Boxing

BKFC just celebrated their 5-year anniversary -- and for a promotion that was once a pariah -- President David Feldman says they've got big things coming, including a reality show, setting them up to become the second biggest combat sports org. in the world.

"We're in talks with two major networks right now. I think we're going to get a network deal, and I think that's going to really blow us up. We already have four or five buyers on it," the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship CEO told us.

"We're going to have a reality show end of '23, beginning of '24, and a major TV deal," Feldman said, adding ... "I really certainly think in three to four years from now, we're in the number two spot in combat sports. I really mean that."

BKFC has recently put on some big fights ... namely Mike Perry vs. Luke Rockhold (that's when Conor McGregor came into the ring afterward) and Eddie Alvarez vs. Chad Mendes.

Like the early days of MMA, bare knuckle boxing was once shunned by many states, accused of being too brutal. But, the sport has been much more widely accepted over the last couple of years, with BKFC having put on more than 50 events in 12 different states, and 4 countries.

"A lot of people ask what's my toughest obstacle that I had to overcome with BKFC, and it was just changing people's perception on it. The perception on it was, a backyard street fight, a bar fight. Anything but that. We have the best combat sports athletes in the world," Feldman told us.

As for the smoothest part, David says ... "it's just relatable to everybody. Everybody in the world has either watched at some point or another or been in a bare-knuckle fight in their life. Everybody kind of knows what it is. So because of that, it helped us transition, I believe."

Feldman says they now have their eyes on several big boxing stars who they'd like to lure to BKFC. David believes bare-knuckle boxing is a true "middle ground" between boxing and MMA ... potentially setting up fights that'd draw massive fan interest.

Boxing star Adrien Broner is itching to show his critics he's far from washed ... telling TMZ Sports he's looking to knockout Bill Hutchinson later on Friday!!

The 34-4-1 welterweight hasn't stepped into the ring since 2021 ... but he says he's more than ready to put back on his gloves at the FITE event inside Casino Miami in Florida.

"It's been a crazy training camp," the 33-year-old said earlier this week. "I feel good. I'm ready. I can't wait to put on a show."

Many, however, don't believe Broner can return to the boxer he once was ... particularly because he's only taken one fight since he lost badly to Manny Pacquiao in Jan. 2019.

But, Broner says he isn't the least bit concerned about his detractors ... telling us they're all simply just like "ass****s."

"Everybody got one," he said. "If I didn't have critics or haters, then I wouldn't be doing something right, you know? I'd feel like, 'S***, why nobody hatin' on me?'"

AB's opponent, Hutchinson, is by no means a tomato can ... he's 20-2-4 with nine knockouts -- and will present a tough test for Broner. The fight is expected to begin around 10:30 PM ET.

Devin Haney's shining in both the boxing ring AND the dentist chair these days ... TMZ Sports has learned that after beating Vasiliy Lomachenko last month, the star-fighter copped some crazy diamonds for his teeth!!

We're told the undisputed lightweight champ reached out to famous jeweler JimmyBoi ahead of the May 20 Loma fight to have a grill made for him ... win, lose or draw.

Turns out, Haney was able to beat the Ukrainian fighter -- and then he was happily rewarded with the bling!!

The mouthpiece is fully iced-out ... we're told the set is filled with 17 carats of princess cut flawless clarity D color diamonds -- and also features 18k rose gold.

The 24-year-old was clearly pumped for it all -- showing it off in a recent selfie.

Gervonta "Tank" Davis is currently behind bars in Maryland -- TMZ Sports has confirmed he was taken into custody after an "impromptu" court hearing.

28-year-old Davis was booked at Baltimore Central Booking Thursday afternoon.

The Baltimore City Sheriff's Office confirmed to TMZ Sports Davis was taken into custody after an "impromptu hearing" ... but would not disclose any additional information.

Just weeks ago, Davis struck a plea deal with prosecutors that was intended to keep him out of jail following the November 2020 incident where he allegedly ran a red light and slammed into a Toyota.

Prosecutors claimed the woman in the Toyota was pregnant at the time ... and accused Davis of fleeing the scene without helping her.

Davis -- 29-0 as a pro boxer -- was sentenced to 90 days of house arrest on May 5 ... and was ordered to 200 hours of community service.

Davis' attorney told the Baltimore Banner the boxer will now serve the remainder of his 90-day sentence in jail.

Davis' troubles come on the heels of his recent 7th-round TKO victory over Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas.

Jake Paul's giving us a firsthand look at his brand-new, massive $15.7 MILLION mansion in Puerto Rico ... loaded with just about everything you could want in a Caribbean compound, including the "biggest TV" on the island!

The 26-year-old boxing star shared the video tour with his over 20 million YouTube subscribers on Wednesday, revealing he's already living in the house with some of his best friends.

Paul starts off in the backyard, which he calls his "favorite part of the house" ... and with the huge pool, lounge area, palm trees, and guest house, it's not hard to understand why.

"Very good vibes," Paul said. "Very amazing. Wake up in the morning, meditate, get some sun, play some football."

The Problem Child also explains he has TVs all over his new pad, including an insane 120-inch flat screen in the "hangout room" of the guest house.

"This is the biggest TV in Puerto Rico. It's like a special edition. 120 inch. It's the only one that Sony ever shipped to the island," Paul said.

The cruiserweight boxer continues throughout the mansion ... showing off his huge sneaker closet, man cave in the basement, outdoor shower, red elevator, and a music studio where brother Logan, a WWE Superstar and podcaster can belt out a tune on the mic.

Jake also shows the master suite ... complete with a housewarming gift from GF, Olympic speed skater Jutta Leerdam.

"Jutta, if you're watching this, I love you," Paul said.

Jake -- who originally rose to fame on social media and on the Disney series Bizaardvark -- says he wants everyone watching the clip to view it as inspiration, and not him bragging or showing off.

"Go! Chase your dreams! Start today!" Paul passionately said. "We had a vision of what we wanted to do which was to be entertainers. We went for it and didn't ever stop!"

"You will be far more fulfilled chasing your passions and doing something you love than if you just sit around and maybe work that 9 to 5 job."

Jake Paul is in love and he doesn't care who knows it -- the Problem Child just opened up on his feelings for his Olympic speed skater girlfriend, Jutta Leerdam ... saying he's straight-up smitten like a kitten.

The boxer was a puddle of love when talking about the Dutch athlete on his brother Logan's "Impaulsive" podcast this week ... saying she's the total package.

"Jutta is such an amazing woman and like, she reminds me so much of mom," Jake told Logan. "She's so sweet and cooking and she amazes me for how mature she is, how emotionally intelligent she is, how good she is at communicating, how good she is at loving, the list goes on and on and on."

"She's like the purest soul I've ever met out of anyone."

Jake even gushed about Jutta's body ... saying it's "sexy as f***" that they're the same height.

"There's more woman, and she's so curvy, has the nicest body in the f***in' world, and I'm obsessed with her," Jake -- who stands at around 6 feet tall -- said. "Basically, I get more woman."

As we previously reported, Jake and Jutta met through Instagram late last year ... and really started to hit it off after spending time together in Miami a few months ago.

Now, the couple is to the point where they're double-dating with Logan and his model girlfriend of one year, Nina Agdal.

"Her smile, her eyes, her laugh just like, give me life on a daily basis and I've never met anyone like her," Jake continued. "And she's only 24 and she's already such an incredible, determined, smart, hard-working, loyal, trustworthy person ... and every f***ing adjective that exists."

Of course, Jake famously dated Julia Rose ... but he's clearly thrilled with how things played out in the love department.

Ashanti was certainly serving body onstage, and she made sure she didn't do it without her rumored boo ... bringing out Nelly as a surprise guest during her show!!

Ashanti hit the stage with Ja Rule in Sin City for their show at the Palms Casino Resort on Sunday. However, fans were in for a treat once the singer brought out her very special guest.

Nelly and Ashanti performed their throwback jam, "Body On Me" ... and she definitely put her body on Nelly, while showing off her dance moves. And, fans ate up the whole thing ... cheering as they serenaded each other on stage.

As we reported, fans began to speculate they might have recently rekindled their romance ... since they've been hitting up events together, like the Garcia/Davis boxing match last month. And, it's especially hard to argue now!

Of course, these 2 go way back -- they dated in the 2000s, so fans seemed super hyped to see them spending more time together as of late.

Shakur Stevenson vs. Devin Haney is a fight virtually everyone in boxing wants, but it's still not the biggest scrap out there for the star boxer from Jersey, who tells us a matchup with Gervonta "Tank" Davis is actually number one!

"I think both [Davis and Haney] fights is great fights for me," the 25-year-old undefeated lightweight told Babcock when he joined the "TMZ Sports" TV show this week (airs weekdays on FS1).

"Obviously, I think me and Tank is a bigger fight, but me and Dev is a fight where I could establish who I am as a fighter."

Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) has made it clear ... he wants smoke with all the top 135 lb. fighters, including the champ, Haney (30-0), Davis (29-0), and Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-3), who many believe actually beat Devin last Saturday night in Vegas.

Now, there's talk Devin, who has to cut a lot of weight to make 135, could go up in weight class ... and if he does move to junior welterweight, Shakur says he'll understand, because cutting weight sucks. But, it's not the move he'd make with so many doubting whether he truly won his last fight.

"If [Devin] can't make the weight and he don't feel the same, then just go up, but if it was me, if I was in his shoes, I would have the [Loma] rematch," Shakur told us, adding, "I would have to show the world that that dude can't f*** with me. That's how I would do it."

Regardless of what the other top fighters do, Shakur has a plan mapped out.

"It's definitely some great fights to make," Shakur told us, adding, "If [Devin] stays, I think me and Dev should fight next. If he doesn't stay and he decides to go to 140, I think me and Lomachenko should bang it out. I think that's the big fight and the world get to see who I truly am, how special I am."

Stevenson clearly has a lot of respect for Lomachenko ... and believes the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer proved he's not done with his performance against the younger and bigger Haney.

"I feel like Lomachenko just showed the world that he's not washed. He's not washed up. Now that we know that, I think it's only right, throw me in there with him, and let's see if I'm the truth. I'll keep saying I'm the truth."

There's much more ... we talked to Stevenson about his take on the Haney-Loma fight (which has changed a bit now that he's rewatched it on TV), what he and Devin said to each other in the ring after the Loma fight, and whether there's truly a chance boxing fans get these super fights.

"Take your lost like a man & stop crying."

That's Devin Haney ripping Vasiliy Lomachenko and his team days after winning a controversial decision against the future Hall of Famer in Las Vegas ... a fight many fans believe Loma should've won.

ICYMI, Haney won via unanimous decision ... with two judges scoring 115-113 (7 rounds to 5) and another giving it 116-112 (8 rounds to 4).

While the fight was razer close, Loma's team believes he clearly won ... and they wrote a letter ripping the judging for what was a fantastic night of boxing.

"Loma was denied this victory in the ring on Saturday," Vasiliy's manager Egis Klimas wrote. "He deserves the opportunity to be ranked #1 and to get another chance at realizing his goals as soon as possible."

Haney, the undisputed lightweight champ, caught wind of what Klimas said ... and he responded, using harsh words, and a photo of Loma crying after the fight.

"This guy is a f***ing sore loser," the 24-year-old said on Twitter. "Get this privilege sore loser out of boxing he makes excuses as he goes!"

"Take your lost like a man & stop crying.. it was set up for you to win for the 3rd time in your career & you failed!"

Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) also seemingly revealed that he was fined for pushing Lomachenko at weigh-ins ... and it was a 6-figures!!!

"Tell the commission to give me my 400k back for that push!" Haney demanded.

Gervonta Davis is off the hook in his domestic violence case ... prosecutors have dropped the charge against the star boxer, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The 28-year-old had been facing one count of misdemeanor battery after the mother of his child accused him of hitting her during a wild altercation in Broward County, Fla. back on Dec. 27.

But, officials said the alleged victim ultimately did not want to press charges in the case ... leading to its dismissal on Monday.

The parties "agreed that the defendant had to complete an anger management course and parenting class," prosecutors said in a statement. Once prosecutors received confirmation he'd completed the courses, the case was dropped.

The woman initially told cops Davis had struck her with a "closed hand type slap" ... causing her an abrasion on the inside of her lip. She later, though, walked back the allegations in a social media post, writing, "While the emotions were high I made an unnecessary call to law enforcement in an intense moment while I was frantic."

"Gervonta did not harm me or our daughter."

For his part, Davis has always denied wrongdoing in the case ... saying in a social media statement of his own hours after the alleged incident, "I NEVER PUT MY HANDS ON MY CHILD MOTHER NOR MY F***ING DAUGHTER ARE YOU F***ING CRAZY!!"

"IM NOT A MONSTER."

Nelly is so pissed judges awarded Devin Haney the win over Vasiliy Lomachenko, he says he's done watching the sport -- he's finished with boxing!

And, the 3x Grammy award winner isn't alone ... lots of fans are pissed off at yet another controversial decision.

"I'm just letting y'all know I am done with boxing," the 48-year-old rapper said. "They will never get another motherf***ing dime out of me."

"This is a travesty! I am done with boxing!"

The highly contested fight went down Saturday night in Las Vegas ... and went the full 12-rounds. Two judges scored the fight 115-113 (7 rounds to 5), and the third judge had it 16-112 (8 rounds to 4).

Boxing star Shakur Stevenson is also of the belief that Loma was screwed, saying he scored it 8 rounds to 4 rounds.

"Lomachenko won," Stevenson said after the fight. "I thought it was robbery. Lomachenko won."

Of course, Team Loma also believes they were screwed ... and say they plan to appeal the decision to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

"Somebody needs to end this injustice," Lomachenko’s manager Egis Klimas said during the post-fight press conference.

"Those judges’ scoring is completely insane, and they do not understand how those fighters are working hard to get into a place and to be robbed like that, it's not acceptable."

It's yet another controversy in the sport of boxing ... and it comes a week after a highly controversial stoppage in Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso match.

KSI's win over Joe Fournier is no more -- 'cause just days after the businessman/boxer filed an appeal claiming he was illegally elbowed, not punched, the boxing commission overturned the victory.

KSI vs. Fournier is now officially a "no contest."

Of course, the two met in the ring at the Misfits Boxing event at the OVO Arena Wembley ... where each fighter traded punches for two rounds before KSI landed the final blow to Fournier's jaw.

At first, it looked like KSI landed a clean punch ... but upon further review, it was clear the ref missed the illegal hit -- an elbow.

Many were furious with the result ... as KSI would certainly not have been declared the winner if the official noticed what went down.

The fight was Saturday night, and by Monday, Joe had already appealed to the Professional Boxing Association. After reviewing video from the fight, the PBA ultimately decided a no contest was appropriate.

The PBA noted the elbow was not thrown on purpose ... and was "accidental."

Fournier, as you'd expect, was thrilled with the decision ... and made a video reacting to the news online.

As for KSI, he sarcastically congratulated Fournier ... and posted a few memes for good measure.

Perhaps don't hold your breath for that second Tyson Fury appearance on 'JRE' ... 'cause the superstar heavyweight champ just eviscerated Joe Rogan, calling him a "p***y, little f***ing m****t, bald-headed m****t."

😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

34-year-old Fury unloaded on 55-year-old Rogan, blasting Joe for comments he made during a recent podcast ... when he essentially said The Gypsy King would get his ass whupped by MMA G.O.A.T. Jon Jones.

“You want to talk about who’s the baddest man on the planet?" Rogan asked. "If Jon Jones and Tyson Fury are locked into a room, I’m pushing all of my chips on black."

Rogan, who has always been complimentary of Fury, also said Tyson "doesn't have a f***ing chance in hell of making it out of that room" unless he immediately catches Jones with a knockout punch.

Fury, the best heavyweight boxer in the world, and one of the greatest pugilists of all time, didn't take too kindly to the remarks, and he made that abundantly clear.

“I heard Joe Rogan say something about me," Fury fumed, "and I’ve been off all the social media and didn’t reply to that little p***y, little f***ing m****t, bald-headed m****t."

“I heard him say that Jon Jones could f*** me up if we were in the room together. I don’t think so. Not a man born from a mother could f*** me up, in a room, on our own."

Fury added ... "Whatever happens in that room, I’d be walking out. Not a f****** problem.”

Before this week's drama, Tyson and Joe seemed to have a good relationship ... and even sat down together for hours on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience in 2018.

As for what would happen if they were to fight ... it's impossible to know for sure. Tyson has a huge edge in striking with his hands, but Jon is an incredible grappler/wrestler who is also extremely proficient with his hands, legs, and knees.

Cross-promotion events are common these days ... here's hoping we'll get to settle this debate one day once and for all!

Rolly Romero pulled out all the stops before fighting Ismael Barroso on Saturday ... rockin' a 20-carat diamond pendant of HIMSELF, and it's awesome!

The lightweight boxer earned a (controversial) 9th-round TKO against Barroso at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas on May 13th ... bringing his record to 15-1.

But, before the fight (and the much-debated stoppage by veteran official Tony Weeks), Romero pulled up in style, rocking an iced-out pendant of himself in a fur coat and no shirt ... an outfit that may look familiar to boxing fans.

It's the exact fit Romero wore during his viral press conference with Gervonta 'Tank' Davis last year ... before their fight on May 2022 scrap.

TMZ Sports has learned Rolly hit up GS & Co. and commissioned the piece ... and he picked the Tank presser outfit because he believes it's one of the most iconic moments of his career.

We're told the piece is loaded with 20 carats of round VVS diamonds and 120 grams of 14k yellow gold ... and the retail value is around $30K.

As we previously reported, Romero also wore "Channel Orange" custom boxing shoes -- in tribute to musician Frank Ocean.

Bad news for anyone hoping to see two ex-NFL stars settle their longstanding beef in the ring ... 'cause Vontaze Burfict is slamming the door on a boxing match with Le'Veon Bell -- saying he wants to golf instead!!

In case you missed it, Bell was talking about potential future opponents on the "Misfits Boxing" podcast recently ... and said he wanted to get revenge for what he felt was a dirty play during a game in 2015.

It's pretty obvious who he was referring to, considering Bell suffered a knee injury in Week 8 against the Bengals that season ... after Burfict and another Cincinnati defender made a tackle on the running back.

"It's someone from football," Bell said. "They had purposely injured me. I don’t think I want to say the name, but people who watched my career when I hurt my knee, people know. Yeah, people know. I would love to put my hands on him in a ring."

Vontaze got wind of Le'Veon's comments, and instead of accepting the offer the ex-Steelers running back laid down, Burfict suggested they do a charity golf event instead.

“[Le’Veon Bell] why we lookin to fight?" Burfict wrote on Instagram. "Why not show everyone WE can change the narrative. Let’s show the world WE can squash beef in other ways than boxing. Let’s meet and compete on the golf course."

He continued ... "Get some charities involved so WE can help people in need and show kids that we resolved our differences to make the world a better place.”

Le'Veon didn't seem too thrilled with Burfict's idea ... writing, "lol sure bro."

But that didn't stop him from clapping back at Burfict's former teammate, Adam "Pacman" Jones, who said he'd bet $100k that VB beats Bell in a fight.

"I throw hands, I don't wrestle .. tell em step in the squared circle tho & i’ll beat the dog s*** out of him … & you can put whatever you want on dude, it’s yo money to lose," Bell tweeted at Jones.

Ian Garry, soon to be the #15 ranked welterweight, isn't rushing his way to the top ... "The Future" tells us he has a plan laid out, and it starts with fighting a guy he believes is the gatekeeper to the top 10!

25-year-old Garry defeated Daniel Rodriguez inside 3 minutes (it's the first time D-Rod's been finished with strikes) on UFC on ABC 4 ... and joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) where he talked about his next moves.

"Yeah, [Neil Magny is] still the guy I want for so many reasons," Garry said. "I believe that everybody knows who Magny is. Everybody knows how game a fighter Magny is."

Garry admits Magny (27-10) may not have the best record ... but he's a guy who can expose you if you aren't prepared.

"If there's a guy in the division before you enter that top 10 that you wanna test yourself against and see if you're legit, it's Neil Magny."

As it stands, "The Future" is a perfect 12-0 ... in a sport where unbeaten records are a rarity. And, the zero is something that Ian says means a lot to him.

"To be able to sit there and say no one ever cracked the code, to be able to sit there and say no one was able to decipher the game that I bring to the table, absolutely. 100%," he said.

Despite the immense success so early in his career, Garry isn't resting on his laurels. In fact, he says he's planned a trip to Brazil where he'll work on jiujitsu ... as well as a voyage all the way to New Zealand, where he's going to train with middleweight champ Israel Adesanya.

"Don't tell me that if I'm training with Adesanya, that I can't pick up one or two little details that are gonna help elevate my game," Garry said.

"Traveling and learning and growing and becoming better is inevitably more important to me right now than hunting for the title right now, because when I decide to make that title run, I'm gonna succeed and nobody's gonna be able to take me off that."

Perhaps the coolest part of the win for Ian was his idol Conor McGregor's reaction to the one-sided victory ... when Notorious tweeted, "When you call your shot and hit it, that’s special. The Shot Caller Club has a new entry, Ireland’s Ian 'The Future' Garry! #NotAScratch."

Garry was loving it ... saying, "I'm like a f***ing kid in a candy store when I see that guy post stuff on Twitter," Garry said. "He's also f***ing hilarious."