Boxing

Muhammad Ali would have been in full support of NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem ... because his ex-wife tells TMZ Sports "he would've been right there with them."

Khalilah Ali -- who was married to the boxing legend from '67 to '76 -- says it brought tears to her eyes to watch all the players kneel "in unity" last weekend ... and thinks Muhammad would've been proud to see the protest he started continuing to this day.

Former boxing champ Mia St. John is technically retired ... but says there's one fighter who could lure her back into the ring -- UFC superstar Cris Cyborg!

One catch, though -- it's gotta happen at the Playboy Mansion.

We got Mia -- a former Playboy cover girl -- the day after Hugh Hefner's passing ... and she showed Hef mad love for exposing her to the world.

But when the convo turned to her career ... MSJ told us she was officially done -- UNLESS she gets offered a match with Cyborg at Hugh's legendary crib.

Cris says she wants to box, and Mia was in the first-ever mansion fight (yeah, Hef had those) ... so, maybe?

If it doesn't go down ... St. John's got another fight -- against the system she blames for her son's death.

Floyd Mayweather says he's officially a member of the Tres Commas club -- despite the fact he never cashed his TWO biggest fight checks.

The boxing superstar was leaving Warwick nightclub in L.A. -- not too far from his brand new Bev Hills mansion -- when he started talking about his favorite thing in the world ... his bank account.

"I already made up a billion dollars," Floyd declared ... "That was easy!"

But is it true? It's definitely possible.

Before the McGregor fight, Forbes reported Mayweather had racked up slightly more than $700 MILLION in career boxing earnings.

And with a reported $300 to $400 mil payday for beating up Conor, it would definitely put Floyd over the top. Funny part is, Floyd says the McGregor fight check (and the Pacquiao check) haven't even been cashed yet.

Lil Wayne's got another one ... not a rap hit ... but another huge athlete for his Young Money APAA Sports & Entertainment Agency, this time signing a champion boxer to the team ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Wayne's new kid ain't some no-name prospect, its Erickson Lubin who's 18-0 and about to fight for the super welterweight championship of the world.

Lubin is fighting champion Jermell Charlo at the Barclays Center on October 14 and recently struck a pose with Young Money president Mack Maine, the guy responsible for bringing him to the team.

This is a huge move into boxing for Young Money, Lubin is a budding superstar and if he beats Charlo -- who's undefeated, too -- could be in line for some HUGE money fights.

Keep your hands up, kid.

Canelo vs. GGG was great for literally everyone (especially hookers) ... except the judges who doo-doo'd on boxing's big night -- so says the man who introduced the fighters.

We got Michael Buffer a couple days after the fight ... and the legendary ring announcer didn't hold back on Saturday's controversial scorecards -- guaranteeing us that Adalaide Byrd (the 118-110 Canelo judge) wouldn't be ringside for the rematch.

But Buffer gave us a pretty long list of winners from fight night -- Vegas, promoters, banks, bartenders and, of course, prostitutes!

Remember, Bishop Don "Magic" Juan has always said ... nothing brings hookers and johns together like a big fight!

Could you imagine having $600 MILLION in uncashed checks lying around the house?

Floyd Mayweather says that's exactly the case with him ... telling TMZ Sports he still has NOT cashed his massive checks from the Manny Pacquiao and the Conor McGregor fights.

Mayweather was leaving TAO in L.A. with his entourage Thursday night when he talked about everything from his health to his wealth.

Fun Fact: Floyd says he wants to bring his Las Vegas strip club business out to L.A. too -- "It's time for us to get a new gentleman's club out here. Girls Collection L.A."

Oh, and to prove he's serious about his fight checks ... Floyd says he plans to post 'em on social media later today. He reportedly made around $300 mil per fight.

Here's Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma serving notice to the rest of the NBA not to try him ... getting a lesson in the pugilistic arts from one of the most famous boxing trainers in the country.

Kuzma -- one of the Lakers summer league standouts -- headed over to the Team Watson Boxing Club in L.A., the city's new boxing hub, where champions like Leo Santa Cruz work out.

The lesson looks pretty intense (kid's got power) ... and it's definitely legit training 'cause the guy holding the mitts is Phil Paolina, an ex-fighter whose worked with celebs like J.Lo and even Bob Dylan.

Sergey Kovalev says he's "disappointed" Andre Ward is retiring from boxing because "I don't have opportunity to kick his ass again."

The Krusher joked to TMZ Sports that he predicted he would end Ward's career before their second fight back in June ... and now, "It's true!"

Of course, Kovalev and Ward fought twice over the past year -- with Ward officially winning both matches.

But Kovalev says the judges got it wrong ... he clearly won the first fight and was looking forward to fight #3 to settle what he believes is a 1-1 tie.

That said, Sergey definitely throws some shade at Ward as he sends the boxer off into the sunset -- explaining why the sport will be better off without Son of God.

Boxing superstar Andre Ward is officially hanging up his gloves -- retiring from the sport after 32 straight victories.

The 33-year-old superstar says he loves boxing and has learned so much from it -- but "my body can no longer put up with the rigors of the sport."

He added, "As I walk away from the sport of boxing today, I leave at the top of your glorious mountain, which was always my vision and my dream. I did it. We did it."

Ward is undefeated -- with a 32-0 record. He's the reigning light heavyweight champion of the world.

"If I cannot give my family, my team, and the fans everything that I have, then I should no longer be fighting," Ward added.

"Above all, I give God the Glory, for allowing me to do what I’ve done, for as long as I have."

Boxing champ Deontay Wilder has some advice for Eddie Lacy on how to deal with the online fat shamers who troll him on social media ... FIGHT 'EM JUST LIKE I DID!!!

Deontay's not joking ... he famously called out one of his biggest trolls a few years ago and beat the guy down in a boxing gym. It was epic.

So when Deontay saw Lacy telling ESPN about all the fat hate he gets from people on Twitter, the champ decided to impart some wisdom on the Seattle Seahawks running back.

But Deontay says there's a few things you MUST do before you throw hands -- get the troll to sign a legal waiver ALLOWING you to beat they ass. Once again, that's exactly what Deontay did.

And it worked.

Oscar De La Hoya tells TMZ Sports ... boxing officials ARE moving to suspend Adalaide Byrd, the judge who insanely scored the GGG vs. Canelo Alvarez fight 118 to 110.

Oscar joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs tonight on FS1) -- and expressed his outrage over the way Byrd scored the fight, despite the fact her decision benefited Canelo, who's Oscar's fighter.

"Atrocious," Oscar said ... "What the hell was she thinking?"

Oscar says he does believe Canelo should have won the fight -- but not by that lopsided of a score.

In the end, the fight was ruled a draw -- and if you watch the show tonight, you'll hear Oscar tell us the status of rematch conversations with Gennady Golovkin's people.

Roy Jones Jr. says Jake LaMotta is one of the 10 greatest fighters EVER -- and says the late, great boxer had a very real impact on his own legendary career.

"He taught me that no matter how tough things got, no matter how hard things got, you don't stop," Jones tells TMZ Sports.

"That's why he's called a Raging Bull. You don't stop for nothing."

As for why Jake belongs on the All-Time Top 10 list, Roy says the way he pushed Sugar Ray Robinson (widely considered to be the best boxer ever) to the brink 6 TIMES is one of the most incredible feats anyone has ever accomplished in the ring.

Jake died on Tuesday. He was 95.

A high end 4-star resort in Florida has hired an armed security team to protect the building from looters in the wake of Hurricane Irma ... and one of the officers is ex-boxing champ Michael Moorer.

Moorer was an absolute animal in the ring -- winning light heavyweight and heavyweight titles during his career with notable wins over guys like Evander Holyfield and Francois Botha.

Now, 49-year-old Moorer works for the famous Pinkerton Armed Response Security team -- which has been hired by the Hawks Cay Resort in Duck Key.

One source close to Moorer tells us Michael has been a private investigator for years and is also a licensed armed private security officer.

So how's he doing in Florida? We're told his team's undefeated.

Outrage be damned ... the GGG vs. Canelo fight was a legitimate draw, says George Foreman -- who tells TMZ Sports the fighters should have been gunning for a knockout instead of a decision.

Foreman says he watched the fight -- and thinks the judges collectively got it RIGHT scoring the match a draw because neither boxer fought well enough to walk away with the other man's titles.

"The best way to win a boxing match is by knockout. The Triple G man couldn't pull it off and the other guy was scoring points on making him miss."

Foreman continued, "You don't score points just by coming forward."

"In reality, they both came in as champions I would have allowed them both to leave as champions. I wouldn't have done any more than a draw."

A ton of big-name celebs are gonna be in the house for Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golvkin at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas ... and TMZ Sports knows some of the stars planning to attend.

Here's a partial guest list:

-- Chris Brown

-- LL Cool J

-- Michael Strahan

-- George Lopez

-- Mike Tyson

-- Michael Pena

-- Nate Diaz

-- JB Smoove

-- Maverick Carter

-- Mario Lopez

Mario's wife, Courtney, is set to sing the Star-Spangled Banner ... while international singing star, Lucero, will sing the Mexican national anthem.

Of course, Oscar De La Hoya -- Canelo's promoter -- will also be in attendance.

Al Sharpton is calling out Floyd Mayweather ... saying his recent comments on the way "real men" treat women are total CRAP ... and giving Money a little lesson on how to treat the ladies.

Floyd made the comments recently on "Hollywood Unlocked" when he said that Donald Trump's infamous "locker-room talk" (you've heard it) was just an example of how guys really talk.

It wasn't just that though, Floyd seemed to double down, and talked about touching women in a way that disgusted a lot of people.

We got Sharpton at LAX ... and when we asked his thoughts on Floyd's take, he gave Mayweather an old fashioned lesson in respect for women.

Listen up, Floyd.