Boxing

Terence Crawford ain't m.A.A.d after the UFC broadcast mistook him for Kendrick Lamar on Saturday ... telling TMZ Sports he laughed it all off -- 'cause he's convinced it was done on purpose!!

Bud went viral for his appearance at Noche UFC at the Sphere in Vegas ... when a lower third graphic misidentified him as the "Not Like Us" rapper.

Screengrabs of the goof made rounds on social media ... and it was pretty ironic, as K. Dot name-dropped the boxing superstar on his "euphoria" diss track directed at Drake earlier this year.

Edgar Berlanga plans on beating Canelo Alvarez on Saturday, and the boxing star already has his next move plotted out, telling TMZ Sports the winner should get Terence Crawford!

The 22-0 fighter will try to take Alvarez's super middleweight world titles (WBC, WBA, WBO) in one fell swoop when the pugilists meet in a 12-round bout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this weekend.

If Berlanga does win, it'll be a major upset. Sportsbooks have Edgar as the underdog, as you'd expect when facing someone with the pedigree of Alvarez, one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world. Alvarez has 61 victories, with 39 coming by way of knockout.

Rolando Romero seems to be planning on having one of the best performances of his career later Saturday against Manuel Jaimes ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned the boxer's copped all kinds of cool custom gear for the battle.

We're told Romero (a.k.a. Rolly) was hooked up with some Bruce Lee and Kobe Bryant swag from his go-to guy Aztek Kustoms ... just ahead of his 10-round tilt with Jaimes (16-1) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Aztek hooked Rolly up with unreleased Nike Machomai 3s boxing shoes ... and made them look just like the Kobe 5 Protro Bruce Lees that Bryant originally released in 2010.

Ryan Garcia isn't letting his boxing suspension stop him from getting in the ring ... the star boxer tells TMZ Sports he's fighting in December!

The 24-1 boxer broke the news to us earlier this week ... months after the New York State Athletic Commission suspended him after testing positive for a banned substance in April, saying he'll soon be fighting again.

"You're gonna see me fight in December," Garcia told us. "It's gonna be a big fight. Stay tuned!"

Jorge Masvidal is ready to get back in a UFC Octagon ... telling TMZ Sports he's eyeing fights with none other than Leon Edwards and Michael Chandler -- and one of the two has already responded!!

Masvidal spoke about his impending return to Dana White's org this week after being away from it all since April 2023 -- and he told us he's itching to get back.

For now, no firm return date has been set ... but he said he's hoping to be on a card sometime either at the end of this year or the start of 2025.

"Hawk Tuah" girl's gonna be spittin' on that ... mic, thanks to Jake Paul ... the Problem Child's Betr company inked a deal with Haliey Welch, and she's launching a brand new podcast!

Talk Tuah will be a weekly show starring the 21-year-old viral sensation ... where Welch will "bring her signature blend of southern values and comedic flair to the show and will also continue to diversify her platform and voice as a regular contributor to the company’s always-on, character-driven social content."

Jake Paul isn't worried one bit about Mike Tyson's health status leading up to their fight ... telling TMZ Sports he's so confident the boxing legend will be in the ring come November, there's no backup plan whatsoever.

We caught up with "El Gallo" less than two months 'til their big showdown in Dallas ... and despite Iron Mike's medical emergency that forced them to push the fight from its original July date, he's certain everything's good now.

"I don't have concern," Paul told us. "He's doing great. He's super healthy behind the scenes and feeling great."

Star boxer Jermall Charlo has been formally hit with a DWI charge following allegations he drunkenly crashed his Lamborghini in Texas back in May.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, in addition to the DWI ... prosecutors also levied a misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident charge against Charlo. Court records show officials formally filed the misdemeanor counts against the 34-year-old pugilist on Aug. 20.

As we previously reported, Charlo was first arrested in the case on May 6 -- when cops claimed Charlo slammed his red Urus into another car on a Brazoria County roadway.

Jeremy Stephens is gunning to improve his Bare Knuckle Fighting record to a perfect 2-0 next Saturday ... and the big question is, could a win propel him to a fight with former foe turned BKFC owner, Conor McGregor?!

TMZ Sports caught up with the 38-year-old fighter ahead of his second scrap with the promotion, against 6-2 Bobby Taylor. While Taylor has more experience fighting without gloves, Stephens doesn't anticipate much of a challenge.

"Body bag, not worried about the opponent, man," he said. "Just [going to] put him in a f****** bag. We're here to f****** hurt him, this is the hurt business. He's just an opponent, go in there and do my thing."

Edgar Berlanga vows to not only win his fight against Canelo Alvarez .... but he's also promising to retire the legendary boxer, telling TMZ Sports boxing needs a new frontman!

"I'm destined right now to make history on September 14th," the boxer said ahead of his Las Vegas bout against Alvarez. "To become a legend that day, to take over the sport of boxing and become the face."

Of course, Alvarez is one of the faces in boxing ... along with other fighters like Terence Crawford and Gervonta Davis.

Caleb Plant has something special in store for Trevor McCumby -- an "old-fashioned ass whoopin'" -- after his opponent branded the former champion a "quitter," making things "more personal!"

That's what the 22-2 boxer told TMZ Sports ahead of his WBA interim super middleweight title match with McCumby (28-0, 21 KOs), set to go down on September 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

It'll be Caleb's first fight since March 2023 (a loss to David Benavidez) ... but Plant says he had the best camp ever and is ready to beat up McCumby for his comments.

Nina Agdal ain't playin' with online trolls ... 'cause she just sued a social media influencer for making false and defamatory accusations about her.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Agdal says Hassan Haider repeatedly published a fabricated narrative online in August and September 2023, in which he falsely claimed he banged her in a bathroom after waving a bag of cocaine in front of her.

She says Haider concocted the tale that he met the swimsuit model at an L.A. bar and claims she basically traded sex for drugs with him in a public restroom.

You can't knock Floyd Mayweather's skills in the ring -- as a boss, anyway, because while he was boxing John Gotti III, he fired the referee ... bringing in fresh eyes when he didn't like a call.

While Saturday night's fight in Mexico City was just an exhibition, it was a highly anticipated rematch. Fans weren't exactly loving the action, or lack thereof, in the 2nd round ... when Floyd uncorked a punch that Gotti complained was a rabbit punch -- an illegal blow to the back of the head.

When referee Hector Afu penalized Mayweather for the right hook, the 47-year-old fighter got pissed and started waving him off ... gesturing for Afu to get out of the ring. After a brief exchange of heated words between the boxer and ref, Afu got the hell outta Dodge!

Erislandy Lara's knockout win streak all comes to an end on September 14 ... so says Danny Garcia, who tells TMZ Sports the middleweight boxer will instead catch an L!

We spoke with the 37-3 fighter ahead of his anticipated match against Lara -- "Swift's" first fight in two years -- something he says has been good for him, both mentally and physically.

"I feel better than ever," the 36-year-old told us of the break from the ring. "That was the best thing I did."

Justin Bieber, Lil' Wayne, and Snoop Dogg have done it ... and when boxing legend Floyd Mayweather finally returns to the ring for his scrap with John Gotti III on Saturday, there will be no lack of star power -- Anthony Edwards and Anthony Davis will accompany TBE to the squared circle!

TMZ Sports has learned Edwards and Davis, NBA superstars who just won gold medals as a part of Team USA in Paris, will be in Mexico City (Money got a heroes welcome!) on August 24 for the event.

Of course, Mayweather, 50-0, and Gotti III, an MMA fighter turned boxer, previously fought in June 2023 ... but the bout was called in the 6th round after all hell broke loose in and outside the ring.

Mike Tyson and Jake Paul came face-to-face in NYC last weekend, but before the pushing and shoving commenced, "Iron" Mike met with famed artist Super Buddha ... where he delivered a $100K painting to the "REAL Problem Child"!

TMZ Sports has learned Mike's son, Amir, commissioned the piece of artwork (it's worth $100K!) ... which the artist then presented to Tyson at Fanatics Fest at the Javits Center on Sunday.

The image portrays Tyson throwing a vicious right-hand punch in the ring ... with the words "The REAL Problem Child" written in red paint.