Boxing

Floyd Mayweather COULD beat up both Logan Paul and Jake Paul on the same night ... but he won't, according to the man who runs Mayweather Promotions.

Remember, Floyd took the mic at Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday and said he would have no problem beating "two fake fighters" on the same night.

Jake Paul confronted Floyd about the situation -- and with news cameras rolling, Floyd yelled for his manager to draw up the paperwork.

Hell broke loose after that ... but when things finally calmed down, we spoke with Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe and asked if there was any real chance fans would get a 2-for-1 special on June 6.

"Realistically, he could [fight both brothers], but no ... from a business standpoint, no."

Ellerbe continued, "[Floyd] and Logan are gonna have a great exhibition on the 6th of June and the whole world will be entertained."

As for the possibility Floyd could fight Jake on another date down the road? The door seems to be open on that ...

Who knows?! Who knows what the future might hold?!"

TMZ Sports: "Do you think Jake Paul can win?"

Mike Tyson: "No. He's gonna get beat up pretty bad."

There it is ... Mike Tyson keeping it all the way real when asked how Jake Paul would fare against Floyd Mayweather if they ever step in the ring.

Don't get it twisted, Mike is NOT a hater -- he loves both Jake and Logan Paul ... but he's also a walking boxing encyclopedia who knows more about the sport than almost anyone else on the planet.

So, with Logan slated to fight Floyd on June 6 and Jake also gunning for a shot at Mayweather, we asked Mike if either guy had a snowball's chance in hell.

Look, our photog was extremely excited to talk with Mike and fudged the names ... but you get the gist of what he's trying to say.

Bottom line ... Mike ain't even offering up the "puncher's chance" argument for either Paul -- which basically states that anyone with knockout power has a chance of winning a fight, even if they're out-skilled.

Oscar De La Hoya took a break from training for his return to the boxing ring ... to SING with a mariachi band on Cinco de Mayo, and TMZ Sports has the footage.

The 48-year-old hit up Maestro, a Mexican food restaurant in Pasadena (he's like the mayor over there) and started feeling himself when the mariachi band began to play.

So, Oscar -- who once released a Latin Pop album back in the day -- decided to grab the mic and take over the lead singing duties.

Look, he ain't exactly Marc Anthony ... but it's not bad for a guy who was mowing down his dinner just minutes before taking the stage.

The crowd loved it and cheered him on as he sang hits like "Amor Eterno" by Rocio Durcal and "Sigo Siendo el Rey" by Vicente Fernandez.

FYI, Oscar's self-titled album was released in 2001 and actually got nominated for a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album alongside Shakira, Christina Aguilera and Luis Miguel!!!!

Oh, he lost to Shakira's MTV Unplugged album -- which, in her defense, still holds up.

As for the boxing side of things, Oscar announced he'll be returning to the ring on July 3 ... but his opponent has still not been announced.

The black eye and bloody mouth will fade ... but Jake Paul was still able to get a permanent reminder of his altercation with Floyd Mayweather -- immortalizing the incident with a new tattoo!!

The YouTube superstar showed off his new ink Thursday night -- just hours after he was roughed up at Hard Rock Stadium by Floyd and the boxer's bodyguards ... and it's pretty damn funny.

The tat -- located just below his right knee -- reads "Gotcha Hat" and features a picture of a baseball cap.

Of course, after Jake famously stole the hat off Floyd's head following the Floyd-Logan news conference in Miami -- he shouted repeatedly, "Gotcha hat!"

The scene was wild ... Jake got pummeled after stealing the cap -- and showed off a shiner and a bloody mouth in a video of the aftermath.

But, Jake's been having a great time with it all regardless ... talking all kinds of smack, getting the tat AND selling new "Gotcha Hat" merch.

Logan and Floyd are set to face off on June 6 ... and we're fired up for that -- but there's got to be Jake vs. Floyd immediately after that.

Logan Paul insists the dust-up between his brother and Floyd Mayweather was NOT a scripted stunt ... telling TMZ Sports, "I f**king wish that wasn't real."

"I wish it was staged," Logan added ... "That s**t is not funny. It's not fun for anyone."

As we previously reported, Jake Paul took over the media event at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Thursday and got right into Floyd's face ... stealing his baseball cap and touching off a violent altercation.

Floyd was PISSED -- chasing after Jake while screaming that he was going to "kill" the YouTube superstar.

We spoke with Logan after the incident and he told us the whole situation is giving him even MORE motivation to flatten Mayweather when they step in the ring on June 6.

"That s**t just got personal by default. It was supposed to be like a cute little press conference ...come together, get people excited for the fight. Not people talking about killing people! What the f**k!?"

We asked Logan if he had a message to Floyd ... and of course, Logan delivered.

"This is gonna be the craziest f**king evening to ever take place in the history of combat sports."

"My message to Floyd is this ... we're gonna get you that hat back, Floyd."

By the way, the Floyd incident was the talk of Hollywood on Thursday -- just ask rapper Rich the Kid, who weighed in on the incident when we spotted him in Beverly Hills.

Conor McGregor says Floyd Mayweather should be "embarrassed" by his run-in with Jake Paul on Thursday ... saying the fact he's feuding with YouTubers is just "sad."

The UFC superstar dropped some strong criticism about his old opponent after things went sideways at Thursday's media event at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami ... calling out Mayweather CEO Leonard Ellerbe for allowing Floyd to get involved with such a circus.

"Hey [Leonard Ellerbe], what the f**k is Floyd at?" Conor posted on IG.

"The kid [Jake Paul] curled up, didn’t fight back once, and Floyd is still running around acting the tough guy."

"The kid actually just pulled this shambles of a situation Floyd is in out of the drain for him. He should thank him. It’s embarrassing!"

Conor's point is Floyd is too accomplished and too big of a draw to be fighting unaccomplished non-professionals like Logan Paul and Jake.

"Pro to pro it’s embarrassing," Conor continued.

McGregor predicts the June 6 PPV event will ultimately be a failure -- saying Floyd "will not scratch $10 million for this fight and he knows it."

"It was cancelled once already. The world is watching this on Twitter. He’d fight a half decent pro and command 20m upwards, yet its this s**t."

"Whatever way you spin this, it’s sad. Fight someone for real, on your record, or f**k off mate. Slap head!"

Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders are fighting in front of a MASSIVE crowd Saturday night, but promoter Eddie Hearn says you should NOT worry about Covid ... 'cause there are precautions in place to keep fans safe.

The fight's going down May 8 at AT&T Stadium in Texas -- where there are no restrictions -- and will likely be the most attended event in America since the pandemic struck early last year.

"We're gonna be just under 70,000. So it's gonna be incredible," Hearn says ... "I think I remember seeing Canelo box Liam Smith and it was about 40,000 people there and the atmosphere was just absolutely insane. This is gonna be a very, very special atmosphere."

Some people have said packing the building with fans is a bad idea ... so we asked Eddie to address the situation.

"We're not the first in terms of big numbers returning to Texas. All sports now have been bringing crowds back. You've seen no spikes because of that," Hearn says.

"There will be masks worn, mandatory, on Saturday night. I've noticed, to be honest with you, as a Brit coming into states that have opened up like Texas and Florida, people aren't going out there care-free and just ignoring rules."

"People are actually being sensible and they will be Saturday night, and everyone will have a safe night."

Canelo Alvarez is now mocking his opponent Billy Joe Saunders over a beef about the size of the boxing ring they'll use Saturday night ... telling TMZ Sports size doesn't matter to him at all!

Billy Joe had threatened to pull out of the highly anticipated fight at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas ... claiming Canelo's camp was trying to force the fight to take place in an 18-foot ring, much smaller than Billy Joe is used to.

Billy Joe reportedly wanted a 22-foot ring -- which gives fighters more room to move around ... it's less of a phone-booth-style fight.

The two sides announced they had come to an agreement by Wednesday afternoon ... so, the fight is on -- though the official ring size has still not been announced publicly.

We spoke with Canelo (55-1-2) who told us "I don't care about the size of the ring. I can give him the entire stadium. I don't care."

Canelo says he's not going to let the pre-fight drama mess with his fight strategy -- he's still planning on destroying Saunders with a "cool mind."

We also spoke with Saunders who essentially says he feels like Canelo's camp has jerked him around before the fight ... and the ring size dispute was just unnecessary drama.

Saunders is 30-0 with 14 KOs -- and has been touted as the most legitimate threat to beat Canelo since Gennady Golovkin.

There's more ... we also spoke with Canelo about his good friend Ryan Garcia, who recently revealed he's dealing with mental health issues.

Canelo was extremely supportive of Garcia and told us he expects Ryan to eventually return to the ring to fight again since that's what he was born to do.

Garcia pulled out of his July 9 fight against Javier Fortuna -- explaining he's been struggling with "depression and anxiety for some time."

"I pushed thru so many times but I need some time off and I'm choosing to finally get some help with my mental health," Garcia said.

Move over Aaron Carter and Lamar Odom ... Matt Barnes says he's got interest in a big celeb boxing match of his own -- telling TMZ Sports he's down to scrap with Chad Ochocinco!

... but, only if the price is right.

The former NBA superstar was out at Tierra Rejada Golf Club in California on Wednesday when he told us he doesn't hate the idea of getting in the ring with the ex-Cincinnati Bengals receiver, who's looking for an opponent after agreeing to participate on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul event next month.

Barnes, though, tells us his fighting days are winding down quickly ... so it would take some serious convincing and serious cash to make it all work.

"I do box," Barnes said at the Golf Beef event (which promotes black-owned businesses) ... before adding, "but, to be honest with you, like, it's not something that I really want to jump into, to be honest with you."

"To me, I'm kind of past that stage of my life. But, if it ever came across and the money was right, I'd consider it."

The matchup is pretty intriguing ... both guys are tough dudes who have been known to hit the mitts during workout sessions.

And, with both their ages being similar (Chad's 43, Matt's 41) ... it could make for a helluva tilt!!

"Beat him back to YouTube!!!"

That's Michael Rapaport BEGGING Floyd Mayweather to whoop Logan Paul's ass ... saying the social media star is destroying the sport of boxing by claiming to be a real fighter.

"This is a message directly to Floyd Mayweather," Rapaport said during an interview that will air in its entirety on "Drinks With Binks" on fubo Sports Network at 8 PM Wednesday.

"For every coulda, shoulda, woulda-been-a contender, for every golden gloves champion, every golden gloves loser, for your uncle, for your father, for every rope you skipped and heavy bag you punched -- kick this guy's ass!"

Rapaport's beef with Logan is simple ... he believes the guy is disrespecting the sport by not taking it seriously, yet he's still headlining cards and getting massive paydays.

Michael wants Floyd to put a hurting on Logan BADLY ... saying he believes that'll end the streak of YouTubers thinking they're real fighters.

"It is such a disrespect to the sport of boxing," Rapaport says ... "For every blow that Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier took and gave each other -- he has to kick his ass."

"I know a lot of people don't like Floyd Mayweather but the irony of it is that the whole world, I think, I hope, is going to be rooting for Floyd Mayweather and this will end in an embarrassing fashion."

Rapaport added that Floyd should "take the money and beat the s*** out of him."

Despite being hit with criminal charges in connection with the horrific death of a pregnant woman and her unborn child ... boxer Felix Verdejo WILL continue to have a contract with Top Rank as long he's not convicted -- so says Bob Arum.

The legendary boxing promoter explained the situation in an interview with WAPA-TV this week ... saying he has no plans to cut Verdejo at this time, even in light of the disturbing allegations against the 27-year-old.

"A man -- no matter how bad it looks -- is innocent until proven guilty," Arum says.

"And, we will not release him from the contract and terminate our relationship with him unless or until he's convicted."

While Arum's point is legitimate -- Verdejo's got a mountain to climb to avoid a conviction ... because there seems to be a ton of very compelling evidence against him as it relates to the death of 27-year-old Keishla Rodriguez and her unborn child.

Law enforcement says a witness has come forward and claimed he helped Verdejo kill the woman in Puerto Rico last week ... saying the boxer abducted her, punched her, injected her with foreign substances, and ultimately threw her off a bridge with a heavy block tied to her.

Law enforcement says cell phone data appears to corroborate the witness' story. Investigators also say they have surveillance video which appears to show a dark SUV at the scene of the crime similar to the one Verdejo had previously been spotted with.

Still, Arum says, "We're not going to release him until and unless he is convicted."

Verdejo surrendered to Puerto Rican authorities over the weekend ... and is currently being held without bail.

Puerto Rican newspaper El Vocero de Puerto Rico reports he's due in court on May 11 for a hearing in the case.

Welp, here's a scary threat from Kamaru Usman to Jake Paul -- cut the crap before you get hurt, for real.

Yeah.

Okay, here's the quick backstory ... Jake Paul has been looking for ALL THE SMOKE from UFC fighters after ferociously knocking out Ben Askren.

He's called out Conor McGregor, beefed with Tyron Woodley and went face-to-face with Daniel Cormier at UFC 260.

Kamaru -- the reigning UFC welterweight champ -- told TMZ Sports back in April he was getting sick of Paul's trash talk and said he would love the opportunity to "beat the s**t" out of him.

Paul responded to Usman, "Challenge accepted" -- adding, "If your boss Dana gives you permission to box me and make more money than you ever have, let me know and we can lace them up. I promise it will be your biggest pay day."

The two continued to trade shots over social media -- with Jake accusing Usman of "backing out."

Which led to Usman responding yet again on Wednesday morning ...

"I understand you think this is a game which is probably why you don’t realize that this is how people Truly get hurt," Usman said.

"I don’t play fighting and I can change your life in the worst way."

He's not kidding ... Usman is coming off one of the most violent KO's of the year when he flattened Jorge Masvidal with a killer right hand at UFC 261.

Usman's manager Ali AbdelAziz certainly wants a fight to happen -- telling us he thinks it would be one of the most successful PPV events in combat sports history.

KISS THE BABY!!

Ex-NFL superstar Chad Ochocinco has signed a deal to fight in an exhibition boxing match on the Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul undercard  -- the very first fight of his career.

In other words, Chad is making his boxing debut at 43 YEARS OLD!

The former Cincinnati Bengals WR has been training his ass off in boxing gyms for years -- but never really expressed serious interest in taking a fight.

But, Chad says he was approached by Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe recently ... and offered a spot on the undercard for the big June 6 event at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Chad says he immediately asked his family for their thoughts -- and when they gave their blessing, Ochocinco told Ellerbe he would do it!

Ochocinco -- formally known as Chad Johnson -- broke the news on the "I AM ATHLETE" podcast.

So far, no opponent has been locked in -- but we're hearing promoters are looking to match Chad up against another former non-boxing athlete.

The obvious choice would be ex-NFL wideout Brandon Marshall, who's been putting in serious work in the boxing gym for years ... and has openly talked about wanting a big-time fight.

In fact, Brandon spent some time training with Evander Holyfield who compared Marshall to heavyweight knockout artist Deontay Wilder.

As for Chad, he's already got a new nickname -- calling himself, "Sweet Feet Johnson!"

Pro boxer Felix Verdejo -- who competed in the 2012 Olympics -- has been hit with multiple criminal charges connected to the killing of a 27-year-old pregnant woman and her unborn child.

Verdejo surrendered to authorities in Puerto Rico on Sunday evening -- roughly 24 hours after the body of Keishla Rodriguez was found in a lagoon.

Officials say her body was in such bad shape, they needed to use her dental records to verify her identity.

The allegations of her killing are extremely disturbing ...

Officials say the FBI has been working with a witness who claims to have "firsthand, personal knowledge” of the incident -- because the boxer had "requested his help to terminate the pregnancy."

The witness says he and Verdejo abducted Rodriguez on Thursday evening in a black SUV -- where the boxer proceeded to punch her in the face and inject her with a "syringe filled with substances."

After that, Verdejo allegedly bound the woman's hands and feet, tied a heavy block to her body and threw her off the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge, into the San Jose Lagoon.

That's not all ... the witness told officials Verdejo then pulled out a gun and began firing at her in what appears to be a final horrific effort to ensure her death.

Authorities say cell phone data appears to sync up with the witness account -- confirming the locations where Rodriguez had been traveling before her death.

Also, officials say they have surveillance video showing a dark SUV -- similar to the one Verdejo had been spotted with -- on the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge.

Verdejo is now facing multiple criminal charges including kidnapping resulting in death, carjacking resulting in death and killing an unborn child.

If convicted on all counts, Verdejo could face the death penalty.

Verdejo is 27-2 as a pro boxer and famously fought for Puerto Rico in the 2012 Olympic Games.

He had been signed with Top Rank Boxing which issued a statement on the situation on a Saturday.

"The thoughts and prayers of Top Rank are with the family and friends of Keishla Marlen Rodríguez Ortiz, and with the people of Puerto Rico in this moment of mourning."

"We are profoundly disturbed by the news and will continue to monitor the evolution of the case as it progresses."

"I needed to make a change because I was tired of the way I was living."

That's 31-year-old former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz opening up about depression that literally brought him to his knees ... after losing his belts to Anthony Joshua.

TMZ Sports talked to Ruiz days before he makes his return to the squared circle on May 1 ... where "The Destroyer" will take on Chris Arreola.

When Ruiz starts letting his hands fly ... he'll look a little bit different than the last time we saw him in the ring with Joshua -- 'cause the 6'2" boxing star has lost nearly 60 pounds!!

"I think the weight loss is gonna be good and gonna be an advantage for me," Ruiz tells us.

"I think I'm gonna be a little faster, I'm gonna be able to slip more punches, bob and weave and things that we've been practicing in the gym and you know, I'm still not where I wanna be at but I'm still way better than I was before."

Of course, Ruiz SHOCKED the world and KO'd AJ in June 2019 ... one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history.

But, the December 2019 rematch didn't go nearly as well for Ruiz ... who stepped into the ring weighing 284 pounds, and looking out of shape in a unanimous decision loss.

After the fight, Andy says he was depressed and knew he had to change his life ... and that started with the drastic weight loss.

"There was just this one day that I was just depressed with myself and I was weighting 310 lbs. I thought losing weight would be the big issue and learning discipline, because I lacked discipline in my whole professional career," Ruiz says.

Andy continued ... "Like I said, I was depressed, I had got on my knees, I started praying and started telling God for a new change, a new mentality, and the next day I woke up and I woke up like a brand new man and that's when I messaged Canelo and told him if he could open the doors for me, and here we are now."

If the new, improved Ruiz beats Arreola (and he's a massive favorite) ... Andy could potentially face Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury, Dillian Whyte or even Joshua for a third time.

Logan Paul has exactly ZERO chance of beating Floyd Mayweather when they clash on June 6, so says Max Kellerman ... but he still thinks the event could be GREAT for boxing.

Kellerman is one of the top experts in the world when it comes to the sweet science -- he's like a walking encyclopedia. And, while some people are crapping on the fight as a mockery to the sport, Max says there's a silver lining.

"It's a good introduction for a lot of people to combat sports," the ESPN star explains ... saying it reminds him of when the UFC burst onto the scene.

"A lot of boxing industry [people] felt threatened by UFC back in the day. I always felt, not only did I like the UFC, but that boxing should also welcome it, not feel threatened by it because they were exposing a new generation of fans to combat sports."

"So, you say, 'Hey, you like combat sports? Come over here and check us out' and Logan Paul is doing the same thing with Floyd Mayweather now."

As for his fight prediction -- "No, Logan Paul doesn't have a chance to beat Floyd Mayweather in a boxing ring but he's gonna try. Good for him."