Boxing

Sydney Sweeney graced the cover of the latest issue of "Sports Illustrated" ... where she posed with Christy Martin and dished on playing the renowned boxer in the new biopic.

According to Sweeney, "Christy" is the "most important film" she's ever made.

In an Instagram post Tuesday, she said, "For 20 years, Christy Martin was one of the strongest women in the world inside the ring. But at home, she was abused and nearly killed by the man who claimed to love her."

Even though he lost to Jake Paul in 2022, Anderson Silva has nothing but praise for the guy ... telling TMZ Sports El Gallo deserves more credit for not only what he's done for boxing -- but for his fighting skills, too.

We caught up with Spider to talk all about his upcoming bout against Tyron Woodley on the Dec. 19 card in Miami ... and the combat sports legend says his main goal is to prove his respect for the sport and his opponent.

Silva was originally slated to go up against Chris Weidman ... but even with the switcharoo, he's feeling good and confident leading up to fight night.

Blueface's features may have taken on a purple glow after he let Ryan Garcia punch him ... because he was having some trouble breathing in a wild new vid.

The boxer livestreamed his hang with the rapper Friday night ... and, just 15 minutes into the stream, the duo engaged in an age-old guy tradition -- one dude punching another as hard as possible.

Blueface asked if Garcia wanted to throw a haymaker at him ... and Garcia accepted -- though BF wore protective gear over his stomach to lessen the blow.

Lamont Roach is totally unbothered by rival Gervonta Davis ... the boxing star tells us he's completely focused on putting Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz's lights out, and doing it quickly!

"Nobody wants to be in there for a long time, so hopefully I catch him with one that's gonna make him go to sleep. If not, I'll just beat him up for 12 rounds straight," 30-year-old Roach (25-1-2), told TMZ Sports ahead of Saturday's highly anticipated bout.

27-year-old Cruz (28-3-1) is no walk in the park, and Roach knows it.

There's a LOT on the line when Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua enter the boxing ring in 17 days -- not only is El Gallo hoping to pull off the unthinkable and beat a former heavyweight champion ... but one very famous bettor is looking to cash in BIG on an upset.

TMZ Sports is told ... former Sony Pictures head Jon Peters is all-in on the YouTuber-turned-fighter's chances against A.J. on Dec. 19 -- to the tune of a whopping $5 MILLION wager.

So ... why all the confidence in the Disney kid?? We're told Peters and Paul recently had a lengthy chat about the bout ... and the film producer (with flicks like "Flashdance," "A Star Is Born," and "Batman" to his name) was fully convinced.

Boxing star Chris Eubank Jr. just posted an alarming video on Instagram ... revealing weeks after his fight that he's been dealing with health issues for quite some time.

The middleweight fighter shared the clip on Tuesday ... showing himself surrounded by staffers in a medical facility.

In the video, it appears Eubank is under anesthesia as the medical team prepares for an examination.

No matter what happens in the ring on Dec. 19, Jake Paul has got some massive balls to take on Anthony Joshua ... so says comedian Bryan Callen, who tells TMZ Sports El Gallo is "borderline crazy!"

We spoke with the comedian at LAX ... and talked all about Paul and Joshua's showdown at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.

Sure, many see Joshua, an Olympic gold medalist and two-time boxing champion, winning by a landslide ... but Callen says you've still got to give Paul credit for even taking on the challenge.

Before George Foreman knocked out Joe Frazier to become the heavyweight champion or fought Muhammad Ali in one of the most memorable fights ever ... Big George won Olympic gold in 1968 -- and now the medal's on the block!!

Foreman, who was just 19, was dominant in Mexico City, steamrolling his opps on the way to winning the '68 Summer Games.

George's toughest challenge came in his first fight against Poland's Lucjan Trela -- in the round of 16 -- a bout he won 4-1.

Love him or hate him, Jake Paul's boxing career has breathed life into the sport of boxing ... and Michael Buffer is making sure to give El Gallo his flowers -- telling TMZ Sports it's great to see!!

We caught up with the voice of boxing out at LAX ... and while you can tell he thinks Jake is a madman for taking this fight, he can't help but gush over both Paul brothers.

"Jake and Logan are fantastic athletes. You know what Logan does with the WWE and what Jake does with boxing. He knocks people out and everything, and they both have massive fan bases."

Andy Ruiz is one of three men to ever beat Anthony Joshua in the ring ... and he was kind enough to share some solid advice with Jake Paul ahead of his December 19 bout!!

Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) handed Joshua his first career loss in 2019, with a TKO in the 7th round of their main event at Madison Square Garden in New York City -- one of boxing's biggest upsets ever.

That said, we asked Ruiz -- who was distributing turkeys at the New Village Girls Academy Turkey Drive in Los Angeles this week -- if there were any suggestions he'd like to leave for the YouTuber-turned-boxer.

Better late than never -- three years after filing for divorce and eight years removed from their split, Oscar De La Hoya and his wife, Millie Corretjer, have settled their dissolution of marriage, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to court documents we obtained, both parties appeared in the case and have entered into an agreement to stick a fork in the matter ... and now all that's left is for the judge to sign off on the deal to make it official.

While specifics remain confidential ... Oscar checked the box to waive his right to receive spousal support from Millie -- while indicating she should be paid according to their agreement.

Metta World Peace is down to trade his sneakers for gloves -- the NBA champion tells TMZ Sports after signing rising boxing star Chordale Booker, he's not against getting some action himself!!

We spoke with Metta and sports business manager Paul Guarino after they inked a deal to co-manage Booker, a super welterweight from Connecticut who won his 24th fight by knockout in August.

Metta said it's an exciting moment ... so much that it's motivating him to spar with Booker during his training ... and possibly even hop on his card when a fight is booked.

UFC legends Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva are set to throw down on the main card of Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua next month in Miami ... and Woodley tells TMZ Sports that while he has respect for The Spider, the plan is to "hurt him" good in the ring.

We chopped it up with the former UFC welterweight champion after it was announced he would be stepping in to replace Chris Weidman against Silva ... and he told us that even though George St-Pierre was his number one dream fight, this is the next best opportunity.

"When this opportunity came about, you know, this is how a legend is made," Woodley said. "People talk about legacy, legacy, legacy, but they play it safe all the time. And I'm not playing it safe."

Jake Paul says he's literally willing to risk his life to get a win over Anthony Joshua ... declaring he's "ready to die in the ring" if that's what it takes to pull off the biggest upset of his boxing career.

The 12-1 cruiserweight fighter made the shocking comment on Friday ... after he was asked if he really believes he can beat the former champion at their first press conference in support of the Dec. 19 bout at the Kaseya Center in Miami.

"100% Self-belief is the most powerful thing in the world, and it's been there since my first fight," Paul said.

Jake Paul's heading into his Anthony Joshua fight locked and loaded ... El Gallo just commissioned one of the most amazing chains you'll ever lay your eyes on, made with a whopping 364 carats of diamonds!

TMZ Sports has learned the 12-1 pro boxer copped the insanely bling-y piece from famed jeweler, Vobara, ahead of his highly anticipated December 19th matchup.

This chain's composition is wild ... we're told each "round" is loaded with 5 carats of high-quality, oval VS1 diamonds, all mounted with one kilo of 8-karat rose gold.

Anthony Joshua landed the bout, but there was no shortage of big-name opponents lining up to fight Jake Paul ... including Terence Crawford, fresh off his Canelo Alvarez win, according to the CEO and cofounder of Most Valuable Promotions!!

"As soon as we knew we were going to move away from Gervonta Davis, we had a list of opponents. And the three names Jake gravitated towards were Ryan Garcia, Terence Crawford, and Anthony Joshua," Nakisa Bidarian told Babcock shortly after the Dec. 19th megafight was announced. "And there were probably 30 fighters who accepted to fight Jake. AJ being one of them, Crawford being another, and AJ is the one that we came to an agreement on."

When we followed up on Bud, asking if he was actually down to fight Jake, Nakisa responded ... "Yes, 100%."