Boxing

Let the trash talk begin!!!!

Logan Paul and KSI are ripping a page from Mayweather vs. McGregor and holding a massive news conference at the L.A. Coliseum for their full-contact beatdown ... and it's all going down this weekend!

As we previously reported, the two social media stars have agreed to fight each other on August 25 in Manchester, England ... and there's talk it could bring in more viewers than Conor vs. Floyd.

Besides Logan and KSI, both of their younger brothers -- Jake Paul and Deji -- will also be participating in the presser ... since they're also fighting each other that night.

Logan is taking the fight VERY seriously -- he's been training like a maniac and beating the hell out of his sparring partners.

KSI has trained up at Floyd Mayweather's gym in Vegas ... and already has one boxing victory under his belt.

Surprise, surprise ...

Ya just knew Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin were not about to walk away from MILLIONS ... finally hammering out a deal to set up boxing's long-anticipated rematch ... this according to Oscar De La Hoya.

Despite the fact the two sides were at loggerheads for months, ODLH tweeted out moments ago that a deal has been made and the fight is set for Sept. 15!

Oscar had previously set a noon deadline for GGG to accept his final offer, but c'mon ... with that much money on the line, everyone on the planet knew the deadline wasn't REALLY a deadline.

Noon came and went ... and finally at 2 PM, the deal was announced.

Oscar's problem was the GGG's camp wanted a 50/50 revenue share -- and Oscar said that was WAY too much money.

Unclear what the final deal entails.

The rematch was originally slated for Cinco de Mayo, but it was derailed when Canelo tested positive twice for PED. As we reported ... Canelo started training again, only this time he knows his next opponent. The fight's set to happen at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas.

He's got no opponent yet ... but Canelo Alvarez has returned to his boxing gym to start training -- while his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, is now turning up the heat on Gennady Golovkin.

Remember, Oscar said the GGG train had left the station because Gennady's team refused to budge from their negotiating terms ... they wanted a 50/50 revenue split.

Oscar said that wouldn't happen ... and told the media Canelo was now focusing on trying to make a deal with other fighters, including Daniel Jacobs.

But moments ago, De La Hoya went to Twitter and wrote, "Tic-Toc, Tic-Toc. If any fight freaks see @GGGBoxing in Russia, perhaps you can lend him a pen. #whereisGGG."

So, seems like the GGG train hasn't left the station after all.

Both sides have said they want a Sept. 15 fight date -- our bet is the two sides will work something out before then.

Wondering if Mike Tyson still hates Don King? The answer's yes. How much? A lot ... 'cause the legendary boxer straight-up chucked his drink at the promoter Saturday night!!

It all went down at the Boxing Hall Of Fame Induction Weekend in Canastota, NY ... when King tried to give Tyson a friendly tap on the shoulder ... and Mike returned the gesture with some water to his face!!

Tyson's explanation for it was pretty simple the following day -- WE AIN'T FRIENDS!!

"He talked in there like he was my friend and that was just bullcrap," Tyson said.

"He really did me in."

Remember, Iron Mike and Don have had beef for a long time ... with Tyson at one point suing him for $100 MILLION alleging Don cheated him out of a TON of money when he used to promote Mike's fights.

KSI is gonna wanna see this ...

Here's Logan Paul beating the dog snot out of his sparring partner during a recent training session -- and ending it all with a CLEAN knockdown shot to the face!!!

TMZ Sports got our hands on the footage of a recent workout for Paul's August 25 boxing match against KSI ... a fight that some say could get more viewers than Mayweather vs. McGregor.

The YouTube star is clearly taking the fight seriously ... he's been training like a maniac and looks pretty solid in this video.

Check out the footwork, the power and the speed ... it's genuinely impressive for an amateur.

Sources tell us Paul has been training in Los Angeles -- and we know his brother, Jake Paul (who's also fighting on the card) -- has been reaching out to pro fighters to get him ready.

FYI, Paul and KSI are both MASSIVE social media stars -- and are fighting to show the world they're no punks.

In fact, KSI -- who has over 18 MILLION followers on YouTube -- already fought earlier this year against Joe Weller and beat his ass.

He's been doing some training at Floyd Mayweather's TMT gym in Vegas.

Muhammad Ali's ex-wife says Donald Trump is wasting his time if he's considering pardoning the legendary boxer ... telling TMZ Sports he should focus his energy on the LIVING!

We spoke with Khalilah Ali -- who was married to Muhammad from '67 to '76 -- and she was shocked when she watched Trump tell the media he was considering pardoning Ali ... presumably for his conviction for resisting the draft in 1971.

That conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court ... so, as Khalilah pointed out, "There's no necessary need for a pardon."

"I think [Trump] probably was a fan of Ali and he thought he would say something positive about him. That might be it ... but it's a little too late."

Khalilah says if Trump really respects what Ali stood for ... he would "pardon" the NFL players who knelt during the national anthem -- and by that, she means Trump should stop trashing them for standing up for what they believe in.

Floyd Mayweather isn't ALL smiles over his top rank on Forbes' highest paid athletes list this year ... telling TMZ Sports he shoulda been technically No. 1 AND No. 4!!

"Conor's at No. 4 because of me," Floyd said of the UFC superstar he boxed back in August.

"I'm No. 1, and the guy that's No. 4 is because of me."

The shade over the Irish fighter didn't stop there -- especially when we asked if he thinks Conor can ever get to his No. 1 spot.

"Absolutely not. Conor McGregor can never get to No. 1 without Floyd Mayweather."

For the record ... Forbes credited Floyd with making $285 mil the last 12 months, and Conor with $99 mil. Their respective purses from their monster summer fight were estimated to be around $200 mil and $70 mil ... so Floyd might have a point.

Bad news for Conor McGregor ... Floyd Mayweather's changed his mind about an MMA fight -- telling TMZ Sports he's way too busy to take a fight in the Octagon any time soon.

"I'm not thinking about fighting right now," Floyd told us while shopping with his crew in Beverly Hills.

Remember, Floyd was flirting with the idea of taking an MMA fight in 2018 -- with his eyes on McGregor -- and even reached out to UFC champ Tyron Woodley to set up a training program.

But Floyd says life has gotten in the way ... and he's been spending way too much time focusing on his family and growing his real estate business.

In fact, Floyd says he's a MAJOR investor in One Vanderbilt -- which he says will be the tallest skyscraper in New York.

Floyd says he's got more than $100,000,000 invested in NYC real estate projects -- and that's more important to him right now than learning a new combat sport.

The good news ... Floyd isn't completely closing the door on MMA, and insists he's keeping himself in shape just in case.

Stay tuned ...

Floyd Mayweather is distancing himself from Donald Trump ... telling TMZ Sports he doesn't consider POTUS a real friend -- despite showing serious support for Trump for years.

For the record, Floyd visited with Trump after he won the election back in November and has defended Trump's "Access Hollywood" comments as stuff a "real man" says.

So, when we saw Floyd out shopping in Bev Hills, we asked how he felt about his friend's stance on the national anthem.

"Hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up," Floyd said ... "Friends is a strong word."

Floyd proceeded to point out some guys he considers real friends and then explained his relationship with Trump is WAY more casual.

"I know a lot of people. I knew Barack Obama. I know Donald Trump. I know a lot of people."

But, when it comes to the his opinion on the Philadelphia Eagles and the national anthem, Floyd says he's staying mum ... "I don't want my name in no bullshit. I'm out of it."

Rick Ross wants to brush up his fighting skills -- so, he strapped on the gloves and hit the boxing gym with Adrien Broner ... and he looks pretty good!

Tha Boss was throwing some decent jabs, some combos and a hard right hand ... even knocked Broner's mitt right off!

Not saying Ross is ready to take a pro fight or anything ... but he's moving pretty well -- especially after recovering from a medical scare back in March.

Broner's last fight was back in April -- when he fought to a draw against Jessie Vargas. There are reports the two are closing in on a deal for a rematch.

UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber says Conor McGregor is his "boy" -- but even he wants to know ... WHEN ARE YOU COMING BACK?!

McGregor hasn't fought in the Octagon since Nov. 2016 when he defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. Of course, he boxed Floyd Mayweather in August 2017 ... and reportedly made around $100 mil.

Floyd had said he wants his next fight to be in the Octagon -- but he hasn't signed a contract and even Dana White has said he has no idea when the Irishman will fight again ... if ever.

So, when we saw Faber out in Hollywood with Patrick Schwarzenegger ... we asked if he knows anything!

"I don't know what the f*ck's up with Conor ... that's my boy," Faber told TMZ Sports.

Boxing champ Vasyl Lomachenko tells TMZ Sports ... he's 100% down to fight Gervonta Davis in December when he recovers from shoulder surgery -- but ONLY if Davis comes up to his weight class.

The Ukrainian superstar was out shopping in Beverly Hills -- just one month after winning the WBA lightweight title over Jorge Linares ... and told us he's already thinking about his next fight!

Lomachenko says he knows he'll probably fight Mikey Garcia down the line ... but Davis is a realistic opponent for December.

Davis is the IBF and WBA super featherweight champ ... but Lomachenko says he won't go down to Gervonta's class to fight him there -- Tank needs to come up to 135.

Well, now we know why Floyd Mayweather took his private jet to Mexico ... his sister got married this weekend in Cabo!

Floyd -- along with several TMT staffers and bodyguards -- hit up the Paradisus Los Cabos resort to watch his sister, Deltricia Tawanna Howard, trade "I Dos" with her boyfriend George Forte III.

The ceremony was super romantic -- it all went down on the beach in front of the crashing waves. Floyd rocked a pretty slick white suit.

The rest of the weekend was lit, too ... parties, dancing, ATV excursions and a fireworks celebration when the bride and groom tied the knot!

They love Floyd Mayweather in Mexico!!

Check out the welcome banner Floyd got at Los Cabos Mexico International Airport on Thursday ... when his private jet touched down for a little getaway south of the border.

We spoke with a rep at the airport who told us it was just a "friendly" little gesture to welcome Mayweather and his crew.

Floyd got the VIP treatment once his PJ landed -- a pimped-out sprinter van took Floyd and the rest of his Money Team to their fancy resort.

Floyd has REALLY racked up the miles this year -- vacationing everywhere from Dubai to Singapore and Monaco, Thailand, Bali, Turks and Caicos and L.A.

Donald Trump announced he was posthumously pardoning the first black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson on Thursday ... and it seems a lot of credit goes to Sylvester Stallone!!

Johnson was convicted more than 100 years ago of violating the Mann Act by transporting a white woman across state lines.

The conviction, largely seen as racist and an abuse of the legal system, has been urged by many in the boxing community to be pardoned for years.

But, per POTUS, it was Rocky himself who swayed him to make the full pardon, tweeting back in April:

"Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial. Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!"

On Thursday, Trump made that happen.

And just a few minutes ago, Sly and boxing studs Lennox Lewis and Deontay Wilder celebrated the move with a punchy photo op in Washington D.C.

Canelo Alvarez is playing with fire ... vacationing in Mexico, despite blaming his positive PED test on tainted meat.

Remember, Canelo is adamant he didn't intentionally take clenbuterol before his scheduled fight with Gennady Golovkin, saying he unintentionally consumed tainted Mexican beef

Alvarez says he moved his training camp from Mexico to the United States to avoid these problems, but now he's back in his home country, and boxing fans have gotta be hoping he's going meat free.

Oscar De La Hoya -- Canelo's promoter -- says he will fight in September ... whether or not it's GGG.