Boxing

Farrah Abraham knows a match made in heaven when she sees one -- and it ain't in a boxing ring ... it's her butt and a remote sandy paradise.

The 'Teen Mom' star's extended vacay in the Maldives doesn't require much in the way of clothing --she's rocking a severely bare minimum white crocheted bikini here. Farrah jetted off to the islands last weekend with her daughter after backing out of her celebrity boxing match with Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander.

Farrah trash talked promoter Damon Feldman but, as we first reported ... she's got a new offer from "Teen Mom 2" star Kailyn Lowry to get in the ring.

"Teen Mom 2" star Kailyn Lowry's ready and willing to get in the ring with Farrah Abraham and open a can of whoop ass ... but Farrah's first gotta say yes, and she might wanna think twice.

Damon Feldman -- the guy who set up a charity boxing match Farrah backed out of -- tells TMZ Kailyn's set to sign a deal with his company Friday for a charity match ... with proceeds going to charity. And, Kailyn's making no bones about it -- she wants Farrah. Yeah, they got beef.

Damon says if Farrah accepts the challenge he will NOT take legal action against her for bailing on the first event. Remember ... TMZ broke the story Farrah backed out of fighting Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander, claiming Damon broke his end of the deal.

You'll recall Farrah trash talked Damon and the entire event before he fired off a cease and desist letter to shut her trap. Damon now says bygones will be bygones ... IF Farrah steps into the ring.

Floyd Mayweather is giving Khabib a simple choice -- we fight in the boxing ring ... or we ain't fightin' at all!

Of course, the two have been goin' back and forth since Khabib beat Conor and called out Floyd ... but Nurmagomedov's team AND Dana White both say it's gotta be MMA.

Now, Floyd's firing back ... telling TMZ Sports HE makes the rules -- 'cause he makes the money and that makes him the guy who calls the shots ... and mixed martial arts isn't happening.

"They said it has to happen in the Octagon. And I said, 'Just tell me where Khabib has made 9 figures before in the Octagon!'"

"If he hasn't made 9 figures, he's not the A-side. So, I'm the A-side."

Remember, Floyd told us he's likely to fight on New Year's Eve in Tokyo ... and if he and Khabib can't strike a deal, that's cool with him.

Floyd Mayweather says the Tokyo fight that was on and then off ... is back on -- and he's telling TMZ Sports exactly how it's gonna go down.

Remember, Floyd was supposed to fight 20-year-old kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa on New Year's Eve ... but recently backed out ... saying promoters misled him about the scale and nature of the bout.

We talked to Floyd Wednesday night as he left Peter Marco jewelry in Beverly Hills ... and he told us the fight is very much alive.

"We're gonna make it happen."

Question is ... is it boxing, kickboxing or MMA?

"Rules? It's gonna be a little boxing exhibition. No kicking," Floyd told us ... "I'm moving around with the guy for 9 minutes, and of course it's gonna be the highest paid exhibition ever."

Bottom line ... the money's just too good to pass up, as long as the fight goes down on Floyd's terms.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is calling for another fight with Canelo Alvarez -- telling TMZ Sports he would knock his ass out ... if they fought at 168 pounds this time!

Remember, Julio and Canelo faced off in May 2017 at 164 pounds -- and Canelo dominated -- ultimately winning by unanimous decision after tuning up Julio for 12 straight rounds.

But, Julio says the weight was a huge factor -- and says if Canelo has the cajones to move up in weight, it won't end well for him.

"Canelo rematch at 168 ... I want to knock him out at my weight."

Julio is also calling out Floyd Mayweather -- saying he's 100% confident he can beat T.B.E. too!

One last thing ... when we asked if he considered Floyd the greatest boxer of all time, he shot that down -- saying Muhammad Ali and his father, Julio Cesar Chavez, get the #1 and #2 spots.

No days off for Tyson Fury -- the boxer took over a section at one of the bougiest gyms in L.A. to drill down on his footwork ... right next to a buncha normies!

With just 23 days until his massive fight with Deontay Wilder, the Gypsy King hit up Equinox in L.A. -- a private gym where some of the richest people in town get a workout.

So, while regular, non-global boxing superstars were trying to knock out some pull-ups and elliptical work (good job, btw) ... Fury's trainers were cracking the whip to get him ready for Dec. 1.

What's more impressive ... this is Fury's 3rd fight since his life went into a drug and booze-fueled tailspin a few years ago. The comeback story is truly inspiring.

Tyson opened up about his struggles on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast recently saying things got so bad, he blew up to 400 pounds and thought about quitting boxing forever.

But, Fury got his life together now -- he's quit the vices, lost the weight and won his last 2 comeback fights.

Hours after bailing on his New Year's Eve fight in Japan, Floyd Mayweather didn't go into hiding ... he went to the Lakers game!

Earlier in the day, Mayweather put out a bizarre statement saying he was duped into participating in a press conference for RIZIN 14 where he was billed as the main event in a fight against kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.

Floyd was clowned by stars like 50 Cent and others who were baffled by Mayweather's claim that he didn't agree to participate in the fight he was promoting.

But, was he embarrassed? Apparently not, because there he was in the front row at Staples Center on Wednesday night ... along with a ton of HUGE stars like Miles Teller, Denzel Washington, Larsa Pippen, Todd Gurley, LaVar Ball and his high school basketball-playing son, LaMelo.

But, one fan deserves her own paragraph ... and that's Emily Ratajkowski, who proudly cheered on her "boo" LeBron James while looking absolutely incredible in the process.

Obviously, LBJ loves his wife ... but having a cheerleader like EmRata proves it's great to be the king.

Former boxing Jermain Taylor was arrested and hauled to jail Wednesday morning ... and it all stems from an incident where he allegedly KO'd and threatened to kill his GF.

Back in August, Taylor was arrested in Arkansas for allegedly knocking a woman unconscious ... and holding a knife to her throat.

At the time, he was booked into the county jail ... but released on $15k bond.

Now prosecutors are moving forward with the case ... indicting the former middleweight champ on felony aggravated assault, felony terroristic threats and misdemeanor domestic battery.

The indictment triggered an arrest warrant ... so cops went and picked up Taylor.

JT's currently in the Pulaski County jail.

FYI -- this ain't the first time Taylor's been in trouble with the law ... he's previously been arrested for allegedly shooting his own cousin, allegedly making terroristic threats and firing a handgun at an MLK Jr. parade, and allegedly brutally beating a fellow patient at a rehab facility.

Taylor is set to appear before a judge Thursday morning.

10:13 AM PT -- Taylor has been released from county jail on $10K bail.

It was just a matter of time but 50 Cent is now mocking Floyd Mayweather for pulling out of the New Year's Eve fight with Tenshin Nasukawa he had just announced on Sunday.

"Ok cool they tricked him," 50 said ... "Was trying to kick him in the head and sh*t. He fell for it because its time to get some money."

Remember, Floyd pulled out on Wednesday, saying he never agreed to an official bout -- just a 3 round exhibition -- and only participated in the press conference because he didn't want to "create a disturbance."

But, 50 implied that Floyd only took the fight because he ain't as wealthy as he leads on -- saying, "The money low."

50 then mocked Floyd for the way the head of "The Money Team" handled this deal from the beginning.

"The biggest fighter in the world don't announce a fight with out a contract. He did a press conference ... now he saying there was no deal. LOL."

50 has since deleted the IG post ... but he's just saying what everyone else is thinking -- how does the most powerful athlete on the planet get duped in such a massive and embarrassing way??

The whole thing is weird.

Mike Tyson tells TMZ Sports he's rooting for another Floyd Mayweather comeback fight -- as long as it ain't in the Octagon!

After that whole Japan fight debacle, Floyd insists he's retired (again) ... but Iron Mike says he hopes he reconsiders because he likes watching Mayweather fight ... as a boxer.

Also worth noting ... Mike Tyson is stoned to the bejeezus in this clip.

How do we know? 'Cause Mike's out promoting his new Tyson Ranch weed brand -- and his business partner, BigMike, told us they just lit up.

In fact, Mike recently smoked out Conor McGregor -- and got the UFC star's marijuana seal of approval.

"Hey, McGregor's a good guy," Mike said ... "He liked our kush. I'm very grateful for that."

Mike's marijuana ranch is huge -- 400 acres right in the Coachella Valley in Southern California ... and Tyson tells us his goal is to take over the whole THC industry.

12:24 PM PT -- Floyd had already made up his mind to back out of the fight by Tuesday night -- because he was telling people at an L.A. nightclub that it was off.

In fact, Floyd's friend Michael Blackson -- the famous comedian -- came on "TMZ Live" on Wednesday and told us when he saw Floyd at Murano Nightclub, the boxer made it clear it wasn't happening.

Floyd Mayweather is making it clear his massive New Year's Eve fight with Tenshin Nasukawa is off -- and claims it's because he was misled by fight promoters.

It's strange considering the press conference Floyd participated in on Sunday night -- promoting the fight at RIZIN 14 in Japan -- but alas, here we are.

In short, Floyd claims he only ever agreed to fight Tenshin in a private, closed door, 3-round exhibition fight "for a small group of wealthy spectators for a very large fee."

But, when he got to the press conference (weird that he would even agree to do a press conference for a small private event) the RIZIN promoters told the media it would be a globally televised superfight.

Floyd says he went along with the press conference because he was blindsided and didn't want to "create a disturbance."

During the press conference, Floyd was PRAISING the fight promoters and said the goal was to create a longterm relationship with RIZIN to promote more fights together in the future.

Whatever the case, seems the fight's off for good. Here's Floyd's statement in its entirety.

"Now that I am back on U.S. soil after a long and disappointing trip to Tokyo, I now have the time to address you, my fans and the media in regards to the upcoming event on December 31st that was recently announced."

"First and foremost, I want it to be clear that I, Floyd Mayweather, never agreed to an official bout with Tenshin Nasukawa. In fact (with all due respect) I have never heard of him until this recent trip to Japan. Ultimately, I was asked to participate in a 9 minute exhibition of 3 rounds with an opponent selected by the 'Rizen Fighting Federation.'"

"What I was originally informed of by Brent Johnson of 'One Entertainment' was that this was to be an exhibition put on for a small group of wealthy spectators for a very large fee. This exhibition was previously arranged as a "Special Bout" purely for entertainment purposes with no intentions of being represented as an official fight card nor televised worldwide."

"Once I arrived to the press conference, my team and I were completely derailed by the new direction this event was going and we should have put a stop to it immediately."

"I want to sincerely apologize to my fans for the very misleading information that was announced during this press conference and I can assure you that I too was completely blindsided by the arrangements that were being made without my consent nor approval."

"For the sake of the several fans and attendees that flew in from all parts of the world to attend this past press conference, I was hesitant to create a huge disturbance by combating what was being said and for that I am truly sorry."

"I am a retired boxer that earns an unprecedented amount of money, globally, for appearances, speaking engagements and occasional small exhibitions."

Florian Munteanu -- the guy who plays Ivan Drago's son in "Creed 2" -- says training for the flick got him in the best shape of his life ... and he's got the abs to prove it.

First off, count the abs ... 8.

Ridiculous.

A few other things -- Florian talks about the movie plot without spoiling it noting there won't be a Vladimir Putin look-alike character in this movie to replace the Mikhail Gorbachev spoof in "Rocky IV."

"We didn't aim for that," Florian said while strolling through Reagan National Airport with the film's director, Steven Caple Jr.

"It's about family and loyalty, a lot of father/son relationships going on on the Creed side ... but no political issues."

28-year-old Florian -- a pro boxer who hails from Romania -- also says he hopes this movie propels him into being a Hollywood star ... but it's up to the audience to decide if he's good enough.

"The audience have to decide if they like my performance or not but I'm pretty happy with it."

Neither Drita D'Avanzo nor Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander will get to be in the ring with Farrah Abraham for a celebrity boxing match ... but that didn't stop the duo from laying a serious smackdown on the ex-"Teen Mom" star.

We spoke to Drita ... who says Farrah backed out of a charity boxing match at the last minute because she was straight-up scared. As you know ... Farrah quit claiming she got screwed out of her deal.

Alas, that won't be the case ... and the ex-"Mob Wives" star thinks it was less about her (remember, there's no love lost between them) and more about Hoopz' skills in the ring.

Hoopz is also trashing Farrah after she threw in the towel ... saying this is typical Farrah crying wolf. Hoopz even has a word to describe her behavior ... making it crystal clear how she feels about Farrah.

UFC star Israel Adesanya says Floyd Mayweather needs to "grow some f*cking cajones" and make his upcoming fight MMA-style ... otherwise, Israel ain't gonna watch it.

"What's all this, 'Yeah, man, we gonna f*cking fight! What's up! Oh, but, nah, um, you can't touch -- no legs, no knees, no grappling,'" Israel tells TMZ Sports.

"I mean, what the f*ck are we doing?!"

Of course ... Floyd just announced he's gonna fight 20-year-old kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Toyko on NYE -- but no word yet on whether it will be boxing rules or a legit MMA bout.

Israel -- fresh off his dominating performance at UFC 230 -- says there better be knees, feet and legs involved ... 'cause he says he's tired of hearing Floyd talk without backing it up with a REAL fight.

As for Floyd's chances in a scrap like that ... Israel says he'd actually give Mayweather a shot -- especially if the legendary boxer was willing to take some time off to train for it.

"Take a chance! He could take a year off and just learn grappling. Learn wrestling ... but f*cking stay in your little bubble then if you want to be that bitch."

As for all the talk about what an MMA loss would do to Floyd's legacy ... Israel says Money needs to read up on James Toney's fight career to see why that's really not an issue.

Heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder says you're only as good as your last fight ... and that's why Floyd Mayweather could ruin his ENTIRE LEGACY if he gets blasted in his upcoming fight.

Floyd is putting his 50-0 record on the line when he faces off against undefeated 20-year-old kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Toyko on New Year's Eve in what could be an MMA rules fight (they're still working it out).

Wilder says Mayweather is putting more than his perfect record on the line because if he looks bad, his entire untouchable career could be tainted forever.

"People only remember the last thing you done. Just imagine me, I've knocked out 39 guys this is gonna be my 40th one. Let's just say this is my last fight ever, and I just go the rounds or I lose, they won't fully remember all my knockouts. That's why in boxing we must retire at the right time when we're on top."

It's an interesting point, and while other huge fighters like Muhammad Ali have looked bad in their final fights and it HASN'T affected their legacy ... that was before social media.

Former pro boxer Mario Oscar Melo -- who fought Michael Moorer for the WBO light heavyweight title in 1990 -- died Sunday after choking on dough during a croissant-eating contest in Argentina.

**WARNING -- THE VIDEO IS DISTURBING**

Video shows several men violently trying to dislodge the croissant from Melo's throat while on stage at the event in Buenos Aires, but to no avail. Melo was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

Melo was 56.

Reports say Melo was on his 3rd croissant when he started to choke. The pasty is known locally as a medialuna.

While eating competitions are popular around the world, the Major League Eating organization (which oversees huge events like Nathan's Famous 4th of July hot dog contest) always requires paramedics to be on hand in case a situation like this happens.

According to local reports, there was a firefighter and a doctor in the crowd who raced up and tried to help -- but it does not appear there was a dedicated, trained medical staff at the event.

Melo was 21-9 as a pro fighter, with the Moorer fight being his most famous bout -- though he lost in the 1st round.