Boxing

Madonna's confirming she's got a knockout new boo ... this one's a young boxer boy toy, and they're already in PDA mode.

The 64-year-old singer went IG official Tuesday with 29-year-old Josh Popper ... she posted a shot of them smooching while wearing black masks -- very Ye-ish, TBH (sans antisemitism). Madge captioned the pic, "Killers who are partying."

She said they were making out at a Purium party, and she was dressed as Queen Esther -- maybe not a historically-accurate look, but it's not like anyone's gonna tell Madonna.

The Queen of Pop was spotted earlier this week with Josh, supporting him ringside at one of his recent matches in NYC.

FYI -- Josh hasn't turned pro yet in the boxing world, only competing in a few fights so far ... although he's made it clear that's his dream. Before stepping into the ring, he was a defensive lineman at Rowan University.

He's also featured on the latest season of Bravo's "Summer House" as a boxing coach to cast member Samantha Feher.

You'll recall, Madonna called it off with her model BF Andrew Darnell 2 weeks ago -- soon after getting criticized for the way she looked at this year's Grammy Awards.

Jake Paul says his fight with Tommy Fury was soiled from the start -- The Problem Child just revealed he had a wet dream before his loss to TNT ... which wasted all the testosterone he was building up for weeks.

Jake went into perhaps too much detail on his brother Logan's "Impaulsive" podcast this week ... when he admitted his, umm, "release" pissed him off to the point where it may have factored into how he performed in the ring.

Logan -- who says he experienced the same problem prior to his fight against KSI -- explained the reasoning behind the practice ... saying Jake was "building his batch" so he could rack up so much testosterone, he'd turn into an "angry f***ing fighter."

Only problem is -- Jake had a lil accident just hours before the fight ... wasting two weeks of holding it all in.

Jake described how he felt right after he realized what happened ... saying, "I f***ed myself -- literally -- over."

"I literally woke up in a panic, like, 'F***. F***, f***, f***, f***.'"

Jake isn't blaming his whole loss on the wet dream, though ... saying, "I think it's one of many reasons."

Logan sympathizes with Jake ... saying, "I remember when it happened to me, mentally, I was kinda destroyed a little bit."

"You had just done this thing that isn't easy for three weeks to a month, holding your batch in ... it's not easy. And then, on the day of the f***ing fight, all your progress is destroyed. You're back to zero."

"And, it isn't a little release, either, by the way. It's like ... it's a lot, dude."

Of course, Jake lost to Tommy via split decision in Saudi Arabia ... and if there's a rematch, he's gotta be hoping he can hold it in next time.

Mercedes Mone is putting the wrestling world on NOTICE ... telling TMZ Sports she'll fight any wrestler, anywhere, anytime -- saying, "I turn down to nobody."

We spoke to Mercedes -- formerly known as Sasha Banks in the WWE -- after she captured the IWGP championship in her New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) debut last month ... and she was hyped about performing in front of her family and friends.

"It was a moment I'm always going to remember," Mone said. "It's probably my second favorite moment of my career thus far and that's saying a lot because I've done so much in professional wrestling."

Mercedes said competing in front of a sold-out crowd at the San Jose Civic Center in California -- close to where she grew up -- was special ... adding working with her opponent, Kairi, who she defeated to become champ, was an incredible experience.

Mone told us now that she's the IWGP champ, she's got big plans. In addition to showing off her gold on red carpets, she also called out Japanese pro wrestler AZM ahead of her scheduled appearance at Sakura Genesis in Tokyo on April 8.

"I wanna see who's ready for Mercedes Mone," the champ said. "I'm always here for the check. I'm always here for the bag and whoever has the biggest bag is where I'm gonna go."

Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors are two peas in a pod -- so much so, in fact, they say they wanna follow in the footsteps of two other legends ... Bob and Al.

The actors sat down with NYT to talk about their new movie, "Creed III," which is out in theaters and, so far, cleaning up nicely -- both in terms of box office and critic reviews. Not just that, but their dynamic/explosive chemistry on-screen is the talk of the town right now.

In the Q&A, JM and MBJ are very complimentary of each other. At one point, the interviewer asks whose opinion they value the most when it comes to 'Creed.' Majors says he only really cared what Mike thought ... which prompts the interviewer to ask the next logical question.

NYT says, "The way you two talk about each other, it sounds like this is the first of many collaborations to come," to which MBJ says ... "It is. We plan on it." Then, the haymaker ... Majors follows up and says, "De Niro and Pacino."

To that, Mike says this ... "We’re excited about that, and I have those conversations with him. Acting is such a solo journey, where you’re fighting for your place on that call sheet for such a long time. So when you’ve got somebody that doesn’t care as much about that stuff, it’s like, 'Let’s go. How much damage can we do together?' Majors responds, "All of it."

In other words, they're ready to paint the town red with more movies, it seems -- and it also sounds like both Mike and Jon fancy themselves as good as two acting greats ... but the internet doesn't necessarily agree, both in the duo comparison and the one-on-one résumés.

Fact is, Al and Bob were only in a small handful of movies together -- "Heat" and "Godfather Pt. 2" being the most famous, before "The Irishman" came around -- and each of them had stellar catalogs of critically-acclaimed flicks under their belt well before they ever collab'd.

So, the juxtaposition doesn't quite make sense there. But, more importantly, some feel like they're jumping the gun ... as neither JM or MBJ have been in enough movies to warrant such lofty esteem. Even in terms of chops, there's questions ... on Mike's end, specifically.

While just about everyone's stoked at the notion that these two studs are planning on working together more -- seeing how they are great in "Creed III," by all accounts -- the way it's coming out is getting a little side-eye. Just a smidge, though ... mostly by film snobs.

Paddy Pimblett's beef with Jake Paul is still very much a thing ... and, uh, so much for not kickin' a guy when he's down!

The UFC star recently spoke to TMZ Sports, and let's just say he wasn't impressed with The Problem Child's performance during his 8-round, split decision loss to Tommy Fury last Sunday in Saudi Arabia.

"It seems to me like Tommy Fury was boxing bad against his last few opponents on purpose, know what I mean? Or Jake Paul's just a terrible boxer, even more worse than I thought. I was giving him more credit than I thought he deserved," Pimblett told us.

Of course, one judge scored the fight 75-74 (4 rounds apiece, but Jake had a 10-8 round in the 8th), while the other two had it 76-73 (6 rounds to 2 for Tommy).

"Tommy won anyway and I thought it wasn't a split decision, either. I thought it was a unanimous decision. He won most rounds."

Now, the 28-year-old speaking out against Paul isn't new -- remember, the two stars went back and forth last year after Pimblett suggested his fight against Anderson Silva was fixed.

Jake even offered Paddy $1 million if the UFC fighter could beat him in a 5-round sparring session. That hasn't happened, yet ... so we asked Pimblett if he's still down to do it.

"Yeah, if he wants to," Pimblett said. "I don't give a f***. I'll spar with anyone."

In the meantime, Pimblett's getting into the fitness business, releasing a workout supplement, Paddy “The Baddy” Everything Ultimate Pre-Workout with ABE that's only sold at The Vitamin Shoppe ... and he's stoked.

"It's my lil' boost of coffee in the morning to wake me up and make me get up and actually get out and see the day," Pimblett said.

Frank Gore just cut a deal with prosecutors, TMZ Sports has learned ... agreeing to plead guilty to an ordinance violation to close out his domestic violence case.

The San Francisco 49ers legend pled guilty to violating the public health nuisance code in New Jersey on Monday -- a downgrade from his initial charge of simple assault. He was ordered to pay fines and fees, which, according to court records, totaled around $2,000.

His other false imprisonment charge in the case was dismissed.

It's somewhat surprising, considering the heinous allegations against him. You'll recall, the former NFL running back was accused of grabbing a naked 28-year-old woman by her hair on July 31, 2022 and dragging her across the 59th floor of the Tropicana Casino's Havana Tower in Atlantic City.

At the time, police who spoke with the woman said she "did not exhibit signs of injury" following the incident. But, Gore was ultimately charged after cops said they further investigated the claims.

Frank, 39, never publicly commented on the matter.

Jon Jones spent his entire career in the light heavyweight division, but, not anymore ... the UFC legend is now a heavyweight, and we're seeing JJ's physique for the first time!

35-year-old Jones posed for promotional photos on March 1 ahead of his UFC 285 fight with 32-year-old former interim champ Ciryl Gane ... and you can clearly see 6'4" Jon packed on some serious size.

Jones systematically bulked up, adding muscle over the last 2+ years. When his fight with Alexander Gustafsson was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame last fall, Jon told the crowd he weighed 255 lbs.

It's unclear how much he tips the scales at now, but Jon previously stated he was aiming to weigh 270 lbs. heading into fight week, before cutting a few pounds to make the heavyweight limit of 265 lbs.

FYI, Jones weighed 204 lbs. for his last fight against Dominick Reyes ... which he won by unanimous decision.

Of course, Jones is the greatest LHW (205 lb.) fighter to ever step foot in an MMA cage ... but, there's a reason weight classes exist. Size matters, despite what you've heard.

As for his opponent, Gane is a bonafide heavyweight. He's 6'5", and weighed 247 lbs. for his last fight against Tai Tuivasa.

Mike Perry says Jake Paul's trainer was livid he posted a fake "script" purporting to break down what'd happen during each round of Paul vs. Fury ... telling TMZ Sports he received an angry message in his DMs.

Once Perry shared the document titled "Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury Script - Revision #4 - Final" with his hundreds of thousands of followers, it went viral. The script indicated Jake would beat Tommy Fury by TKO in the 8th round of their fight.

Obviously, that's not what happened (Fury beat Paul via split decision). Still, the script played into the conspiracy theorists' narrative that Jake's fights aren't real, and that clearly ticked off his team. The timing didn't help, either. It was released just hours before the fight and caused a headache for all involved.

"It was an Instagram post I think my buddy sent me," Perry said, explaining how he wound up with the script.

"I tweeted it and it's probably my best tweet of all time, probably. It got a lot of attention. People talked a lot of trash on me for it. Whatever."

But, Mike says it wasn't just Jake's fans that were angry, but also people close to the Problem Child.

"Jake's coach wrote me and was upset about his reputation," Perry says, explaining how Paul's coach made the case they always treated the former UFC star with respect.

But, Mike doesn't see the situation the same way.

"Ya know I was thinking, well, Jake never cared about my reputation when he posted a video of what I said to him at practice, trying to coach him up and be a part of the team, and give him that work. And he put that [training footage] out there," Perry countered, referencing Jake's decision to post training footage where Paul got the best of Perry while sparring.

We asked Mike how he responded to Jake's trainer BJ Flores -- whom Perry implies was the coach who sent the message.

"I didn't really respond to his coach's messages. I didn't respond to it. I just kind of looked past it. It's part of the game."

FYI, Flores is Jake's head coach and was a respected boxer in his own right. In fact, BJ fought for a cruiserweight world title in 2016.

Despite the drama, MP says ... "I like BJ Flores," but clearly he has no regrets about posting the script.

"The script was hilarious, it was funny, I guess just a joke."

We also talked to Mike about his thoughts on the actual fight (he says he wasn't very impressed with either boxer), and whether he has any interest in fighting Jake and/or Tommy.

"I could beat either one of those guys. Maybe they're not ready for me, and someone of my experience," while making it clear he's open if fans want to see either bout.

Pro boxer Joseph "JoJo" Diaz -- a former champ who fought Devin Haney back in 2021 -- was arrested in the Los Angeles area on Monday ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Jail records show Diaz was taken into custody by the Claremont Police Dept. just before 7 PM. Law enforcement sources tell us he was booked on a charge of misdemeanor child neglect.

The specific allegations against Diaz are still not clear ... but records show he was released on Tuesday afternoon.

The 30-year-old fighter holds a 32-3-1 pro record. He famously won the IBF super featherweight title back in 2020.

Diaz went on to fight Haney in 2021 -- but lost. Earlier that year, he was in talks for a match with Ryan Garcia, but they ultimately fell through.

Tommy Fury is back on his home turf -- the boxing star just touched down in London following his huge win over Jake Paul ... and he's putting his new belt on full display.

Tommy, Tyson and John made their way through the airport on Monday ... and the Furys were happy as could be, posing for pics and meeting with fans.

It's been a wild 24 hours for the Fury fam -- Tommy went 8 rounds with Jake and earned the split decision win in Saudi Arabia ... and they've been celebrating ever since.

Aside from a bandage over his right eye, Tommy looks pretty clean ... and he appears to be in good health.

Tyson was turning heads going through the airport, too ... but his hot pink luggage might be responsible for that.

After the fight, Tommy said he was eager to spend time with Molly-Mae Hague and their newborn daughter, Bambi ... and now that he's back home, we're sure some much-needed R&R is on the horizon.

As for Jake, he's bummed about the loss ... but he can wipe his tears with the $30 million he claimed to make off the fight.

Shawn Porter had the best seat in the house for Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury -- he called the fight -- and the former 2x welterweight world champion tells us the judges screwed up ... The Problem Child won!

"I did not agree with the decision. I thought that Jake Paul pulled it out," Porter told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1), before knocking the overzealous referee's impact on the fight/scoring.

"Definitely hard to score the fight when you have a referee in there trying to control the action a little bit more than I personally felt he should've been."

Of course, 26-year-old Paul lost by split decision to 23-year-old Fury. One of the judges had Jake winning, 75-74. But, the two other judges both saw it the same way, with Fury winning on their scorecards, 76-73.

"Overall, I thought both guys did a fantastic job in terms of handling the moment, handling the ring itself, and everything that came along with it. But, overall, I thought Jake pulled it out," Porter said.

Tommy and Jake have both been criticized for not being real boxers (whatever that means) ... but Shawn says this was nothing besides a great night for the sport.

"This was a 50/50 back-and-forth match, ya just gotta appreciate it, man. Ya gotta appreciate boxing. It really was true boxing, the art."

We also asked Shawn -- who only lost four fights in his great career -- what advice he'd give Jake as he attempts to get over the first loss of his career.

"Go home, go back to Puerto Rico, get with your family, friends, people that love you, keep them around you right now, and just really decompress and get some space away from boxing right now."

Porter also talked about the hate Jake's surely receiving after the loss, advising him to steer clear of the haters.

"Boxing is a very vicious sport especially if you're misunderstood in the sport, you get a lot of people coming after you, and I'm sure he's been used to that for some time now, but exhaust yourself more? Take some time away from it all and just be with family and friends."

Now, Jake and Tommy will hammer out an agreement for a rematch ... but Shawn says we may actually see more than two fights.

Tommy Fury went from using his hands to using his pipes after beating Jake Paul on Sunday ... singing his heart out with his brother, Tyson, in the locker room to celebrate the huge win.

TNT was the happiest guy in the world after going 8 rounds with the Problem Child in Saudi Arabia ... and the man of the hour received a hero's welcome after exiting the ring.

"There's only one Tommy Fury," the crowd chanted as Tommy entered the room. "Walking along, singing a song, walking in a Fury wonderland."

Tyson couldn't have been more proud of his brother ... smiling from ear to ear as Tommy walked in with his new belt draped over his shoulder.

Tommy has all the bragging rights, but Jake has made it clear he's not riding off into the sunset ... and a rematch seems inevitable.

Jake took his first loss with respect ... thanking his fans for their support and praising the event.

"S*** happens, I guess," Jake said after the fight. "This is still the best job in the world."

Erin Blanchfield isn't looking to prove herself worthy of a title fight ... she straight up believes she's a superior fighter to Valentina Shevchenko, telling TMZ Sports she plans to dethrone the current champ.

"[Valentina] can be taken down, she can be controlled on the ground and I think my jiu-jitsu is even better. I know I could fight with her anywhere. I'm confident in my striking and my wrestling and my jitsu," 23-year-old Blanchfield, fresh off an impressive 2nd round submission win over Jessica Andrade, told us this week.

The #3 ranked UFC flyweight then continued ... "I think just putting my whole game together, I think I'm more well-rounded in that sense where I can put it all together better and that I'll find that win whenever I can."

We asked Erin if she believes she's done enough to secure a fight for the belt.

"Oh, definitely. I think I've proved myself after this last weekend and I definitely want that title shot next."

Blanchfield vs. Shevchenko is the fight so many fans want to see, but Valentina has business to take care of beforehand. The 34-year-old champion is fighting 29-year-old Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 on March 4 ... where she's a heavy favorite (-600).

FYI, Shevchenko only has 3 losses in her entire career ... and 2 were to Amanda Nunes (some fans feel VS won 1 of the fights). Valentina hasn't lost since 2017 (and hasn't lost to anyone not named Nunes since 2010!). Blanchfield only has one loss on her ledger (in 2019) ... and has an 11-1 record in MMA (5-0 in UFC).

Erin tells us she's rooting for Shevchenko because a loss would almost certainly guarantee a rematch of the 285 scrap between the women, and EB isn't trying to wait. Not to mention, she'd like to be the woman to dethrone the future Hall of Famer.

"I definitely want Valentina to win. I wanna be the one to take that belt from her. She's been a super dominant champ, she's very skilled and having that prestige of taking a belt from someone like Valentina is definitely what I want."

As for how she thinks a fight with the current champ would go ... Blanchfield sees herself winning by any means necessary.

Gervonta Davis has found himself in hot water once again -- the boxing star is now being accused of punching an NYC parking lot attendant in the chest during a heated altercation in March 2022 ... this according to a new lawsuit.

Arturo Jimenez claims he just started his shift at the Edison Park Fast garage around 11 AM on March 8 ... when Tank approached him and asked for the keys to his Cadillac Escalade.

Jimenez says he was working with another customer at the time and had no idea Tank had already asked a different attendant to go fetch his whip ... and Davis grew upset, saying "stop f***ing playing with me."

The worker says Tank then punched him in the chest ... causing "multiple bodily injuries."

The lawsuit states Jimenez's coworker saw the whole incident ... and brought him into the garage office to keep Tank from hurting him even more.

While inside the office, Jimenez claims Tank was visibly pissed, shouting and cursing at them ... demanding his keys, but refusing to pay his parking fee.

After a while, the lawsuit says Tank eventually caved in and paid his fee before driving away from the scene.

Jimenez says he reported the incident to NYPD a day later.

He is suing for unspecified damages ... claiming he was unable to work and has racked up medical bills due to the injuries.

It's yet another troubling accusation made against Davis, who has had a growing list of run-ins with the law recently.

Floyd Mayweather is fighting this weekend, but the boxing legend didn't seem too fazed about the bout on Thursday ... partying it up with Jamie Foxx to celebrate his birthday!!

TBE welcomed all his friends to Restaurant Ours in London to honor his 46th trip around the sun ... and the bash had a ton of booze, an incredible cake -- and of course, huge tributes to the man of the hour.

Foxx looked like the life of the party ... showing off his dance moves while sporting a fancy purple suit.

Mayweather was spotted wearing a Clueless-esque yellow plaid outfit ... posing with a massive bottle of bubbly -- but remember, the guy doesn't drink, so we're assuming it was just for a photo op.

Actor Evan Ross, celeb jeweler Johnny Dang and designer Ozwald Boateng were in attendance ... as well as a ton of beautiful women, including model Ivana Knoll, who documented the rager on her social media page.

The event went down just 48 hours before Floyd is set to enter the ring with reality TV star and former Bellator fighter Aaron Chalmers at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday ... and it sure seems like he's feeling good before the exhibition bout.

Here's a new one -- boxing star Conor Benn has been cleared of doping allegations stemming from failed drug tests last year ... after officials determined the popped sample was due to eating too many eggs!!

The 21-0 (14 KOs) fighter vowed to clear his name after clomiphene was found in his urine three days before his October fight against Chris Eubank Jr. ... which ultimately led to the event being postponed.

FYI, clomiphene is a fertility drug ... but it can elevate testosterone levels while burning fat in men.

After a thorough investigation, the World Boxing Council announced Wednesday the British boxer has been cleared of doping ... after the organization concluded his egg-heavy diet "raised a reasonable explanation for the Adverse Finding."

The WBC also reinstated Benn in the rankings ... as officials found zero evidence his actions were intentional.

"The WBC Nutrition Committee will work with Mr. Benn’s team to design a nutrition program geared to avoid the risk of a future adverse finding caused by nutritional factors," the org. said in its statement.