Boxing

Justin Trudeau is trying to fight his way out of his blackface scandal ... by stepping into the ring with a black boxing champion.

The embattled Canadian Prime Minister put on a pair of gloves, slipped into some boxing trunks and threw on a sleeveless shirt to spar with boxing champ Ali Nestor Wednesday, ahead of the leader's huge debate in his quest for re-election.

Justin looked like he got in a great workout with Ali, a retired boxer who now runs a non-profit geared toward helping disadvantaged youth. Trudeau got some boxing tips from Ali, but more than anything ... this seems all about optics.

As you know ... Trudeau is embroiled in controversy after photos surfaced showing him in blackface when he was 29 years old.

Trudeau's apologized for what he says was a racist lapse of judgment when he dressed up as Aladdin back in the day, but some Canadians have been calling for him to step down and bow out of the race ... and Al Sharpton told us Justin's mea culpa rings hollow.

Evander Holyfield is just a few weeks shy of his 57th birthday ... but he's still ready to throw down -- and will fly to Japan for a charity exhibition in 2020.

Holyfield hasn't fought professionally since May 2011 (he beat Brian Nielsen) -- but "The Real Deal" says he's kept himself in prime shape ever since and he's ready to get back in the ring.

The details about the exhibition fight are unclear but Holyfield says he still thinks he's got the at signature knockout power.

Don't get it twisted, Holyfield says the goal is to raise money for people in need -- and not to annihilate his opponent -- so the bout will be more of a performance than a no-holds-barred fight.

"The big thing is to give people in Japan the opportunity to see the only 4-time heavyweight champion of the world."

In related Holyfield news, Evander's 21-year-old son Evan "Yung Holy" Holyfield is about to make his pro boxing debut on the undercard of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev fight.

Evan is taking on Nick Winstead in a 4-round junior middleweight matchup.

"Yung Holy" previously told TMZ Sports he thinks he can be better than his Hall of Fame father.

"My dad always tells me every generation gets better. It's pretty much easy to believe, number one it's in the bible, and the bible don't tell no lies."

Justin Bieber is siding with Logan Paul in his boxing rematch with KSI next month ... and guess who ain't happy about that???

Yup ... KSI tells TMZ Sports he has one message for Bieber -- "F*** you, Justin!!!"

The Biebs made his Team Paul allegiances known in the IG comments when the Nov. 9 fight at Staples Center was announced last month ... telling Logan to "rip his head off."

KSI admits it's pretty cool to know that Bieber knows who he is, but makes it VERY clear he's gonna prove JB backed the wrong boxer.

Deontay Wilder's giving TMZ Sports his hit list ... knock out Luis "King Kong" Ortiz in devastating fashion, beat up Tyson Fury and then fight the winner of the Andy Ruiz-Anthony Joshua rematch.

We got Wilder and his fiancee Telli Swift outside Bomane Hair Salon in L.A. ... and first things first, we asked the undefeated heavyweight champ how he expects his November 23 rematch with Ortiz will go down.

"I expect to have a devastating knockout, as always. When it comes to me and the sport of boxing, I'm a master of it. I love to do it. I'm blessed to have what many fighters would love to have in this sport and that's power."

"Like I said, from start to finish. From 1st round to 12 rounds. From 1 second to 36 minutes, I'm a dangerous man."

Ortiz is a 6'3", 240-lb. badass from Cuba with only 1 loss to his name -- and that L was at the hands of the Bronze Bomber -- who beat Luis back in 2018.

Wilder knocked out Ortiz in the 10th round ... but not before he was pushed to the absolute brink of defeat in the 7th round by the Cuban heavyweight.

If Wilder's prophetic in his devastating KO prediction over Ortiz ... he's got a blueprint that'll make him unified heavyweight champion of the world.

That plan ... start with Tyson Fury. Then take on the winner of Ruiz-Joshua II.

Good news for Michael Blackson ... boxing star Adrien Broner doesn't wanna kill you anymore!!

Instead, Broner says he wants to channel that energy into banging random chicks in L.A.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!!!

Okay, some backstory ... back when Broner was gearing up to fight Manny Pacquiao in January, Blackson stepped into the role of "Anger Translator" for Manny and talked some trash to AB.

"I'll kick him in his nuts. That short bitch is going down," Blackson said on Manny's behalf at the time.

Well, the video chalked up more than 3.4 MILLION views on YouTube -- and a few weeks later, Pacquiao beat Broner in the ring.

So, when Broner saw Blackson in person at Nightingale in L.A. on Sunday night, everyone around held their breath and wondered how Broner was gonna handle the situation.

The good news ... NO FIGHTS! JUST JOKES!

Broner clowned Blackson for his outfit and then joked that he was gonna "beat your ass" for making the video.

But, the two hugged it out and laughed it off ... as Broner proceeded to tell the crowd about his plans while he was in L.A.

"Ya'll know when I'm in L.A., I f**k with these bad bitches every night, I'm just trying to f**k hoes."

The ring wasn't the only place for action at Staples Center Saturday night ... 'cause a massive brawl took place in the crowd of the Errol Spence-Shawn Porter fight and TMZ Sports has the video.

We're told the fracas got started after the 4th round when 2 fans started arguing about who was winning the fight.

All hell broke loose after that ... with a co-ed scrap going down and bodies flying everywhere.

The fight lasted for almost a minute.

The angry little bagel guy may have made a big mistake by pulling out of his "celebrity" fight at the last minute ... because the promoter's lawyered up and wants to hit him where it hurts, legally speaking.

Chris Morgan surprised everyone involved with his scheduled boxing event Saturday night in Atlantic City by announcing on Twitter hours before that he'd fooled them all ... and had no intention of showing up to get beat up.

We're told promoted Damon Feldman is PISSED about the ruse, and has retained an attorney to explore legal options to take against Bagel Guy.

Our sources say Morgan didn't give anyone a heads up on backing out, so Feldman and other promoters found out he wasn't coming when everyone else did ... which forced them to scramble to find a replacement.

Errol Spence Jr. is on a mission to get Manny Pacquiao into the ring and nothing ... not even the L.A. turn-up scene, is going to get in the way of that.

We got Spence out in L.A. only a night removed from a razor-thin victory over Shawn Porter in what some are calling the best fight of the year, and he still had one thing on his mind ... Manny.

"I want Manny Pacquiao."

Spence has been calling out Manny for a while, wanting both the big money and the prestige boost that would come from fighting -- and maybe beating -- an all-time great.

Pac-Man has said he's not gonna fight again until 2020, and hasn't said against who ... but after watching the success Porter had against Spence (just look at Errol's face), you gotta wonder if Manny is more inclined to dance with ES.

We'll see about that ... and we'll also see Errol coming from a mile away ... dude's neck was DRIPPING with ice.

Vanes Martirosyan -- a stud boxer who just fought Gennady Golovkin last year -- was arrested earlier this month and cops suspect he headbutted his wife.

TMZ Sports has learned 33-year-old Martirosyan -- a middleweight with a career record of 36-4 -- got into an argument with his wife in their Glendale-area home on Sept. 15.

Our law enforcement sources say the altercation started as a verbal fight ... but then things took a violent turn.

We're told the 5-foot-11, 175-pound boxer allegedly grabbed his wife by the arm and is believed to have headbutted her square in the face.

We're told she was able to flee the home ... and after cops showed up to the scene, they found her with a bruise on her arm and a messed-up nose.

Looks like the Bagel Guy pulled a fast one on folks hoping he'd get in the ring with Dustin Diamond -- aka Screech -- 'cause he just announced he's not fighting the guy.

Chris Morgan took to Twitter Saturday night to laugh in fans' faces as he pulled out of the celeb boxing event in Jersey that he and others had been hyping up for weeks now. In a bizarre video he posted, Chris says ... "I fooled you all! I ain't coming to the fight!"

He went on to say that the best way to NOT get hit is to not be there, and then continued to mock everyone who paid to see him duke it out with Screech.

Chris didn't make it immediately clear why he canceled last-minute, but in two videos he'd gone live with prior to the boxing match -- in which he's sitting alone in his car and arguing with fans who engage him -- he alluded to not wanting to be a laughing stock.

Jermell Charlo ain't fighting this weekend ... but all eyes are gonna be on him anyway, 'cause the boxing star just copped an insane amount of jewelry worth $553k!!!

The former WBC light middleweight champ is gonna be iced out when he hits up the Errol Spence Jr. vs. Shawn Porter boxing match at Staples Center on Saturday ... with a haul that would make Floyd Mayweather blush.

Charlo hit up celeb jeweler Iceman Nick for the task for the watch, chain, pendant, rings and bracelet order. Here's the breakdown:

Errol Spence says anyone who thinks Shawn Porter can't beat him is DEAD wrong ... 'cause Spence says Showtime definitely has what it takes to pull the upset.

Porter is a heavy betting underdog in the fight this weekend -- even though Shawn is an elite fighter himself -- and current WBC Welterweight champion.

Most think Spence is too big and skilled to lose the fight, but when we talked to Errol he told us he's not even listening to that talk ... cause he knows how good Porter is.

"This is a huge fight. He has the pedigree to upset me if I'm not on pinpoint and I'm not sharp and I'm not accurate. Me, I'm going to stay focused and not care about the odds."

Those odds are pretty lopsided -- you have to bet $800 on Errol just to win $100 -- but Spence says being the favorite hasn't changed his process.

"I'm 100% focused on the hunt."

Errol has another reason to lock in as well ... he's eyeing a big-money match-up with Manny Pacquiao down the line.

But, lose Saturday, that $100 million fight goes up in smoke.

No pressure though, right???

We also talked to Porter ... and no surprise, he also believes he can beat Spence. In fact, he says it's a 100% lock he wins.

UFC fighter Steven Peterson's spinning backfist was so vicious there's buzz it could be "KO of the Year" ... except the guy who landed the crushing blow says he doesn't deserve it.

That honor is reserved for Gamebred ... Peterson tells TMZ Sports.

"Man, I would love to get knockout of the year, but I can't beat Jorge Masvidal's knockout. You can't beat the flying knee knockout. I bet I'll get runner up, and I'm happy with that. I'm ecstatic to have runner up behind Jorge Masvidal."

Of course, Masvidal knocked out Ben Askren with a flying knee 5 seconds into their July fight.

Spectacular ... but so was Peterson's.

If you missed his fight, the 29-year-old featherweight switched off Martin Bravo's lights with a perfectly placed spinning backfist in the 2nd round at UFC Fight Night 159 Saturday night.

So, what was it like landing the perfect shot full force to the button of Bravo's chin???

Mike Tyson was the youngest heavyweight champion ever ... but there's another champion he could've been ... UFC champion, so says MMA legend Rashad Evans.

Mike and Rashad are buddies and business partners -- remember Tyson recently hooked Evans up with boxing pointers on the sideline of an NFL game -- so when we talked to "Suga," we asked how Iron Mike would've fared in the Octagon.

"He could've been amazing, because every single time he lowers his level in a crouch situation, that could've been him faking for a shot and doing a level change, or doing a shot. So, he would've thrown the person off not knowing if he was going for a shot or go for a punch."

"You know when Tyson came up from that crouch position. He was coming up with those hands and that left hook, overhand right. It would've been lights out."

But, UFC heavyweight champion???

"Oh yeah, for sure. For sure. At a young age too. That's the thing, Mike Tyson's a sponge. That's one thing I learned about Mike, Mike knows everything. Mike's gonna study everything. There's no doubt in my mind, he would've been proficient in almost every aspect of the sport just because that's the way his mind works."

FYI, Rashad -- who was retired -- just secured his release from the UFC ... and is now available to sign with other promotions. We're told he's looking to take a fight in the near future.

So, the former light heavyweight champ's back ... but now he's got some schooling from Mike Tyson.

1 legendary Met is out, another is in ... 'cause Dwight "Doc" Gooden will referee the Bagel Guy vs. Dustin Diamond celebrity boxing match this weekend.

Promoter Damon Feldman tells TMZ Sports he struck a deal with Gooden ... who will be inside the ring reffing Saturday night at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City.

Remember, the fight was originally supposed to be Bagel Guy Chris Morgan against NYM great Lenny Dykstra ... but Nails pulled out last minute.

We broke the story, Dykstra was replaced by "Saved By The Bell" star Dustin Diamond ... aka "Screech."

Lenny Dykstra will NOT fight Bagel Guy Chris Morgan ... the ex-MLB star has pulled out of the celebrity boxing match just DAYS before it was set to go down.

Dykstra had been promoting the Sept. 28 event for weeks -- he's been training, trash-talking ... he even shoved Morgan during a face-off earlier this month.

But now, it's all over ... Lenny went on Howard Stern Monday morning to make the announcement himself -- "Unfortunately, the fight will not happen."

Lenny's attorney, John Pierce, issued a statement explaining Dykstra pulled out to focus on preparing for his upcoming trial, stemming from a malpractice suit.

As we previously reported, Lenny filed a $15 million lawsuit against L.A. County and several deputies claiming he was badly beaten while serving a jail sentence in 2012.

Now, he's suing the Boucher Law Firm -- which represented him in his lawsuit -- and his new attorney believes the boxing match would be too big of a distraction with that legal issue on the horizon.

Dykstra's attorney says ... "The fight will not be rescheduled."

We're told "Bagel Guy" wants a new opponent -- after all, he's been training with UFC stars like Chris Weidman and Al Iaquinta ... and he wants to unleash the fury on someone!

Stay tuned ...