Boxing

If any haters are still out there doubting Jake Paul ... boxing champ Lawrence Okolie clearly believes they need to drop that opinion ASAP -- praising the guy as the real deal in the ring following a sparring sesh with the former YouTuber on Wednesday.

Okolie and Paul traded blows at PrettyLittleThing founder Umar Kamani's Kamani Club in Dubai ... getting in work so intensely, they were drenched in sweat.

And, afterward, Okolie said Paul is no joke with the gloves.

"He's better than most boxers," the WBO cruiserweight world champ said, according to boxing reporter Michael Benson. "People just hate because of his influencer background."

Of course, many boxing fans have discredited Paul, despite his 6-0 record ... simply because none of his victories have come against actual boxers.

Paul, though, has tried to fight real boxers in the past few months ... setting up matches with both Tommy Fury and Hasim Rahman Jr. But, both bouts fell through before the first-round bell could sound.

Boxing star Aidos Yerbossynuly is currently in a medically-induced coma ... after the super middleweight was brutally knocked out in his first career loss on Saturday.

The 30-year-old went down in the final round of his Premier Boxing Champions bout against Cuban boxer David Morrell at the Minneapolis Armory in Minnesota.

In video from the event, the Kazakh boxer (17-1, 11 KOs) is shown attempting to dodge Morrell's punches when he was struck with a fierce right hook, knocking him down to the ground.

As Morrell (8-0, 7 KOs) celebrated in the ring, Yerbossynuly tried to stand up on his own ... but needed assistance from referee Tony Weeks, who then waved off the fight.

Yerbossynuly was clearly not okay ... falling backwards into the ropes.

He was taken to a nearby hospital after the loss -- the first of his 7-year boxing career -- and was put into a medically-induced coma following surgery on a subdural hematoma.

Morrell went to Twitter after the sad update on Yerbossynuly's condition ... saying even though he got the win, he's focusing on Aidos' recovery.

"It is a great moment for me but at the same time super hard for others," Morrell said.

"Let's pray for a super fast recovery and ponta for Aidos," he added. "God bless you and be with you."

Other boxers sent Aidos well wishes as well ... including Muhammad Ali's boxing grandson Nico Ali Walsh who wrote, "Please send many prayers to my Muslim brother Aidos Yerbossynuly for a speedy recovery."

A Premier Boxing Champions spokesperson said they are working with Aidos' team and TGB Promotions to monitor Yerbossynuly's situation.

Hasim Rahman Jr. isn't buying the hype surrounding Jake Paul ... telling TMZ Sports the Problem Child is not the hard-hitter people think he is -- calling him a "whole b****."

"A lot of people expect the right hand of Jake Paul to be this devastating punch," Hasim says. "I try to tell people he can't punch, but don't listen to me."

Remember, Hasim and Jake were supposed to cut the trash talk and fight for real on Aug. 6 ... but the bout was canceled due to a weight issue (although Rahman believes Jake purposely scrapped it out of fear).

Paul ended up taking on Anderson Silva -- and WINNING -- on Oct. 29 ... and Rahman tells us Spider committed the blunder of squaring up, a common mistake MMA fighters commit since they aren't used to boxing.

"He didn't hurt him when he knocked him down," Hasim says. "Anderson became square which means his legs were parallel, and he had no balance to catch himself from being hit."

"I think if he landed that same punch and Andersons not square," he added. "I highly doubt Anderson would've went down."

"Saying that, from the beginning, I think that Jake never really wanted to be in the ring with me," Rahman tells us. "I think he's a duck," he added.

Despite all that happened with Paul, Rahman tells us his focus is on his upcoming fight on Nov. 19 against Vitor Belfort in Texas -- and not on Jake, or his older brother, Logan, who he calls a "bigger b****."

"These guys have let the internet convince them in their minds that they are who they aren't," Rahman says. "We call them keyboard warriors. We still waiting on Logan to get a win."

"If Logan can go ahead and actually win a fight, we'll be in good business but until then, they really just keyboard warriors to me."

Boxing star Shakur Stevenson is back in the public eye for the first time since Takeoff's tragic murder ... but he did not speak about the events that went down that night.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Shakur was standing inches away from the Migos rapper just moments before he was fatally shot twice in Houston.

Stevenson went silent on social media in the days following the shooting -- aside from a tweet honoring his friend, saying, "R.I.P Takeoff 🙏🏾"

On Thursday, Shakur returned to his usual routine by joining the "Spit Bucket Podcast" to talk boxing ... and he seemed pretty composed throughout the interview.

The topic of Takeoff was not brought up ... probably for a couple reasons.

One, there is an active investigation into what went down that night ... and there may not be much Shakur can get really discuss at this time.

The other -- the incident literally happened just days ago ... and it's understandable to consider Shakur isn't mentally ready to talk about it.

Jake Paul is fresh off beating Anderson Silva ... but could he actually help his brother, Logan, come away with the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, too?!?!

It certainly looks like a possibility ... with the Problem Child touching down in Saudi Arabia for the Maverick's huge Crown Jewel match against Roman Reigns!

It's a huge moment for Logan -- it's just his third WWE fight ever ... and he's going up against one of the greatest wrestlers in the promotion's history, who's currently the longest-reigning Universal Champion ever.

There have been rumblings Jake could make a surprise debut if Logan runs into trouble ... which would certainly be electric.

But, RR wouldn't be alone -- the Usos are also reportedly slated to be in attendance for the event.

TMZ Sports previously spoke with Logan AND Jake about the possibility of joining forces in the WWE ... and they both loved the idea.

Roman has previously talked about their abilities as well ... praising the two for what they've been able to do in their respective careers.

Nikki Bella is convinced Logan Paul can be the next huge thing in the WWE ... telling TMZ Sports she believes the former YouTuber is "the total package" in the ring.

We spoke with Nikki, who was with her sister, Brie, out in LA this week ... and she raved about Paul's potential -- just days before he's slated to fight Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship in Saudi Arabia.

"He's an amazing wrestler," Nikki said of Jake's older bro. "I think he proved that at WrestleMania. He's a good storyteller. He has charisma. He speaks well on the mic."

"Like, he's the total package as a WWE superstar."

Brie cosigned ... adding, "He has all the tools to be a big star there."

Brie did, though, say Logan will have to continue to work hard to reach his sky-high potential ... telling us the biz ain't exactly easy.

As for if there's any harboring of ill will toward the 27-year-old receiving a championship opportunity this early into his WWE career -- the "Total Divas" stars told us they certainly wouldn't feel bitter about it at all.

"In the entertainment business, nothing is fair, but that's life," said Brie, before Nikki added, "The crowd reacts to him, and you got to listen to your fans, and the fans want it."

Saved by the bell big comfy chair!!!

Mike Tyson is SUPER fortunate his podcast setup is surrounded by fluffy furniture ... 'cause he was nearly KO'ed after jumping on a skateboard with Tony Hawk, but, fortunately, he landed safely on a chair instead.

Iron Mike just posted footage of the almost-disastrous scene ... showing him playing around with Hawk while filming another episode of "Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson."

Hawk appeared to be trying to teach the boxing legend how to skate -- and when the 56-year-old jumped on the board, Tony cheered!

The problem? Tyson couldn't quite dismount properly ... and almost ate it!

Thankfully, after knocking into a wooden chair and a makeshift wall, he parked onto a seat cushion ... and acted like nothing happened.

Of course, Tyson is no stranger to bustin' his ass on boards ... back in 2015, he fell so hard off a hoverboard, he had to be on bed rest for a week.

Tyson poked fun at it all in a caption on the vid, writing, "Lucky that chair was there or it would have been a repeat of the hoverboard scare."

The ACE family has a new estate to call home ... we've learned they've been renting out a $5 million dollar mansion in Hollywood and their monthly payment is five figures.

Our real estate sources tell us Austin and Catherine McBroom have been leasing the 5-bedroom home for $20,000 a month.

The newly constructed farmhouse is 4,900 square feet and it's got a home theater with leather recliners and a pool. The family room, living room and main suite all have fireplaces, and there's a firepit in a covered lounge next to the pool.

The main suite also has a walk-in closet, spa shower and a private deck and balcony ... and the home is outfitted with all the latest built-in technology.

Renting a multi-million dollar mansion is a change of pace for the ACE family ... remember, Austin and Catherine used to own a mega-property in Woodland Hills, but it was foreclosed on in 2021 and sold to another pair of YouTube stars ... Alan and Alex Stokes.

Boxing star Shakur Stevenson was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Takeoff right before the rapper was shot and killed early Tuesday morning in Houston, TMZ Sports has learned.

Thankfully, Shakur wasn't physically injured.

25-year-old Stevenson, a former champ who's regarded as one of the best fighters in the world, was seen on video directly next to the Migos rapper ... wearing a blue hat as an argument turned deadly.

Shakur is from New Jersey ... but now lives in Houston. He was seen partying with Jas Prince earlier in the week. He's also friends with the Migos.

Takeoff was tragically murdered around 2:30 AM Tuesday morning outside of a bowling alley called 810 Billiards & Bowling ... following a heated argument between Quavo and another man.

It's during the verbal altercation that Shakur was seen next to Takeoff.

Houston PD has asked witnesses to come forward to recount their side of the story. It's unclear if police have been in contact with Stevenson or his people.

Despite losing in the ring on Saturday, Uriah Hall is advising Le'Veon Bell to continue fighting, telling the former NFL star to ignore the haters telling him to quit!

If you missed it ... Bell -- who last played for the Bucs and Ravens in 2021 -- fought the ex-UFC star on the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva card at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Bell and Hall went at it for four founds ... and Le'Veon lost by unanimous decision.

The trolls went after Bell following the loss, saying the sport of boxing is way out of the running back's league ... but Hall hopes Bell ignores the haters.

"Don’t you dare listen to the naysayers," Hall said on Sunday in a IG post, "and don’t you dare give up on your dreams."

"Only dare to do great things 👊🏿"

Bell thanked the former middleweight MMA fighter for the advice and for getting in the ring with him for his first professional fight.

"It was truly an honor to share the ring with you bro," the 3-time Pro Bowler said, "nothin but the upmost respect from me ✊🏾 true class, elite fighter, even better person 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾"

This loss for Bell surely doesn't mean his pro boxing career is over ... in fact, Bell told us his goal is to ultimately become a champion.

"Honestly, I'm trying to be the best, Bell told us last week, "I wanna be a champion at some point."

Jake Paul just went toe-to-toe with former UFC champion Anderson Silva -- and WON -- coming away with his hand raised in an incredibly impressive bout on Saturday.

The Problem Child and Spider beat each other up for eight rounds ... but neither fighter could finish with a knockout.

Jake, however, had the lone knockdown of the fight in the 8th round ... after a short right to Silva's head.

Paul got the dub via unanimous decision in Phoenix ... and now the former YouTuber-turned-superstar says he wants to go up against Canelo Alvarez or Nate Diaz.

Jake grabbed the mic after the win ... saying Diaz is a b*tch and he'd love to add him to his list of victims.

He also went after Canelo ... saying he wants a piece of the boxing champ, too.

But when it came to Silva, the two showed nothing but respect for each other after the fight ... with Jake explaining how much Anderson has meant to him over the years.

Jake gave a message to the haters, too ... saying people will always find a reason to doubt him.

The fight was insanely close -- but ultimately, Jake landed more significant punches.

Jake Paul -- 6-0.

Conor McGregor, Tommy Fury, Nate Diaz, KSI ... Logan Paul?!?!

Jake Paul says he'd actually consider going to war with his own blood in the boxing ring after he beats up on Anderson Silva on Saturday ... telling TMZ Sports he's ready to set up some MASSIVE fights.

Of course, the Problem Child and Spider will be squaring off in the ring in Phoenix just hours from now ... but we couldn't help but ask who he's eyeing after this weekend's big event.

Paul says there will be people lining up to fight him after he comes away with the W ... and if his brother, Logan, ends up being one of them, Jake says he'd entertain the idea!!

"Heck, I could fight Logan Paul," Jake said. "Why not?"

Now, Jake and Logan's mom has previously been adamantly against it ... but as both guys continue their own respective careers, fans have been dying to see it.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Jake is 5-0 -- potentially 6-0 after Saturday night -- but Logan has yet to win in a pro fight. He did go up against Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition bout, though ... and folks were impressed with how he was able to hold his own.

Will Smith was in a dark place after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, but he had a champion in his corner -- the actor says Floyd Mayweather called him every day for 10-straight days after the incident, just to make sure he was doing okay.

Smith made the revelation during a private screening of his new "Emancipation" movie at The London hotel ... and with Floyd in attendance, he took a moment to praise TBE for being there for him, even though they weren't exactly best buds at the time.

"I want to say something also about Floyd," Smith said in video obtained by TMZ Sports. "So, we've met each other, we've seen each other around, but we weren't like, friends."

"And, the day after the Oscars, for 10 days he called me every day," Smith added. "And, he was like, 'Ay, you know you the champ, right? You good? You know you the champ, right? I want you to hear my voice say it,'"

"That was every day he called me ... and it's like, that's my dude forever right there."

Smith has rarely spoken about the slapping incident -- he only released an apology video back in July -- so to hear him go into detail about the days following the incident is incredibly rare.

As for the film, Mayweather loved it.

“Emancipation captures an important time in history. The movie has me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire film,” Floyd tells us.

Producer Deon Taylor, Floyd's partner on his upcoming docuseries, "The GOAT," also spoke at the screening. Jona Rechnitz and James McNair, part of the production team, were also in the house for the viewing.

This is really sweet.

Floyd Mayweather didn't only hook up two young fans in a major way, gracing the boys with some spending cash and a promise of tickets to an NBA game ... the boxing legend spent quality time with the youngsters, and even gave an impromptu "interview."

We're told the two young fans were selling candy/waiting for Floyd outside the Ritz in Los Angeles. When Mayweather saw them, he busted out his wallet and handed each a Benjamin ... and even answered a few hard-hitting questions.

"Floyd Mayweather, how do you feel about stopping boxing?" the future reporter asked.

TBE answered ... "You know how it is. Our philosophy is 'Never stop getting it!'"

The interviewer shot back, "The internet says you stopped boxing 'cause you're 40 years old."

Floyd laughed, amused by the question.

Mayweather also told the kids he was going to hook them up with some tickets to an upcoming NBA game at Crypto.com Arena.

And the kids were super excited! In fact, Floyd's buddy, Jona Rechnitz, says one of the kids, after learning about the tix, said "We always sell chocolates to people leaving the arena but we've never been inside the arena before."

Anderson Silva's fight with Jake Paul is still on -- the MMA legend has been cleared to compete in the boxing match, an Arizona athletic commission ruled Thursday night.

The big last-minute meeting was called after the website MMA Weekly posted an interview with Silva ... where the 47-year-old MMA G.O.A.T. admitted to being "knocked out" twice during a training session before the fight.

Anderson, who speaks English as a second language, quickly issued a statement saying he inadvertently used "knockout" instead of "knockdown." He also revealed the interview was almost 2 weeks old, despite just being released this week.

The Commission could've pulled Silva's license at any time ... so the meeting was a huge deal not just for Anderson.

Chairman Scott Fletcher said he was "completely comfortable" letting Silva fight ... after coming away satisfied with how well Anderson spoke when answering questions.

Commissioner Dr. Ara Feinstein, who's also a surgeon and ringside physician, reviewed Silva's neurological report and MRI, and saw no issues with the results.

"I was NEVER knocked out in sparring," Silva told us after the scandal broke, continuing ... "I misspoke in that interview as I sometimes do when interviewing in English and exaggerated the normal back-and-forth action that occurs in sparring."

"This sparring session I referenced was in early September. The interview with MMA Weekly was done on Sept. 13 and, for some reason, just released this week. So, it wasn't recent."

Cam Shaw -- an undefeated boxer from the U.K. -- tragically passed away this week ... after drowning while snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

He was only 25 years old.

The 4-0 featherweight fighter and his girlfriend met up with two of his friends in Cairns -- the gateway to Australia's Great Barrier Reef -- for a snorkeling experience on Monday.

Unfortunately, Shaw drowned during the expedition.

A Queensland Police spokesperson says Shaw's death is under investigation ... but "it is believed non-suspicious."

Shaw's father, Rod, told the York Press that he taught his son how to swim when he was almost three years old and he was a strong swimmer.

"He was a fit lad," Rod said.

"He had just spent a season in New Zealand and he wanted to see one of the seven wonders of the world - the Great Barrier Reef."

Shaw turned pro in 2019 after winning the Amateur Boxing Association's Elite 60KG title in 2018 and the gold medal at Hvidovre Box Cup in 2017. He went on to win his first four pro fights.

"Cam excelled at everything he did and we didn't realize just how popular he was until now," his father added. "We have been blown away."