Boxing

Evander Holyfield won 54 professional fights, beat Mike Tyson twice (although he did lose an ear) and is the only 4-time heavyweight champion in boxing history.

Now just imagine what he could've done if his heart was in it ...

We'll never know ... cause "The Real Deal" tells TMZ Sports boxing was actually his SECOND choice for athletic greatness as a kid, with his real passion lying on the gridiron.

Holyfield was out in NYC when we asked him about the latest dominant athlete in the family -- his son Elijah -- a HS football stud with offers from huge college programs like USC, Florida, and Auburn.

Check out the clip -- Holyfield told us that he's not at all miffed that his son chose football over the sweet science and says he might have done the same at his age ... except the coaches told him he was too small.

Manny Pacquiao has just pulled the trigger on Diddy's former Beverly Hills mansion -- TMZ Sports has learned he's officially buying the $12.5 million estate ... AND EVERYTHING INSIDE OF IT!

We broke the story ... Pacman fell in love with the 10,000 square foot pad as soon as he stepped on the property last weekend -- and now our real estate sources say he made the quick decision to buy.

But there was a catch ... Manny wanted to move FAST -- demanding a lightning fast escrow period so his massive Filipino family has a place to stay when they come to L.A. for the fight.

In fact, Manny's in such a rush ... he worked out a deal to get the house fully furnished with the furniture, art and appliances that are currently inside the place.

And get this -- the owners have even agreed to STOCK THE WET BAR for Pacman as part of the deal. Baller stuff.

As we previously reported, Diddy lived in the house in the late '90s (back when he was Puff Daddy) ... and sold it in 2001. The place is sick -- with 7 bedroom, 7.5 baths and a crazy $200,000 home theater.

Perfect for family karaoke nights.

Floyd Mayweather was NOT charged with a crime after a 19-year-old close family friend filed a police report claiming the boxer put him in a chokehold during a 2014 argument.

The Las Vegas Metro Police tells TMZ Sports ... Devion Cromwell initially reported that Floyd put him in a "rear naked choke" at Mayweather's Vegas mansion on Halloween night.

FYI -- Cromwell is the son of Floyd's ex-girlfriend Melissa Brim ... who has a 14-year-old daughter with Floyd.

But when investigators tried to contact Cromwell to follow up on the case, cops say Cromwell stopped cooperating -- essentially stopping the investigation dead in its tracks.

Eventually, cops say ... they closed the case.

A rep for the Clark County District Attorney's office tells us the case was never presented to them for prosecution.

We're told the statute of limitations on the case is 1 year from the incident -- so, if Cromwell has a change of heart and wants to press the case ... the clock's ticking.

Rocky had Mickey. Daniel had Mr. Miyagi. And now Laila Ali has a wise mentor to guide her if she squares off with Ronda Rousey ... with ex-champ Antonio Tarver formally offering to train Muhammad's baby girl.

Tarver -- a former 5-time boxing champ -- tells TMZ Sports he's been friends with Laila for years and strongly believes he could train her up to beat the UFC star in a boxing match.

"She knows I got her back and front," Tarver says.

In fact, he's even got a game plan for Ali, who hasn't stepped in the ring in 8 years -- "[Laila] needs a serious training camp and a tune up fight."

"I think it's time to dust off [the gloves] and you got my services."

Tarver says Rousey is an "amazing athlete" -- but he's 100% confident he could train the 37-year-old back into face-bashing shape and get the biggest victory in female fight history.

Before Mayweather had Bieber ... Evander Holyfield says he had a music superstar sidekick of his own ... MC Hammer!!

Holyfield tells TMZ Sports he brought the "U Can't Touch This" rapper to the ring with him when he beat Riddick Bowe in Vegas back in 1993 ... after losing to Bowe in their previous bout.

But while Evander says his celeb tagalong wasn't exactly a "lucky charm" -- he seems to be saying that Hammer affected the energy going into the fight ... which might've given him a boost he didn't have the first time around.

As Holyfield put it -- Hammer helped to "bring a new shake into the game."

#TooLegit

SIDEKICK [noun]: a person who helps and spends a lot of time with someone who is usually more important, powerful, etc.

But a delusional Justin Bieber REFUSES to acknowledge that he's Floyd Mayweather's sidekick ... despite the fact he fits Merriam-Webster's definition of the word to a T.

Just hours before we saw Bieber out at Greenblatt's Deli on the Sunset Strip Wednesday night, the pop star accompanied Floyd to Floyd's news conference to promote Floyd's big fight ... featuring Floyd, the biggest superstar who is driving the biggest boxing event in the history of the world.

Still, Bieber says he's no second fiddle.

Sure pal.

Call 'em the Filipino "Partridge Family" ... because it seems ALL of the Pacquiao's are obsessed with singing -- and Wednesday, Manny's Aunt Lilia flexed her pipes with a street rendition of "Let It Go!"

This video is amazing ... Manny's extremely spirited auntie is PUMPED for the fight -- and told us why she's convinced her nephew's gonna beat Floyd's ass!

Then, after more Pacquiao family members gathered around Auntie Lilia ... they broke out in song!

Seems Manny Pacquiao may have a plan on how to spend that $100 mil paycheck after all ... 'cause he's been looking at real estate in Bev Hills -- including the BALLER mansion Diddy used to call home.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Manny and his crew went to scope out the 10,000 square foot estate this past weekend and sources say he "really liked" what he saw.

The mansion is insane -- 7 bedrooms, 7.5 baths, home theater system, massive backyard and a SICK mancave with a pretty awesome wet bar.

Diddy used to live in the home back in the day -- and sold it in 2001 for $2.313 million.

The new owners renovated the hell out of the place -- and now it's on the market for a cool $12.5 million ... pocket change to a fat cat like Manny.

Our real estate sources tell us Manny is definitely interested in the house -- but didn't make an immediate offer ... in part because he's got that whole fight thing he's trying to focus on.

But we're told Manny is expected to make a decision whether to pull the trigger or pass in the near future.

It's the question everyone hopes they'll have the chance to answer -- how do you plan on spending your $100 MILLION paycheck?!

That's the question we fired at Manny Pacquiao earlier today -- and while he's clearly pumped about the money, Pacman says he's keeping his eye on the real prize ... a victory.

Still, one of his promoters had a suggestion that made him chuckle.

We also asked Manny about his un-retirement from singing ... and he explained why he was so proud to get back in the studio to record his entrance music for the Mayweather fight.

As we previously reported, the song is called "I Fight for Filipinos" ... and it's ... well, his intentions are good.

Every boxer's gotta have a lucky charm ... and for Floyd Mayweather, it's clearly Justin Bieber ... who popped up at the news conference Wednesday just in time for the photo op.

Bieber and Mayweather have been boys for years -- in fact, Justin has famously walked Floyd to the ring in previous fights.

Justin didn't sit on the stage during the speeches -- but as soon as Floyd and Manny posed with the honchos, JB was glued to his hip ... reppin' for The Money Team.

As for Manny, there were no pop stars in his crew -- then again, he does his own singing ... sorta.

Ronda Rousey has a message for Laila Ali -- BRING IT ON!!!!

The undefeated UFC champ has just responded to Muhammad Ali's daughter (an undefeated ex-pro boxer) who told TMZ Sports no woman alive could beat her in a fight ... including Rousey.

In fact, when we shot Ali earlier this week ... she took a shot at Ronda's size -- saying, "She’s like the size of my daughter, my 3-year-old."

So, how does Rousey feel about that?

"If she wants to take me up on that, I’m around," Rousey told the Daily Beast.

"She’s retired and has several kids. I understand why she’d think that because she has a size advantage, but if you saw my last fight it had nothing to do with size or strength at all. That’s not how I beat people."

"So you can’t count having a size and strength advantage as having a real advantage against me."

Ali hasn't fought since 2007 ... but c'mon, who wouldn't pay to see this?!

Cool moment with Denzel Washington at the big NBC Fight Night special ... the actor fought off crowds and cameras to say "what up" to an ex-boxing champ who was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident ... and the moment was caught on video.

Washington is a big boxing fan ... and was in Las Vegas to watch Keith "One Time" Thurman beat the hell out of Robert Guerrero on March 7.

But while he was there, Denzel got word that Paul "The Punisher" Williams was in the arena ... the 2-time WBO Welterweight Champ whose incredible boxing career was cut short in 2012 when he crashed his motorcycle and was paralyzed from the waist down.

According to Williams (who was 43-2 as a pro) ... "Everyone was snapping pics of him and he was trying to get to me lol."

And to make the moment even sweeter, Williams says Denzel is his all-time favorite actor.

Laila Ali tells TMZ Sports ... there's NO WOMAN ALIVE who could beat her in a fight ... and that includes UFC superstar Ronda Rousey.

Muhammad Ali's daughter -- who was 24-0 in her boxing career -- was at LAX this weekend when we asked if she thought she could hang with the MMA superstar if the two ever decided to fight.

At first, the 37-year-old champ was shy ... saying it's hard to compare a boxer to an MMA fighter ... but ultimately declared, "No woman can beat me, period."

The 5'10" Ali also pointed out her size advantage over the 5'7" Rousey -- "She's like the size of my daughter ... my 3-year-old."

What does boxing superstar Keith Thurman have in common with Ron Burgundy? They both LOVE the flute!

With the 26-year-old preparing for his big NBC "Fight Night" bout against Robert Guerrero, Keith told "Premier Boxing Champions" he's getting his mind right with some flute sessions.

"I find it really relaxing," Thurman said.

Apparently, the whole thing helps Keith get focused ... and it's worked so far -- the guy is 24-0 with 21 KOs.

And if the whole boxing thing doesn't work out, he could always get a job as a musical director at a spa.

Mike Tyson has finally weighed in on the fight of the century ... telling TMZ Sports he likes Manny Pacquiao to beat Floyd Mayweather on May 2nd.

But when it comes to putting his money where his mouth is ... don't expect Tyson to make a 50 Cent style $1.6 MILLION bet on the fight.

"I don't have the money!"

Tyson's never been shy about his financial situation -- he made more than $300 MILLION during his boxing career ... only to end up broke.

But now, Mike's way more responsible when it comes to his cash -- and plans to hold on to it by not making crazy bets.

If Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio or Rihanna want FREE seats to the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight -- it'll be no problem at all -- as long as they're down to be a walking billboard.

Tickets are in such high demand, fight promoters aren't handing out comped front row seats to high profile stars like they usually do. Instead, they'll be forced to pay up to $100k or more ... just like normies.

But we've learned there's another option. If a celeb is willing to endorse companies by wearing logo-emblazoned gear at the fight -- that company will eat the ticket cost.

For instance, we're told VOCO Vodka & Coconut Water has already made such offers to Leo, RiRi, and Big Willie ... in exchange for front row seats.

We know what you're thinking, but sorry ... you in a VOCO cap just ain't the same as Rihanna in one.

Enjoy the PPV.