight because I can take control of a fight real easy."

"Once I take control of a fight and once I take off, it's like how do you get back in the fight? You can't get back in once you down six, seven rounds because it's too late now."

Stevenson just did that to boxer Jamel Herring -- a former champion -- with a 10th round TKO on Oct. 23, becoming the new WBO junior lightweight champion.

Mark your calendars ... Jake Paul and Tommy Fury will officially take the ring in December -- with the YouTube superstar announcing the fight date Friday.

"Pucker up Timmy, it’s time to kiss ur last name and ur family’s boxing legacy goodbye," Jake said on Twitter minutes ago.

The epic showdown is set to happen at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay ... and Jake is vowing to hang out with some local celebs after coming away with the win.

"DEC 18th Im changing this wankers name to Tommy Fumbles and celebrating with Tom Brady."

Of course, Jake has previously claimed Tommy will have to legally change his name if he loses ... which he's told us he's not sweating at all, 'cause Fury is guaranteeing to put Paul into retirement.

Jake is 4-0 with wins over Nate Robinson, Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley ... but this is his first fight against a boxer.

Fury -- heavyweight champ Tyson's lil' bro -- is 7-0.

After months and months of going back and forth, it's finally happening ... and we legitimately cannot wait.

Logan Paul got in a physical altercation with a man outside an L.A. hotspot late Wednesday night ... slapping a heckler upside the head after he called the YouTube superstar a "p***y."

26-year-old Logan was waiting outside Nightingale in WeHo when a bunch of autograph seekers came up to him and started asking about his rumored fight with Mike Tyson.

When LP ignored the questions, one man called him out and said, "Are you a p***y, or what??" ... before trying to walk away.

That's when Logan aggressively approached the man ... getting in his face and shoving him before smacking him in the head.

The crowd is audibly shocked ... with several people gasping and saying, "Oh s***."

Logan's friend and "Impaulsive" podcast co-host Mike Majlak jumped into action ... pushing and shoving the heckler backwards before security came in and bear-hugged the guy away.

Majlak urged Logan to go into the club, but both guys were able to calm down and even joke with each other as Paul waited for valet to bring his Polaroid camera from his car.

Of course, Logan has been facing off against much bigger and more talented competition recently ... going 8 rounds with Floyd Mayweather back in June.

What's bizarre -- Logan maintained a smile throughout the whole incident ... but it's clear the altercation was pretty tense.

Logan eventually gets reunited with his beloved camera and heads into the club ... but accidentally drops it on his way in.

Marvin Vettori's badassery last week's already paying off ... 'cause Dana White tells TMZ Sports the UFC star could be tapped as the backup fighter for Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker's title fight.

Izzy, the champion, and Whittaker, the #1 contender, are fighting at UFC 271 in February ... and we asked White if 28-year-old Vettori would be selected as the fighter to step in should 1 of the men be unable to fight.

"It absolutely makes sense," Dana says.

FYI, Adesanya and Vettori fought in June at UFC 263. Israel won by unanimous decision.

Last week, Marvin, still fought -- and beat -- Paulo Costa ... despite the fact the fight took place at 205 lbs. after the Brazilian MMA star showed up fight week and declared he couldn't make weight.

It's likely that most fighters wouldn't have accepted the fight under those conditions ... but Marvin ain't most fighters.

"Listen, he's brilliant to take that fight. First of all, he's a stud. The guy isn't afraid of anybody or any circumstances. He showed up to fight no matter what the weight was gonna be. Didn't let any of that stuff get in his head," White says.

"Stayed cool, calm and composed the entire week. And, what it did for him, it probably made him the #2 ranked guy in the world."

And, Dana was exactly right ... the UFC Athlete Rankings came out Tuesday, and Marvin made a big jump, going up 3 spots all the way to #2.

Costa also fell 3 spots to #6, though, he's still listed as a Middleweight (185 lbs.) ... a division the UFC honcho says Paulo will NOT fight in again.

"[Costa] can't [fight at 185 lbs.]. He's already proven that he can't make the weight. Why would we go through this again? Why would we put him through that again? He's a 205-pound fighter now. We just gotta figure out what the next move is, and who he fights first in that division."

Dana also previewed the UFC's 2 upcoming cards -- UFC 267 and UFC 268 -- both of which are stacked.

267, going down on Fight Island this weekend, features Jan Blachowicz vs. Glover Teixeira, Petr Yan vs. Cory Sandhagen, Islam Makhachev vs. Dan Hooker and the return of Khamzat Chimaev vs. Li Jingliang.

Jason "Mayhem" Miller, troubled MMA fighter, has been charged with 2 felonies -- assault and battery -- for his alleged involvement in a bar fight where he's accused of breaking another man's ribs, TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... 40-year-old Miller was allegedly involved in a brawl outside a San Fernando Valley bar in early September. The man Mayhem is accused of hitting initially decided not to file a police report ... however, changed his mind after going to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with cracked ribs.

Earlier this week, officials decided to charge Miller with felony assault and felony battery ... charges that could carry years behind bars, if convicted.

The two felonies aren't the only charges Miller is contending with ... he was recently arrested for felony domestic violence after allegedly roughing up his girlfriend.

Miller -- who hasn't fought in the UFC since 2012 -- last fought professionally in 2016 ... losing his last fight via a rear-naked choke.

Boxing champ JoJo Diaz says he's leaving Ryan Garcia in the rearview and focusing his attention squarely on Devin Haney ... a boxer he tells TMZ Sports is a straight-up b*tch who he plans to hand his first loss.

28-year-old Diaz (32 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw) -- the WBC interim lightweight champ -- was scheduled to fight Garcia, but Ry pulled out with a hand injury, and JoJo is in no mood to wait -- so he's calling out 22-year-old Haney.

"I think [the hand injury] was just an excuse that [Garcia] wanted to make up in order for me not to fight him in November," Diaz alleged.

JoJo continued... "I'm not gonna be waiting on Ryan Garcia to be giving the fight fans what they want and deserve. I'm pushing for the Devin Haney fight."

Haney -- the WBC lightweight champ who's 26-0 with 15 knockouts -- is considered one of the best young boxers in the world ... but Diaz believes Devin's been flapping his gums too much, and he wants to make him pay.

"At the end of the day, I'm really really pushing to get this Devin Haney fight. He's been talking a lot of s**t too, and he's a b***h just like Ryan Garcia was."

JoJo tells us he's very familiar with Haney's work in the ring ... and believes the young fighter has never really been pushed.

"Devin Haney is the type of fight that I want to fight because I know that I can beat him, I know that he's an inexperienced fighter that hasn't been tested, he's only been tested once, got wobbled, and I feel like I'm the type of fighter who is gonna give him his first L," Diaz says.

FYI, JoJo is referring to Haney's fight with 36-year-old veteran boxer, Jorge Linares ... who seemingly hurt Devin in the late rounds of their May 2021 fight. Haney ultimately recovered and won via unanimous decision.

Diaz says the plan is to fight Haney at the beginning of December ... and the fight is very close to being signed, sealed and delivered.

"Right now it's looking about 80 to 90% done. Me and my team already got the contract already sent to us, so now we're in negotiations and hopefully, we can lock in something by the end of this week."

Now, if you had your heart set on JoJo and Ryan scrapping ... all hope isn't lost.

There appears to be absolutely no more bad blood between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder ... 'cause the Gypsy King just sent his former rival a birthday shout-out -- and it was sweet as hell.

Fury recorded his message to the Bronze Bomber on video on Friday morning ... thanking him for their trio of amazing fights and hoping he lives it up on his 36th birthday.

"I hope you have a fantastic day with you and your family," Fury said. "And I hope that God blesses you abundantly. All the best. Lots of love from your old pal, the Gypsy King."

Fury also showered Wilder in compliments, calling him a "great, great" and "awesome" fighter.

"All the best," Fury added. "God bless, Wilder. All the best."

The video tugs at the heartstrings a bit ... considering how much the two have appeared to have disliked each other over the years.

Both guys have talked an incredible amount of trash toward each other -- and immediately following their third fight earlier this month, Wilder straight-up told Fury, "I don't respect you."

But, Wilder got over those feelings in the days following the match ... and sent Fury a message congratulating him and thanking him for the fights.

Seems Fury received the note loud and clear -- clearly showing he'd prefer if the two were buddies from here on out.

Star boxer Teofimo Lopez took down Vasiliy Lomachenko ... but could he do the same to the 6-foot-9 beast from "Game Of Thrones"??

Turns out ... he couldn't -- 'cause the two traded body shots during an epic training sesh this week, and Hafthor Bjornsson, AKA "The Mountain," appeared to be the winner!!

The two put down the weights and decided to do the body shot challenge in the gym for some reason, and Thor (who's entered the celeb boxing world this past year) REALLY stung Teofimo.

The footage shows Lopez -- who is a foot shorter and about 200 pounds lighter than "The Mountain" -- wasn't exactly KOed by the punch ... but he was winded and admitted, "That was good!"

When it came time for Lopez's turn ... the 5-foot-8 champ who's 16-0 with 12 knockouts on his resume -- threw a nasty right hook, but Thor appeared to absorb it well.

"That was nice!" the legendary strongman said.

The two then hugged it out -- with Teofimo raising Thor's arm.

"David vs Goliath!" Lopez said of the punch-off. "Went punch for punch with the World’s Strongest Man!"

Lopez will return to fighting people his own size later this year ... he's scheduled to get in the ring with George Kambosos Jr. in November.

As for Thor -- he's still eyeing a celeb match with his strongman rival, Eddie Hall, once the guy gets healthy again.

Former UFC fighter Brian Gassaway -- who fought MMA legend, Diego Sanchez, back in 2005 -- has died, his family and friends announced. He was just 49 years old.

A cause of death has not yet been revealed.

According to a GoFundMe set up in Gassaway's honor, the 29-20-2 brawler was just as good of an MMA coach as he was a fighter -- with his family and friends calling him a legend in the combat sports world.

"Brian's selfless pursuit of improving the lives of his students through the study of martial arts was apparent to all," the statement read. "He gave his students purpose, pulling many up during their darkest moments. Being the light that showed them the path forward."

Gassaway fought for all kinds of promotions in over a decade as a pro -- including Bellator, WEC and King of the Cage in addition to UFC.

He's best known for his tilt against Sanchez at UFC 54 -- a fight that he lost by a 2nd-round TKO.

"He lived his life with purpose and goodness, dedicating every waking moment to being a better person, husband, friend, fighter and coach," Gassaway's family and friends said.

"And, at the same time, he elevated the lives of all the people around him."

Gassaway leaves behind a wife and son.

"Tank's gonna knocked the f*** out. And, whoever believes otherwise can go f*** themselves."

That's 26-year-old, undefeated rising boxing star Rolando Romero -- aka Rolly -- declaring that he will not only beat Gervonta Davis when they fight December 5 in Los Angeles, but Tank will get flatlined within 3 minutes!!!

It's an incredibly bold prediction ... especially considering most experts have picked Davis to beat the very talented Romero.

But, Rolly -- who we spoke with leaving Wilder-Fury 3 -- is adamant he isn't just running his mouth ... he believes he's got a size and power advantage.

"The best thing about Tank is that he's a puncher, and I'm a bigger puncher and bigger person. What the f*** does he have?" Rolly tells us.

"I punch way harder than him. Ask anyone that knows us both. They'll tell you straight up."

Of course, Tank is known as one of the hardest punchers, pound-for-pound, in the entire sport. All but 1 of his 25 wins are by knockout ... and the uppercut he dropped Leo Santa Cruz with is one of the most devastating punches of all time.

But, Rolly's power definitely isn't anything to scoff at ... all but 2 of his 14 wins are also by KO.

So, Romero's prediction?!?

"I'm gonna knock him the f*** out."

When?!?

How good is #5 ranked UFC Lightweight, Islam Makhachev? His manager, Ali Abdelaziz, believes he could be one of the most dominant fighters of all time.

"I think [Islam's] gonna be one of the greatest fights ever. I think he's a better version than Khabib. I truly believe he is. He's not now, but he can be. He's a future world champion, for sure," Ali tells TMZ Sports.

Obviously, Nurmagomedov (literally) NEVER lost ... finishing his legendary career with a 29-0 record. He beat Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Conor McGregor.

If you're not familiar with 30-year-old Makhachev ... he's a beast. Islam's 20-1 ... with his sole defeat coming in his 2nd UFC fight way back in 2015.

Ever since ... he's dominated.

Next on the agenda is #6 ranked Dan Hooker at UFC 267 on October 30 ... a fight Abdelaziz says Hangman can only win with a fluke punch.

"Dan Hooker, great fighter, great guy, he's showing up for a paycheck. The only way he can win is a lucky punch."

Ali says he's personally witnessed Makhachev beat much bigger UFC stars in the gym.

"Let me tell you something, Islam Makhachev, I see him in the gym beating D.C. (Cormier), beating Luke Rockhold, beating some of my guys who's top 5 middleweight. Beating guys in the top 5 at welterweight."

Tommy Fury says it's a wrap for Jake Paul's boxing career -- telling TMZ Sports he's going to knock the YouTuber-turned-fighter into retirement when they face off in the ring.

Fury -- lil' bro of boxing champ Tyson Fury -- finally agreed to be Paul's next opponent last week ... after initially saying the offer wasn't worth getting out of bed for.

We caught up with the 22-year-old earlier this week at LAX and had to ask what made him change his mind ... and he tells us the negotiations started to make sense.

"Things are looking up now between that fight," Fury says, "so hopefully we should get it closed in the next few weeks so we'll see."

Of course, Fury believes he's gonna win this bout -- he's a 7-0 light heavyweight going up against Paul, who's also undefeated, but hasn't gone against an actual boxer.

"This is an easy fight for me. A real easy fight," Fury tells us, "I've been doing this job since I was 7."

"He's not a boxer. He's gonna see that when we fight."

Fury added, "I will end his boxing career. There’s no more Jake Paul after we fight. That’s it."

In fact, Fury believes he's doin' Paul a favor ... 'cause at the end of the day, winning this fight doesn't get him anywhere "in boxing terms."

"Beating Jake Paul doesn't get me a world title shot," Fury says, "It doesn't get me any respect to any of the fighters because everyone knows what the fighters think of him."

"All it is, is a good payday, an easy fight."

"Conor McGregor, a guy who can't even beat guys in the UFC, went 10 rounds with Floyd Mayweather. You have to tell me Kamaru cannot go 12 rounds with Canelo and beat him?"

That's Ali Abdelaziz, Kamaru Usman's manager, telling TMZ Sports he wants to answer the question, who's really the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, by boxing Canelo Alvarez, the best pugilist in the world.

And, he believes his guy can, and will, win.

The 34-year-old welterweight champ is rematching Colby Covington at UFC 268 in November, but after that fight, Ali has his sights set on 31-year-old Alvarez.

"Let's get the pound-for-pound king in boxing vs. the pound-for-pound king in MMA. We're not into this fake fight, gimme fight," Abdelaziz says.

"If you think you're the pound-for-pound king, Kamaru is the pound-for-pound king. Let's have 2 kings fight each other. No takedowns allowed."

FYI, Canelo-- the super middleweight champ -- hasn't lost in 8 years ... since his fight with Floyd Mayweather in 2013.

But, beating Alvarez isn't all Ali has planned ... he says he then wants his fighter to go to 185 lbs. (from 170 lbs.) and fight Israel Adesanya.

"After [Canelo,] I've always said it, I want Kamaru to go up a weight class and fight for Middleweight title. I believe that today Kamaru can go up and be 2 division champion."

It's a tricky fight to make ... Usman and Adesanya have been resistant to even talking about a fight against each other because of their shared connection to Africa. Both men were born in Nigeria.

Deontay Wilder is finally showing respect to Tyson Fury -- the Bronze Bomber is breaking his silence after the incredible heavyweight matchup on Saturday ... thanking and congratulating the Gypsy King on his win.

Of course, Wilder sang a different tune right after the fight ... telling Tyson, "I don't respect you," and refusing to shake hands moments after the KO.

Now, Wilder has had a few days to reflect ... speaking out on Instagram and taking a humble approach to the loss.

"I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed in the outcome but after reflecting on my journey, I now see that what God wanted me to experience is far greater than what I expected to happen," Wilder said Thursday.

"We didn’t get the win but a wise man once said the victories are within the lessons. I’ve learned that sometimes you have to lose to win."

Wilder added he hopes to be a role model for his fans ... proving no matter what happens, you can get back up and fight again.

Wilder then moved on to Fury, shouting him out for the 11th round TKO.

"Last but not least I would like to congratulate @gypsyking101 for his victory and thank you for the great historical memories that will last forever."