Boxing

Joe Fournier is officially appealing his loss to KSI ... just two days after the YouTube star scored an (albeit controversial) knockout victory over the English businessman/boxer, the Professional Boxing Association announced Monday.

The PBA confirmed it received a request from Fournier to review/appeal Saturday night's decision at London's Wembley Arena ... a fight he lost by second-round knockout. However, Fournier says he was put down by an illegal strike, an elbow, not a punch ... and therefore he shouldn't have lost the fight.

Now, representatives for Fournier and KSI will have an opportunity to go before the PBA and state their cases as to why the result should or should not be changed after the fact.

Moments before KSI's elbow came into play, he landed a looping right on Fournier's ear, a punch that appeared to wobble JF. Then, just seconds later, 29-year-old KSI sent Joe crashing to the floor.

Question is, was the strike legal? Fournier believes no.

After the fight, KSI tweeted that the outcome was inevitable, but he did acknowledge there was "unintentional contact made with his forearm" during the contest.

If Conor McGregor would ever throw down in a ring without gloves ... BKFC star Houston Alexander tells TMZ Sports the dude would be a problem!!!

Alexander -- a former UFC and Bellator fighter who's been brawling professionally without mitts since 2021 -- says Conor is so skilled with his hands ... he thinks there'd be no issues for The Notorious if he chose to eventually go from the UFC to the BKFC.

Of course, the topic came up because Conor sure appeared to be interested in making the switch after watching Mike Perry's BKFC fight against Luke Rockhold back on April 30.

You'll recall, McGregor stepped into the ring following the tilt ... and he seemed to be down to fight Perry without mitts at a future date.

Alexander clearly believes it'd be a great fight despite Conor's inexperience without gloves ... something that seems to be quite the compliment, considering Alexander doesn't feel that way about most MMA guys.

"If you've got MMA guys who just concentrate on just kicking or jiu-jitsu, please don't get in this type of sport," Alexander told us. "Because it's going to expose your boxing and you're going to get hurt."

As for Alexander's own fighting career ... the 51-year-old is still going strong -- he's got another big BKFC fight on May 19 against Jeremy Smith -- and he tells us he has absolutely zero desire to retire anytime soon.

YouTube star KSI knocked out Joe Fournier in the second round Saturday night ... and it would have been impressive except for the fact it was an illegal blow to the head, and the ref was in the dark.

The two went at it furiously at London's Wembley Arena, and KSI was landing some impressive punches in the first 2 rounds. In round 2, it appeared KSi landed a massive shot to Fournier's jaw, sending him tumbling to the canvas.

The ref declared KSI the winner, but when you watched the replay, it was clear it was not a glove that made contact with Fournier's jaw ... it was KSI's elbow, and that's illegal.

Had the ref seen it, it probably would have resulted in an instant disqualification, but that didn't happen.

KSI said in the post-fight interview he did not strike Fournier with his elbow. But the video clearly tells a different story,

KSI also called out Tommy Fury in the ring and the 2 had to be separated.  Fury had a fight of his own during the match ... getting into it with a former "Love Island" castmate.

A one-of-a-kind belt will be presented when Floyd Mayweather and John Gotti's grandson meet in the ring next month ... with the World Boxing Council designing a special Juneteenth-themed keepsake for the exhibition.

TBE and John Gotti III are slated to fight on June 11 in Florida ... which falls just over a week before the federal holiday.

Given the historic significance of Juneteenth, we're told the WBC wanted to commemorate the day as part of the weekend's festivities by presenting the unique belts to Floyd, as well as Robert Smith, James McNair, and Deon Taylor for their contributions to society.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán spoke with TMZ Sports on the move ... saying "Juneteenth is a national holiday and Floyd Mayweather is the best representative for success and glory through hard work and dedication."

"The WBC will thank and support these four great men who make life better for all every single day."

The belt features broken chains and hands shaking ... as well as the usual "WBC World Champion" etched on the front with "Juneteenth" underneath.

The whole boxing match, put together by Floyd's friend Jona Rechnitz, will be a celebration ... with Ozuna and Lunay set to bring the vibes.

Frank Ocean's Coachella performance didn't put a bad taste in Rolly Romero's mouth ... 'cause the boxer will be showing love for the singer during his fight against Ismael Barroso on Saturday!!

TMZ Sports is told ... the lightweight fighter is a huge Ocean fan, so he hit up his go-to guy, Aztek Kustoms, to create boxing shoes featuring the Simpsons-inspired cover art of his favorite song -- "Pyramids."

The finished product is dope ... you can see the Nike Machomai 2 shoes are covered in orange paint with "Channel" stitched with rhinestones on the back -- paying homage to Ocean's Channel Orange album.

There's also a portrait of the 14-1 boxer in "Simpson" form with a female on the bed -- just like the song's cover -- showing him rockin' the same fur coat he wore during his press conference with Gervonta Davis last May.

"These took me roughly 20 hours," Aztek said. "Both of the portraits are hand-painted. And, of course, they wouldn't be Rolly's without the rhinestones."

FYI, Aztek has created custom shoes featuring musicians for Rolly before -- last May, he made "Purple Rain" shoes with Prince on them for the Davis fight.

"These are both mine and his favorite pair so far," Aztek said. "Just because we had a lot more time to actually talk about the design and put more detail into them."

Aztek said the shoes were delivered a few days ago, but he's stoked to watch Rolly show off his design during the 12-round match at The Cosmopolitan for the vacant WBA super lightweight title.

Floyd Mayweather is returning to the boxing ring in 30 days, and when he does, there will be a few hundred special guests in attendance ... and we're not talking about the celebs that typically fill the stands when TBE fights!

They'll be there, too (more on that later) ... but even better, we're told Floyd wanted to do something nice, so he linked up with two of his business partners/friends, and they're bringing kids from the inner city to the fight.

"I have teamed up with Robert Smith and Deon Taylor with a charitable initiative attached to my upcoming fight. We are going to be hosting several hundred underprivileged kids from the inner city to come to my fight and we will have a day of fun with them and a private dinner with them during the fight week," Mayweather tells us.

FYI, Smith, a billionaire, has donated many millions of dollars to different causes, including civil rights, over the years.

Everyone else will have to pay for tickets, which went on sale yesterday and have been selling fast, according to our sources.

The June 11 scrap between Floyd and John Gotti III, the grandson of legendary mobster John Gotti, is different than a typical Mayweather fight ... it's also a top-notch concert, featuring Puerto Rican rapper Lunay and others.

We recently spoke to Lunay ... and asked him about being part of the big event.

We're told Ozuna, a longtime supporter of Money, AND Bad Bunny will also be in the building.

"I’m happy to come and support my brother Floyd Mayweather. We have been friends for many years. He is the G.O.A.T.," Ozuna tells TMZ Sports.

As for other celebs who will be in the house, we're told a bunch of star athletes will also be in the building.

Kenneth Egano -- an up-and-coming Filipino bantamweight boxer who only had one loss in his career -- has died after collapsing in the ring following a fight last weekend.

He was only 22.

The tragic incident was caught on video ... and occurred on May 6 when Egano (7-1, 3 KOs) fought Jason Facularin (4-1) at the Imus Sports Gymnasium in the Philippines.

You can see Egano in the black shorts and Facularin, wearing red, dap each other up when the bell rang in the last round ... and before they announced Kenneth as the winner by unanimous decision, he suddenly collapsed in his corner.

Another angle shows a closer look at the scary moment ... you can see a trainer from Egano's team literally holding him up waiting for someone to bring a chair.

Eventually, someone brings Egano an oxygen mask before he was transported out of the ring via stretcher. Sadly, Kenneth reportedly fell into a coma due to a brain hemorrhage.

He died four days later.

"Our condolences to Kenneth's family, relatives, and friends," the Games and Amusements Board in the Philippines said on Wednesday. "May his soul rest in peace."

The 8-round bout was part of Manny Pacquiao's TV show "Blow by Blow", which features boxers on smaller cards.

Prior to his death, Pacquiao reportedly said he would cover his medical bills.

Egano began his boxing career in 2019 and was on a five-fight winning streak at the time of his death.

Jake Paul doesn't step in the boxing ring for another three months, but he's already got his sights set on his next opponent after Nate Diaz ... and it's none other than Conor McGregor!!

The Problem Child -- who's fighting Diaz on Aug. 5 in Dallas -- laid out his plans to Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show on FS1 ... saying he fully intends to knock Diaz out (something Conor never did), and then lock in a fight with Notorious.

Of course, Nate and Conor have one of the greatest rivalries in UFC history ... and with their series tied up at one win a piece, Diaz wants to take care of business against Jake and then revisit his old nemesis one last time.

But, Jake says he's going to spoil Nate's plans of a trilogy fight by jumping him in line for a shot at Conor ... and he thinks McGregor will have "no choice but to make the biggest fight in combat sports."

Paul -- 6-1 as a pro boxer -- understands Conor would need permission from UFC honcho Dana White to make the fight happen ... but he seems optimistic that the money would do enough talking to get him to agree.

Remember, Jake has gone after a fight with McGregor a few times in the past ... trolling the UFC superstar nearly every chance he's gotten over the years. McGregor has fired back from time to time too -- but they haven't been able to mix it up in a ring.

If a fight does eventually go down, Jake says he's hopeful it'd be a boxing match ... but he told us he ain't opposed to MMA either.

"We can do a two-part series," the 24-year-old said. "One boxing, one MMA in PFL. Make it happen, no problem."

What do you say, Conor???

Nate Diaz clearly ain't sweatin' his criminal case down in Louisiana ... the former UFC star actually had a laugh about it all with Jake Paul on Tuesday.

Paul was the one who brought up the choke-out incident to Diaz during a news conference to hype up their August boxing match ... wondering if the MMA fighter thought he was scrapping with his brother, Logan Paul, when he choked out a guy on Bourbon St. during an April 22 melee.

Diaz smiled and then pretended to truly believe it was Logan who he put to sleep on the popular New Orleans roadway.

"You're going to act like that wasn't Logan?" Nate said with a grin. "Come on, man!"

"You thought it was Logan?" Jake asked again ... before Diaz responded with a giggle, "It is Logan, what are you talking about?"

Of course, the case shouldn't be much of a laughing matter for Diaz ... officials have charged him with second-degree battery after they allege he caused the man to suffer a head wound during the incident. Diaz is now facing time behind bars if ultimately convicted.

Diaz, though, did get serious about it all for at least a few seconds during the presser ... appearing to say he took it easy on the guy by choking him instead of throwing hands.

"You don't want to just hit people out there," Nate said. "That's f****** dangerous. You know what I'm saying? Give him a little nap."

Diaz didn't elaborate on it all further ... but he's been adamant since the incident went down that he did nothing wrong -- and was simply acting in self-defense.

"Unfinished business."

That's what boxing star Rolly Romero says he has with Gervonta "Tank" Davis ... after losing to the undefeated superstar in May 2022 by 6th round knockout.

TMZ Sports talked to 28-year-old Romero, 14-1 (the only loss being Tank), ahead of his mandatory fight with Ismael Barroso (24-3-2, 22 KOs) on May 13 on Showtime ... a fight Rolly knows he needs to win in order to earn the chance to run things back with Davis.

Of course, Davis is coming off an impressive win over Ryan Garcia ... and many fans, fellow fighters, and experts believe Gervonta is now the face of the sport.

Rolly believes the fight would be very different in a rematch.

"Oh, of course [it'd be a different outcome]. I get to be in my actual weight class this time," Romero told us.

The 2022 scrap was fought at 135 lbs. ... but Romero's weight class is 140 lbs. A big difference, especially for smaller fighters like Tank and Rolly.

"If you're a casual, you wouldn't understand. But, 5 pounds make a world... 1 pound makes a world of difference."

Romero hasn't fought since Davis ... and was originally supposed to fight WBA champ Alberto Puello -- before he was popped for performance-enhancing drugs (Rolly calls him a "piece of s**t" for the PEDs) in the lead-up to the fight. Barroso stepped up on short notice.

We also talked to Rolly about preparing for a new opponent with limited time.

Gervonta Davis just scored a big win in court -- he avoided a jail sentence in his hit-and-run case ... getting hit with three months of house arrest instead.

The star boxer learned his fate inside of a Baltimore courtroom minutes ago ... less than three months after he cut a plea deal with prosecutors in the case.

As part of the agreement he made with officials back on Feb. 16, Davis pleaded guilty to four lesser offenses ... and at his sentencing hearing on Friday, a judge did not throw him behind bars, instead ordering him to serve 90 days of home detention. The 28-year-old fighter was also ordered to complete 200 hours of community service.

Davis was initially hit with 14 charges in the case back in March 2021 ... after authorities alleged he ran a red light in his 2020 Lamborghini Urus and slammed it into a Toyota on Nov. 5, 2020 -- just days after his big win over Leo Santa Cruz.

Prosecutors claimed a woman in the car that Davis hit was pregnant at the time of the wreck. They accused Davis of never offering her assistance before fleeing the scene.

If convicted on all of the charges, Davis had faced a potential maximum of 7 YEARS and 55 days in prison.

Davis, who just scored the biggest win of his boxing career in a fight with Ryan Garcia last month, ain't out of the woods criminally just yet ... even though he closed out the case in Baltimore on Friday -- he still has a case lingering over his head in Broward County, Fla.

Deontay Wilder spent part of his Tuesday morning locked behind bars ... TMZ Sports has learned the star boxer was arrested in Los Angeles following a routine traffic stop.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Wilder was pulled over in Hollywood at around 1:15 AM after LAPD officers claimed his Rolls-Royce's windows were illegally tinted and his license plate was obstructed.

During the stop, cops say they smelled an odor of burnt marijuana coming from his ride -- so they searched the car. Our sources say they then found weed and a 9mm in the vehicle, and put Wilder into custody. We're told the 6-foot-7 fighter was cooperative and nice throughout the whole ordeal.

Our sources say the 37-year-old was booked on a charge of possession of a concealed weapon. Jail records show he bonded out at 6:34 AM.

Wilder -- a 43-2-1 fighter with 42 knockouts on his resume -- has been rumored to be the next opponent for Anthony Joshua ... with the heavyweight superfight expected to go down at some point in 2023.

It's unclear if Tuesday's arrest will have any impact on the fight's negotiations.

Jorge Masvidal, from one bad motherf***** to the next, is coming to the defense of one-time opponent Nate Diaz, telling TMZ Sports the charges against the UFC legend are crap ... 'cause fighters need to be able to defend themselves too!

Gamebred recently joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where they chopped it up about everything from his friendship with Donald Trump, whether he'd ever run for political office, his very own fight promotion, Gamebred Promotions, and the Diaz incident in New Orleans.

"There's nothing wrong [with defending yourself]," Masvidal said.

Of course, defending himself is exactly what Diaz says he was doing. Still, authorities opted to charge him with second-degree assault. Nate flew to NOLA on Thursday, where he turned himself in, before bonding out and taking a PJ back to Stockton. Diaz is adamant he was not the aggressor and simply was acting in self-defense.

"When it's you against somebody you have no idea if he's got a knife in his pocket, if he's gonna f******* pepper spray you then kick you in the nuts," Jorge explained, adding ... "Obviously this guy's not in the right mind if he's attacking a pro fighter. I just don't like it that people think because we're pro fighters that we're not able to defend ourselves."

"No, we have to defend ourselves. It's a cold world out there."

FYI, Jorge beat Nate for the BMF belt at UFC 244 in November 2019.

We also talked to Gamebred about politics ... with 80-year-old President Joe Biden recently announcing he'll run for reelection in 2024. Jorge has a relationship with Trump and believes the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction under the current POTUS.

"We the people say that please, you're not doing a service for us, you're doing a disservice. You're destroying this country. I don't care about your skin color, your ethnicity, your freakin' religious views. Where we were out 2 to 3 years ago was better for everybody."

Masvidal has gotten more involved in politics, and while he may not be a traditional candidate (stiff, phony, etc.), we asked Gamebred if he had any interest in running for office in the future.

"If you don't like the constitution and you're coming with all this crazy s*** now to try and destroy this country, I can't f*** you, man. But me running personally? No. But I'll def endorse those who I think are actually coming to get it and being a patriot."

There's much more ... while Masvidal says he still feels very comfortable with his decision to lay down his gloves after UFC 287, he's in no way leaving the fight game.

In fact, Jorge has big plans for Gamebred Promotions ... coming off an awesome Gamebred Boxing card that featured the legendary Roy Jones Jr. vs. Anthony Pettis. Jose Aldo and Jeremy Stephens also boxed ... along with Vitor Belfort defeating "Jacare" Souza.

Stacked.

And, Street Jesus says he's in the process of making even bigger moves, putting together massive events.

As for whether he'd fight under his own banner, the answer is ... maybe.

"I would definitely like to get a boxing match in there, I'm not ruling that out, but as of right now I'm just focusing on promoting."

Mike Tyson was a BEAST in his day, but he would've been an even bigger problem in the ring if he'd used psychedelics in his prime, so says the legend himself!

The 56-year-old recently joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) and spoke all about his experience with the drugs ... and he made it clear he wishes he would've done hallucinogens when he was competing for titles back in the day.

Tyson said they help alter his mind and perception and affect cognitive processes in a way that has really changed him for the better ... all things he could've used in his 20s.

"Psychedelics is an enhancement more than a de-enhancement," he told us. "It allows you to go in that realm of just comfortability, relaxness, and prepare to reach your highest level. It's just an amazing feeling."

Tyson loves psychedelics so much that he used them during a recent training session and told us that if he had used them in the 1980s and '90s, he would've been a far superior pugilist (amazing when you consider Mike's one of the most dominant fighters of all-time).

In fact, Tyson recommends all athletes should try mushrooms or weed, saying he's living proof that they work.

"I'm capable of talking to everybody in the sporting world because that's basically where it's needed," Tyson said.

Mike Perry and Luke Rockhold are taking off the gloves ... the MMA stars are fighting bare-knuckled, and Platinum believes the former UFC champion is underestimating him in a big way!

"I do think he is in for a rude awakening because I don't think he thinks I have what it takes [to beat him]. I think he thinks so highly of himself that he's just too big for me," 31-year-old Perry told TMZ Sports this week.

FYI, Luke has a few-inch height advantage, and likely a few pounds on Mike, too.

Perry continued ... "I'm looking to be ferocious and jump all over him quickly. Bareknuckle is not like normal boxing where the fight really starts around the 6th round. These are 5 to 6, 2-minute rounds."

In other words ... except violence as soon as the bell sounds.

"I'm gonna try to cut him up a lot and make him quit," adding ... "I'm gonna try to hurt him badly, quickly."

Platinum, 2-0 in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (one of those wins came against Michael "Venom" Page), also plans to give Luke a new nickname.

"Luke Out-Cold."

And, Perry and Rockhold aren't the only big names on the BKFC 41 card ... 'cause former UFC champions Eddie Alvarez and Chad Mendes are also fighting.

We also talked to Mendes ahead of what is his second bare-knuckle scrap (Chad won a fight last February), but Alvarez is certainly a step up in competition.

This time around, Chad tells us he has a secret weapon to reduce cuts ... a side effect when bare-knuckle boxing.

His secret ... pickle juice! 🥒

A pair of boxing gloves worn by Michael B. Jordan in his latest blockbuster, "Creed III," is up for auction ... and can be yours for the right price!!

SCP Auctions is offering a pair of cream-colored Grant boxing gloves worn by MBJ, who stars in the film as Adonis "Donnie" Creed, son of Apollo Creed, to the highest bidder.

The gloves show visible signs Jordan wore them while filming the latest installment in the Rocky-adjacent series ... which had huge success across the world. In fact, the movie grossed almost $156 million domestically and $116 million internationally, for a total of $272.1 million worldwide, according to box office figures.

Creed III tells the story of Adonis' childhood friend and former boxing prodigy Damian "Diamond Dame" Anderson, played by Jonathan Majors, resurfacing to fight Creed, according to IMDB.com.

Speaking of the embattled Majors ... a pair of boxing gloves he wore while filming Creed III is also up for auction with SCP.

The 10 oz. XL Grant gloves are black with gold and bronze accents, and their condition indicates they were used by Majors, whose character was the main antagonist in the film.

MBJ directed, produced, and starred in "Creed III" -- and if you didn't know already judging by the success of the movie, Creed IV's on the way!