Boxing

If Dana White seriously wants MILLION DOLLAR action on the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren boxing match ... Snoop Dogg says he'll take it!!

The rap legend clearly saw the footage of Dana on Mike Tyson's podcast ... where the UFC boss said he's willing to bet $1 MILLION that Ben will destroy Jake when the clash in the boxing ring in April.

Now, Snoop -- who was the announcer during Jake's last boxing match against Nate Robinson -- wants to RAISE the stakes.

"Hey Dana White, I see you got faith in your boy right?! Going up against my guy Jake."

"You say you got a million?! You’re the CEO of UFC. You got more than a million. Put up TWO. Put up $2 million and we’ll match it."

Remember, Jake Paul made a similar offer to Dana -- but so far, the UFC honcho hasn't responded.

Gotta wonder if Snoop's call-out is more interesting to Dana?!

"C’mon Dana, whatchu waiting on?! Your money is good," Snoop added.

"Yeah, I got Jake. Fight night. That's my guy. That's my dog in the fight. $2 million. Holla at me, Dana White."

Jake is 2-0 as a boxer -- with a violent KO of Nate Robinson on the undercard of the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight back in 2020.

Ben, on the other hand, is a decorated MMA fighter who's gone toe-to-toe with some of the baddest men in combat sports.

Dana White is CONVINCED Jake Paul is gonna get his ass whooped when he steps in the ring to fight Ben Askren ... and he's willing to put his money where his mouth is!

“I hope you can bet on this thing because I will bet ONE MILLION DOLLARS that he loses this f**king fight," White said on the "Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson" Podcast.

"I bet a million dollars that he loses this fight!"

White just simply ain't convinced Jake has what it takes to beat an accomplished professional fighter like Ben Askren ... who's 19-2 as an MMA fighter.

Askren's strength is his wrestling -- not his striking -- but White doesn't think it matters ... he's predicting a massacre when they finally clash on April 17.

"Let’s be honest, Jake Paul isn’t a f**king boxer. This guy is a fucking YouTube kid," White added.

Paul is 2-0 in his boxing career with a violent KO over ex-NBA star Nate Robinson ... and he's been training with ex-boxing star Zab Judah, who defended Jake on the podcast.

"Dana I watched him, he’s been working hard, Dana. I have seen him put it together," Zab said.

Judah added ... "He’s got hands. I am not joking.”

The clip went viral almost immediately and ended up in front of Jake who was VERY amused and is now challenging White to INCREASE the bet to $2 MILLION!!!

"Dana let’s double the bet up! $2 Million," Jake said.

"We wire the money into escrow. $4 million total. Winner takes all. My team will be in touch to make a contract."

“I’ll knock [Canelo] out! I'll stop him! It takes a lot of balls to say that but the reason why I'm saying that is because I really fully, truly believe I'm the one that can beat and stop Canelo.”

That's 24-year-old rising boxing star David Benavidez verbally taking on the #1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, megastar Canelo Alvarez.

TMZ Sports talked to Benavidez -- who's taking on Ronald Ellis on March 13 on Showtime -- about his boxing hit list ... and DB's going big game hunting.

"The dream scenario is fight with [Jermall] Charlo right after and then Caleb Plant and then Canelo. That's the dream scenario but the reality of making that happen, is very hard."

30-year-old Canelo is 55-1-2 ... and obviously has far more experience.  But, Benavidez -- who's almost 6'2" (big for the 168 lb. division) -- is a badass in the ring ... and has never lost a professional fight (23-0, 20 KO's).

That's why he's anything but shook about the prospect of stepping in the squared circle with Alvarez.

"The top people [Canelo's] fought, they just look like they're scared of him and they just respect him too much, but me, I feel like I'm a young, hungry lion! I need that fight because I wanna show the fans how good I really am."

And, Benavidez says Canelo can try and duck him ... but sooner or later, this thing's goin' down -- like it or not.

"He's gonna try avoid me as long as possible, but I feel like at the end of the day, this fight is gonna be demanded," Benavidez says.

When Claressa Shields hits the ring on Friday night -- she'll be rocking custom fight trunks paying tribute to Kobe Bryant and Gianna.

25-year-old Shields is taking on IBF super welterweight champion Marie-Eve Dicaire -- in a fight to unify the super welterweight division.

Claressa has established herself as the top fighter in women's boxing -- she's 10-0 as a pro ... with TWO gold medals in the Olympics.

She was clearly inspired by the greatness of Kobe and his daughter Gianna -- which is why she decided to put their names on her trunks.

Shields tells TMZ Sports she's laser-focused on her fight with Dicaire -- explaining, "I wanna knock her out but I also wanna have a great performance."

"She's gonna come out there and try to perform but I just know that I can get her out between rounds 5 and 7. It just depends which round that I'm really feeling it."

As we previously reported, Shields is also training to make the jump from boxing to MMA ... with her first MMA fight scheduled to take place in the summer.

Still no word on who Claressa's first MMA opponent will be -- but she doesn't care! Bring on ANYONE!

"My only job is just to prepare. I don't really care who they put me in there with I'm just gonna do my best."

Don't get it twisted ... Shields says she'll continue to box -- maybe the first true two-sport star in all of combat sports?

"I fight my first MMA fight in the middle of June and I'll be having a boxing match in maybe December and maybe another MMA fight in August, September. I'm not even sure but I know for sure June I'll be back, I'll be in the cage for sure."

Jake Paul is firing back at Canelo Alvarez for kicking 2 of the YouTube star's fans out of the ring during his post-fight interview on Saturday ... calling the champion an "old hater" who's ducking the real competition.

Of course, Canelo and Jake have had a beef brewing for months ... with the 30-year-old boxer saying the Paul brothers are disrespecting the sport of boxing.

The feud reached new levels when fans -- donning Jake and Ben Askren's faces on their shirts -- invaded the ring after Alvarez's dominant win over Avni Yildirim ... with Canelo telling them to "get the f*** out."

Jake is now speaking out about the incident ... and while he's not saying whether he knew about the prank beforehand, he's mad at how Alvarez handled the situation.

"Canelo, what's your problem, bro?! Why you hate me so much?!," Jake said on Tuesday.

"Canelo's mad. He has this thing against me. Said I'm bad for the sport. I'm disrespecting it, which doesn't make sense at all."

"I'm actually just bringing more eyeballs, more awareness to the sport of boxing. But since Canelo, you wanted to start this beef, let's do it!"

Jake goes on to say Canelo isn't the true pound-for-pound fighter in the world ... claiming he's hiding from real competition.

"Why not fight Caleb Plant? David Benavidez? BooBoo Andrade? You're ducking them. You're ducking them, Canelo! You're an old hater, that's what you are."

But, Canelo ain't the only boxing superstar going after Paul -- heavyweight champ Tyson Fury also had some words for Jake, seemingly trying to get him to fight his little brother, Tommy Fury.

Paul has some words for the Gypsy King as well ... saying he likes the guy and wants no beef -- but Tommy is a different story.

"If Tyson Fury took a s**t, it would be his little brother."

Lennox Lewis says he'd seriously consider getting back in the ring with Mike Tyson for a long-awaited rematch ... but only if there was a serious demand.

"If the public wanted it then we would probably talk," the former heavyweight champ tells TMZ Sports.

Lewis famously KO'd Tyson in the 8th round when they clashed in June 2002 -- despite Tyson making some wild threats in the build-up to the fight (remember, Tyson said he wanted to "eat" Lennox's children!?).

But, after Tyson's incredible performance against Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020, there's definitely an appetite to see "Iron" Mike get back in the ring.

Question is ... who will be Mike's next opponent?! 55-year-old Lennox?

Lennox hasn't fought professionally since a 2003 victory over Vitali Klitschko -- but he admitted he'd consider squaring up with Tyson ... but only if the situation was perfect.

"I don't know. I don't really have nothing pushing me in the ring right now. People would love to see that fight but I don't know."

Our photog asked if a poll on TMZ Sports would help sway the boxer ... who admitted he's curious how that would go.

So, VOTE if you want to see the rematch!

What Floyd Mayweather wants, he usually gets ... but in the case of an ultra-rare Maybach -- he's gonna have to outbid another wealthy celebrity!!

Sources close to Floyd tell us he's in the hunt to purchase a 2009 Maybach 62S Landaulet -- which features a V12 Twin Turbo Engine with 620 horsepower.

The owner of the car is famed high-end car dealer Obi Okeke -- aka Dr. Bugatti -- who tells TMZ Sports his ride is one of only 8 ever produced in the world.

Of those 8 in existence, only 3 are in the United States. We're told the other 2 cars in the U.S. belong to Drake and DJ Khaled.

When the car was released, the sticker price was $1.35 million -- and a Maybach spokesperson says the target buyer is "a superrich individual who wants something that is extremely extraordinary and enjoys being driven in a car with acres of sky above them."

... which is likely why Floyd wants one so badly!

Okeke is asking for $2.6 million ... or best offer.

The issue, we're told, is there's a bidding war going down behind-the-scenes between Floyd and another major celebrity -- a high-profile rap star.

We're told the bidding is already over $2 million ... and it's still active.

Floyd has made close to a billion dollars in fight money and he LOVES cars ... so you'd think he'd just pony up whatever it takes to close the deal.

But, we're told Floyd is waiting to see where the rapper draws the line ... so he can come in slightly above and not pay a cent more than he needs to.

Long story short ... seems like Floyd is ultimately going to get the car and the rapper is going to have to see if Drake or DJ Khaled are willing to make a deal.

Boxing star Ryan Garcia is pointing the finger straight at Manny Pacquiao -- saying it's Manny who pulled the plug on their fight after offering it to Garcia earlier this year.

"Manny came to offer me the fight," Garcia explained on his way into Boa Steakhouse in L.A. on Wednesday.

"Obviously, I would love to fight Manny Pacquaio, but that's on him. That's on him."

Garcia had announced the fight back in January -- posting on IG as if it was a done deal.

"A dream turned reality," Garcia said at the time ... "It’s an honor to share the Ring with @mannypacquiao. I will always respect what you did in and out the ring. Here’s to the best Man Winning."

But, something went wrong ... and Garcia says the only person to blame is Manny.

Still, 22-year-old Garcia is ready willing and able to fight ... if 42-year-old Manny ever decides to put pen to paper.

Instead, Garcia is focusing on lining up another opponent -- his priority is Gervonta Davis ... but he's also open to fighting Vasyl Lomachenko.

"I think I made it very clear I want Gervonta Davis. That's the man I want and I'll knock him out in 2 rounds."

Garcia and Tank have been trading insults on social media for YEARS now -- while both obliterating opponents in the ring. Seems like the obvious fight to make.

When Canelo Alvarez isn't knocking people out, he's OBSESSED with golf -- especially Tiger Woods -- which is why he's pulling like crazy for Tiger to recover from his injuries.

"Very sad to hear what happened," Canelo tells TMZ Sports ... "I hope everything comes out okay."

Canelo says he's been following Tiger since Woods first won The Masters in 1997 -- despite the fact Canelo was only 7 years old at the time! Alvarez has been an avid golfer ever since.

"He's so good. He's the best," Canelo added ... "I hope that he has good health and one of my dreams is to play with him."

Of course, Canelo won't be on the links this week -- he's gearing up for a big fight Saturday night on DAZN against "The Turkish Wolf" Avni Yildirim at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Yildirim is 21-2 as a pro -- but he hasn't fought in 2 years and he's a huge underdog against Canelo. But, Alvarez says he's not taking his opponent lightly.

"I always train like I'm gonna fight the best," Canelo tells us ... "I don't care if people know him or not. I know that the guy he's coming for the win and I know and I train like always and I'm gonna do my best in the fight.'

Canelo says he's gunning for a knockout -- like always -- and also talks about possible upcoming opponents.

Boxing superstar Gervonta Davis WAS the driver who fled the scene of a Lamborghini hit-and-run crash in November that caused injuries ... at least, that's what cops are saying in a new crash report obtained by TMZ Sports.

The crash report lists Davis as the driver of the 2020 Lamborghini Urus -- which allegedly blew through a red light and slammed into a Toyota on Nov. 5th ... just days after Gervonta's huge knockout win over Leo Santa Cruz.

Davis -- who turned 26 on Nov. 7th -- was reportedly celebrating his birthday at a nearby nightclub in South Baltimore before the incident.

In the report, which was first obtained by The Baltimore Sun, law enforcement says Davis and another person in the Lambo jumped out of the car immediately after the crash and fled the scene on foot.

Passengers in the other car, meanwhile, were hurt and needed to be taken to the hospital. In the crash report, cops say the driver of the Toyota had a "suspected serious injury."

Davis was NOT named publicly when cops began investigating the accident ... but in the report, officials say they were able to eventually identify Davis as the driver through witness statements and surveillance video from the area.

Plus, there is video of Davis driving in a rare Lamborghini that matches the description of the vehicle in the wreck. The footage was shot after the Santa Cruz fight.

Davis -- who was listed in the report as having suffered a "possible injury" in the crash -- has NOT been charged with a crime.

According to a police spokesperson, "The investigation is still open and ongoing."

Diamonds, Bugattis, sushi ... and scantily clad butts.

That's what surrounded Floyd Mayweather at his 44th birthday bash on Thursday night -- a wild "futuristic" event in Florida.

The boxing superstar rolled up to "The Venue" in Fort Lauderdale for a massive bash dubbed, "Floyd's Futuristic 44th Birthday Extravaganza."

He arrived in one of his $2 million Bugatti supercars -- dripping in millions of dollars worth of diamond chains.

On the way in, he was asked for an update on his recently postponed exhibition boxing match with Logan Paul -- is it still going to happen?

"I know it's going to happen," Floyd said ... "We just want make sure everything is right and everything is where it should be."

Inside, the party was wild -- tons of food, live music, booze, and hot ladies on rollerskates to entertain the crowd.

The venue is called "The Venue" -- it's a massive 32,000 square foot event space "outfitted with the most advanced technology in sound and lighting, special effects including laser capability and 3D Projection Mapping," according to its website.

In other words, it's super high tech.

Celeb guests included Rick Ross, Larsa Pippen, Jacquees (who performed) and President Joe Biden's brother, Frank Biden.

Floyd's cake was pretty cool too, complete with money and a private jet ... he shared the party with friend Jas 'Limitless' Mathur who plunked down $700k for the bash. We're told there was $200k worth of champagne, ice sculptures and dancers to complete the vibe.

We're told there was a COVID protocol in place -- people were screened at the door, temperature checks and an emphasis on social distancing.

That said, Floyd did not appear to be wearing a mask at any point of the evening.

Mayweather doesn't actually turn 44 until Feb. 24th -- but he clearly wanted to get the party started early.

Adrian Broner is FINALLY getting back in the ring after a wild 2-year layoff -- and he's got a message for everyone who thinks he's washed up.

(Earmuffs, kids)

"Eat a d*** and put gravy on it."

Yep, after all sorts of personal, professional and legal drama ... 31-year-old Broner will return to action on Feb. 20th to fight undefeated Jovanie Santiago on Showtime.

The last time Broner saw action was January 2019 when he lost to Manny Pacquiao via unanimous decision.

In fact, Broner hasn't won a pro fight in 4 years -- but the former 4-division world champ tells TMZ Sports he's got his swag back and will return to greatness.

"Our goal is to be another -- a 5-time world champion soon -- so it's starting off February 20."

Broner has made a TON of headlines since his last fight -- but for all the wrong reasons. He's been accused of sexually assaulting multiple women, assaulting people in public and he's been sued multiple times for not paying jewelry debts.

In the past year alone he was ripped by a judge for failing to pay more than $800,000 to a woman he sexually assaulted in a nightclub back in 2018 and was arrested for DUI after passing out behind the wheel of his Rolls Royce.

But, Broner insists he's turning over a new leaf -- trying to clean up his life and get back to the top of the boxing world.

"I've matured a lot, I've been through a lot and ya know, it's just time to get to business and make my money and do what I do best and that's box."

Before Lamar Odom and Aaron Carter beat the hell out of each other this summer, TMZ Sports got both stars together on Zoom for the 1st time -- and the trash talk was INTENSE!!

We broke the story ... 41-year-old Odom and 33-year-old Carter are boxing June 12 at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City -- all part of a big Celebrity Boxing card.

During the convo, we hit on everything from the huge height difference (Odom's 6’10, Carter's 5’11”-ish), the pressure to represent for NBA players after Nate Robinson was KO'd by Jake Paul, and whether the fight is actually real.

Some highlights:

Lamar says although he doesn’t officially have any fights on his record ... that doesn’t mean he isn’t experienced in the ring.

“I’ve always boxed, in my best years with the Lakers, I used boxing for training, and so for me to go and show what I've learned on my man's face, this is like retribution for Nate Robinson. This is gonna be easy work.”

We asked Aaron if he could realistically beat Lamar ... a giant, elite athlete who played 14 seasons in the NBA.

Without hesitation, Carter basically said ... hell yes.

“I know I can [beat Lamar]. Come June 12th, like I said, like Apollo Creed said, ‘I’m gonna drop him like a bad habit,’ and I mean that.”

Lamar ... well, he doesn’t see it goin' down that way.

“I’m pretty good, bro. It’ll be fun. But, you’ll have fun getting knocked out.”

Carter’s response??

“You will not knock me out! You will not knock me out!”

If all the trash talk didn’t convince you, Aaron made it known this is very much a real fight -- and he’s looking to do real damage.

“I want to make something very clear too, just so everybody knows. There was no secret meetings, nothing gets staged. This is as real as it gets.”

But, don't expect the beef to carry over outside of the ring, after the fight ... 'cause Lamar says there won’t be any hard feelings. In fact, he wants to chill and party with the pop star in AC.

“I’m gonna be real with you, dinners on me cause I don't want you to take this ass whoopin' personal."

Leon Spinks -- former undisputed heavyweight boxing champ -- who defeated Muhammad Ali in 1978 ... has died after a 5 year battle with cancer.

TMZ Sports has confirmed Spinks passed away Friday evening at the age of 67 ... surrounded by his wife Brenda and several other close friends and family.

Leon's health had been in decline recently ... the former boxing champ courageously battled prostate cancer for 5 years.

Spinks was the victor in one of the biggest upsets in sports history ... when he shocked the world by defeating Ali in a 15-round, split decision win in Las Vegas in February 1978.

In defeating Ali, Spinks -- the new heavyweight champ -- became the only fighter to ever take a belt from The Greatest.

The Ali fight was the most memorable moment of Leon's career ... but definitely not the only highlight.

In 1976, Spinks won a gold medal as a light heavyweight fighter in the Summer Olympics in Montreal.

Spinks -- born in St. Louis in 1953 -- developed a passion for boxing while in the U.S. Marines.

Pugilism ran deep in the Spinks family ... Leon was the older brother of boxer Michael Spinks -- a former 2-weight class world champion, and Olympic gold medalist (both brothers won gold in '76).

Leon was inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017.

Ex-MLB superstar Jose Canseco is boxing a 22-year-old Barstool Sports intern TONIGHT ... and the intern tells us why he's convinced he's gonna BEAT the 56-year-old's ass.

Jose's opponent is Billy Football -- who's VERY confident he can send the former slugger to the canvas when they clash in the main event of Barstool's "Rough N' Rowdy 13" card in West Virginia Friday night.

"I have a very, very competitive side to me that's gonna come out Friday night," Billy tells us.

"I think I'm gonna shock Jose. Jose has misjudged me and I think -- as a lot of people would -- they don't actually know who I am and what I can sort of accomplish."

The whole thing stemmed from a beef between Jose and Alex Rodriguez -- with the "Pardon My Take" intern ultimately volunteering to take on Canseco, despite having zero experience as a pro athlete. You can see the full story in this video ...

There's a big size difference between the two men -- Jose is 270 lbs, Billy is 225 -- but Mr. Football says he's not scared.

"It's gonna be very fun to shock the world and show everyone that 'Oh, hey this guy's for real'. This isn't just some s***-show that got thrown together."

Since the fight was slammed together on a month's notice, Billy says his training focused more on stamina than power. But, let's be honest, he's gonna need both.

No matter who emerges victorious, Billy says he hopes the two can be friends after the fight.

Jake Paul is flipping the script on Floyd Mayweather -- issuing his own list of demands if Floyd is serious about wanting to fight him in 2021.

... so why does Jake feel like he's got the upper hand?

Paul says it's pretty simple ... claiming Mayweather is an aging fighter who's only taking exhibitions because he knows he would LOSE if he took another pro fight.

That's why Jake says if Floyd is serious about a scrap, he REFUSES to do an exhibition match -- it has to be a sanctioned bout that would count on both of their records.

"I'm 2 and 0 with 2 KO's with pro fights," Jake says ... "If Floyd wants to do these exhibitions, ya know ... cool! But, I'm a real fighter. He has to take me seriously and I think the reason he wants to do these exhibitions is because he's afraid to risk his legacy of his 50 and 0 record in case he were to lose."

"But, I'm not doing the exhibition s**t. It doesn't interest me. Those are like fake patty-cake fights."

Of course, Floyd is set to take on Jake's older brother, Logan, in an exhibition match later this year ... and he's also toying with the idea of fighting his former BFF, 50 Cent.

Jake says the whole thing reeks of desperation.

"This guy is out of his mind! He just calls me out, out of nowhere -- same with 50 Cent! I mean, he hasn't even fought my brother yet. It just seems like he's losing his marbles ... like what the f*** is this guy doing?!"

Jake also thinks there's another motivating factor behind the scenes for Floyd ... money!

"It just seems like this guy is money hungry. It seems like he hasn't paid his taxes or some s**t and he just wants to fight everyone."

But first, Jake needs to focus on his next opponent, UFC star Ben Askren -- the two will step in the ring on April 17.

Despite Askren's impressive career as an MMA fighter, Jake says he wasn't impressed by new video of Ben hitting the heavy bag in his boxing gym.