Boxing

Manny Pacquiao has faced many opponents in the ring, but now he's entering a far more brutal sport ... Presidential politics.

Manny says he's gonna run for President of the Philippines in next year's election. He accepted the nomination of his party -- the PDP-Laban party -- at Sunday's convention. True to form, Manny told the crowd, "I am a fighter, and I will always be a fighter inside and outside the ring," adding, "I wholeheartedly, bravely and humbly hope for your support."

The 42-year-old is throwing his hat in the ring just at the right time ... citizens in the country are fed up with the government and many are demanding a change, and Manny may be just the change they're after.

Pacquiao has accused the current administration of gross corruption. It's not the first time he's gotten into politics, in 2016 he was elected as a Senator, grabbing more than 16 million votes.

As for his platform, he says he'll fight poverty and corruption. He says he's qualified because he lived a life of poverty early in life and understands it.

Manny gave a dire warning to current, corrupt politicians ... they "will soon end in jail together."

Tana Mongeau could be the next big YouTuber to enter the boxing ring ... 'cause the social media superstar tells TMZ Sports she's gotten "crazy" offers to fight -- and she's definitely not saying "no."

The celeb boxing world has blown up in recent years ... with guys like the Paul bros., KSI and Austin McBroom cashing in on people wanting to see them take some punches.

But, there's been a MASSIVE lack of female representation in YouTube fighting ... and one name that's been rumored to change that is 23-year-old Mongeau, who has nearly 5.5 MILLION followers on the platform.

So, when we ran into TM at LAX recently, we had to ask if she was going to cash in and take a fight.

"We've had some crazy offers," Tana tells us. "A lot of the people who I want to fight don't wanna fight. Not that I'm scary, I don't know why but we're trying to figure it out right now for sure. It’s definitely not a 'no.'"

One person Tana says she wanted to face off against is her hated rival and ex Bella Thorne, but claims the actress wants nothing to do with it.

Speaking of exes, does this mean Tana wants to be the next Jake Paul of boxing?!? Not quite.

"I think comparing myself to Jake Paul is something I try to stay away from for my mental health," Tana joked.

But, don't get it twisted -- Tana says if someone backs up the Brinks trucks she will 100% start training and taking it seriously.

"Crazy that after 17 years we're back in it, we're still in the mix, fighting on a big card. All the fans are excited, so its nice to go out there and put on a show for the fans."

That's Robbie Lawler telling TMZ Sports about fighting Nick Diaz ... 6,386 days after first battling his fellow MMA legend at UFC 47 (we're at 266 now).

FYI, Lawler lost by knockout in the 2nd round.

We asked 39-year-old Lawler whether there's anything he can take from the 2004 fight ... but Ruthless Robbie said the fight happened just too damn long ago.

"Not too much [to learn], 'cause I mean I've evolved so much from that fight, learned so much from that."

To make prep even harder for Lawler ... 38-year-old Diaz hasn't fought since his no contest against Anderson Silva at UFC 183 in 2015.

But, Lawler doesn't expect a rusty or run-down Nick ... he believes he'll get a prime version of the fighter from Stockton, Cali.

As for Lawler's future (he's lost his last 4 against guys like Colby Covington and Rafael dos Anjos), we asked him if it's possible next Saturday will be the last time we ever see him in a UFC Octagon.

"Nah, it's not possible. I've been doing this for a long time. My body feels good. Just waiting for good fights that get me excited, and this is one of those fights. Nick Diaz is a big name, and this is gonna be a big event."

Oscar De La Hoya is obviously feeling great after his COVID hospital stay -- some 7 days after the fact, he was putting his lungs to good use ... with some movie-themed karaoke.

The boxing champ was out in Pasadena this past Wednesday, hitting a place called the Der Wolf bar for some evening time show tunes ... where he got on the mic to sing "Shallow" -- yes, the Lady Gaga song from "A Star is Born."

In video obtained by TMZ, you can see ODLH reading lyrics off the monitor and belting out the second verse (Gaga's part) ... with bar-goers enthusiastically helping him out. Seems like a crowd favorite! He flubs a bit as he goes along -- but carries on nicely regardless.

It's a 180 from how Oscar was doing just a week and change prior -- when he was hospitalized for a handful of days for a nasty bout with COVID ... which prevented him from fighting Vitor Belfort, and requiring Evander Holyfield to step in (and get TKO'd).

Clearly, Oscar's doing great after that ... and maybe this outing means he'll get back in the ring sooner than later. Assuming he doesn't get sick again, that is, in a mask-less environment (like this).

Logan Paul has clearly been benched from boxing because we just got this pic of him in Europe with a busted hand.

Logan was at the airport in Berlin Saturday, on his way to Reykjavik, Iceland. His right arm was covered in blue Plaster of Paris. An eyewitness says when he got on the plane he was posing with a large stuffed penguin and a footlong golden egg.

Logan doesn't have his next match scheduled, so he'll have time to heal. We don't know how it happened, the extent of the injury or the timeline for recovery, but it's definitely a problem. Logan, BTW, is a right-handed fighter.

Now it's always possible this is a stunt -- it's half the Paul Bros for cryin' out loud -- but this seems like the real deal.

"The Mountain" is looking more like a sculpted rock ... 'cause he's lost a TON of weight over the past two years -- and check out his new bod, he's SHREDDED!!!

Hafthor Bjornsson -- who starred as the big beast on "Game Of Thrones" -- has transformed his body since retiring from strongman competition in 2019 ... moving to the boxing world, and the results are impressive as hell.

Just two days out from his big celeb tilt with arm-wrestling legend Devon Larratt, Bjornsson -- a 3x Arnold Classic and 2018 World's Strongest Man winner -- showed off all the progress he's made with his physique, revealing chiseled abs, pecs and arms.

6'9" Bjornsson told Muscle And Health earlier this month he's down to about 328 pounds -- roughly 120 pounds under the 450-or-so pounds that he used to tip the scales at when he was lifting competitively.

It's all been an effort to dominate in the ring ... with Bjornsson initially setting out to fight fellow strong man Eddie Hall -- his heated rival -- this weekend.

Hall, though, tore his bicep while training in July ... so Bjornsson is now scheduled to fight Larratt -- a dude he once lost to in an arm-wrestling competition.

"You f***ing a**hole, Jimmy Kimmel. Honestly Jimmy, f*** you. bro."

Logan Paul just went scorched-earth on Jimmy Kimmel for dissing him last week ... saying the late-night host is "so f***ing lame" for making him the butt of a joke.

In case you missed it, Kimmel name-dropped the YouTube superstar during one of his opening monologues ... when he made a reference to former President Donald Trump's wildly expensive appearance at Triller Fight Club.

"Between Logan Paul and Donald Trump, boxing is once again the top source of income for the very worst people," Kimmel joked.

But, LP ain't laughing ... in fact, he's calling out the host for bashing him after he was a guest on the same show just 3 years ago.

"F*** you, Jimmy Kimmel. F*** you," Logan said on his "Impaulsive" podcast Tuesday.

Paul has received similar treatment recently -- he was mentioned in Bo Burnham's song, "That Funny Feeling," during his popular Netflix special, "Inside" ... which LP says he was cool with.

Paul also takes aim at Kimmel's staff ... saying, "Your writers are so lacking content and creativity they had to do some lame-ass Paul joke??"

Tyron Woodley isn't only prepared to pay off his tattoo bet with Jake Paul ... he says he actively attempted to get it the night of the fight, waiting in the hotel until the early morning hours, but the tattoo artist never showed up.

TMZ Sports talked to the 39-year-old Woodley ... and the future UFC HOF'er called cap on Paul, who recently said the rematch was off after Tyron refused to uphold his side of their wager and get some "I Love Jake Paul" ink.

"I wasn't willing, I was waiting," Woodley explained, adding ... "We was in the basement of the hotel waiting, no food, up late, looking stupid. Nah, it was not willing, it was waiting. I was waiting on him to follow through with they end of the deal."

FYI, Jake's tattoo artist, Tatu Baby, previously told us she'd be on hand at the fight, ready to ink up the loser.

But, Tyron says she never showed ... so there was nothing he could do.

For what it's worth Tatu Baby told us late Tuesday night she stayed for an hour after the fight to do the tattoo, but left when she believed neither fighter was down to get ink.

Despite all the confusion, The Chosen One is still down to get the tat ... and even told us he'd do it live on Instagram -- with Jake on the stream.

As for the location on Tyron's body, the fighter says he's reserved a bit of real estate on his hand for the new artwork.

"I should get it on my knuckles so when I punch him in the face, he'll see how much I love Jake Paul. I'm gonna put these knuckles all across his little temple and that big ass jawline."

There's more ... T-Wood says he's down to fight Logan, too, but not until he rematches his younger bro.

"Logan, you can get it, too! They both could to be honest but I gotta beat Jake up first because that's just something, I just hate that he can walk around and say he beat me in anything."

Vitor Belfort says he's about to be $30 MILLION richer ... that is, if Jake Paul has the guts to step in the boxing ring, telling TMZ Sports The Problem Child's a coward if he doesn't accept the fight.

"I'd like to teach that boy a lesson. Your parents give you behaviors and all that, so he's gonna meet his big daddy," 44-year-old Belfort says.

"And, if he likes money, we got big money. There's no excuse to run away from this fight. So, he has to take it, and if you don't take it, he's gonna show he's a coward and he's looking for easy fights."

Shots fired.

Paul's 4-0 professionally -- with wins over Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren -- but Belfort has zero doubt he'd knock out the YouTuber-turned-boxing star, saying ... "I'm gonna knock [Jake] out. There's no doubt about it."

Of course, Belfort called out 24-year-old Paul in the ring following his 1st round KO of Evander Holyfield ... with Triller's Ryan Kavanaugh pledging $30 million to the winner of the potential scrap.

$30 mil is A LOT of money, but what's unclear ... after signing a deal with Showtime Boxing, could Jake take the fight, even if he wanted to?

"I think it's worth it. $30 million to get your a** whooped by a legend like myself," Belfort says.

If not Jake, Vitor told us he's also interested in Canelo Alvarez (there's a $40 mil offer on the table from Triller), Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, Lennox Lewis and even Tyson Fury.

As for Paul, he recently called out Jorge Masvidal ... but with Gambred under contract with the UFC, it's highly unlikely Dana White would sign off on the fight.

Justin Bieber used his VMA acceptance speech to give a huge shoutout to his buddy, Conor McGregor ... saying the UFC superstar will be back better than ever after his devastating leg injury.

33-year-old Conor was at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards to present the "Artist of the Year" award Sunday night ... rocking a bright, pink suit, his walking cane and a massive smile.

While McGregor got into an intense scuffle with Machine Gun Kelly before his appearance, he was all calmed down once it was time for him to announce the category's big winner.

"New York is back and so is the Mac," Conor said. "2022 will be our greatest year yet."

And when it was time to reveal the winner ... McGregor couldn't be happier.

Of course, Conor and Bieber have gotten pretty close recently -- from catching rays poolside to being guests at each other's concerts and fights -- so it was only right The Notorious was able to share the awesome moment with the "Peaches" singer.

Bieber name-dropped his wife, Hailey, and rapper Travis Scott after grabbing the Moonperson ... and then guaranteed Conor will make a big comeback after snapping his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

"Conor, we're gonna get 'em next time, my boy," Bieber said. "Let's go."

Boxing legend Shane Mosley wagered $1,000,000 on himself, betting he'd BEAT Canelo Alvarez in 2012 ... but unfortunately for Sugar, he not only lost the fight, he netted a NEGATIVE $400K in the process!!

The 50-year-old, former multiple-weight class world champion sat down with Mario Lopez for Triller's "OK Bet" show ... and made the stunning admission.

"They were gonna pay me $600,000 [for the Alvarez fight], but I made a bet for a million dollars that I was gonna beat Canelo, and if I would've won I’d have $6 million," Shane recounts.

"I was thinking this snot nose kid is not gonna beat me, you know at 154 (lbs)."

Sadly for Shane's bank account, he was wrong ... and instead of making millions like he would've with a win, he actually LOST hundreds of thousands of George Washington's after paying off his debt.

"I bet a million dollars and I lost so I ended up having to pay back 400,000 dollars. For getting my butt kicked I had to pay $400,000."

If you don't remember the May 2012 fight ... then-40-year-old Mosley took on a 21-year-old Canelo at the MGM in Las Vegas.

Alvarez was 40-0-1 at the time ... and held the lightweight title. But, Mosley, who'd won just 2 of his last 6 fights, and was nearing the end of his great career, believed he still had enough left in the tank to get the W.

After 12 rounds, Mosley ended up losing a 1-sided decision to the future top pound-for-pound fighter in the world ... with 2 judges scoring the bout 119-109, and the other, 118-110.

Shane retired 5 fights later in 2016. Since, the legendary pugilist has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Donald Trump thinks he'd knockout Joe Biden EASILY in a boxing match ... saying the current POTUS wouldn't stand a chance.

#45 faced the media at the Evander Holyfield vs. Vitor Belfort presser before his big commentary gig for Saturday's event ... when he was asked who he'd want to face off against in the ring for a hypothetical fight.

"If you said if I had to box somebody, I think probably my easiest fight would be Joe Biden," Trump said. "Because I think he'd go down very, very quickly. Very, very quickly."

Of course, Trump ain't shy about his hate for Biden ... often referring to #46 as "Sleepy Joe."

DT's refused to accept the fact Biden beat him fair and square in the voting booths during the 2020 presidential election ... so it's no surprise he'd want to duke it out in the ring.

As we previously reported, The Donald is getting paid MILLIONS to call one of three broadcast options for the Triller fight on Saturday alongside his son, Don Jr.

Part of his duties included being the "honored guest" during the bout's final press conference at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort on Thursday ... but only Trump Jr. was actually present.

DTJ said the gig is a natural fit for the Trumps -- they grew up loving combat sports and would probably end up calling the fight to themselves if it weren't for the opportunity.

Trump will be joined by UFC's Jorge Masvidal and Todd Grisham in the broadcast booth on Saturday ... but if you aren't interested in that, there's always the main broadcast with 50 Cent.

As for a fight between Trump and Biden?? Don't hold your breath -- both guys are in their 70s ... among other obvious reasons.

But hey, we can dream.

There will be NO lack of star power in the announcer's booths at the Holyfield vs. Belfort fight Saturday night, 'cause TMZ Sports has learned 50 Cent will be joining Triller's coverage of the big event.

But, before you start dreaming about Fiddy sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Donald Trump ... the hip-hop star and former POTUS will be on a different broadcast.

Sources tell us 50 will be filling Snoop Dogg's usual role doing color commentary ... which in previous fights has been nothing short of hilarious.

Of course, 50 -- a huge boxing fan -- is also known for his antics ... so the entertainment on the main broadcast should be top-notch.

Even though Trump won't have 50 by his side ... DT won't be alone. UFC star Jorge Masvidal WILL be in the booth with Don Jr., providing analysis.

It makes sense ... the former prez and Jorge go back. Masvidal even hit the campaign trail for Trump in Florida during the lead up to the election.

They were last seen together publicly, where they embraced, backstage at the Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier fight in July.

In addition to DT, DT Jr., and Gamebred ... longtime play-by-play man, Todd Grisham will handle a lot of the heavy lifting in the booth (think Jon Anik).

Good news ... Oscar De La Hoya was released from the hospital after a bad bout with COVID-19, the boxing legend announced on Wednesday.

"Hey guys, I am out of the hospital. I was in there for 3 days. COVID hit me really hard," ODLH said via social media, adding, "I was in the best shape of my life and I really can't wait to get back in the ring."

Of course, Oscar was scheduled to fight Vitor Belfort on September 11 ... but was forced out of the event when he contracted the virus.

It wasn't just a matter of Oscar being positive ... he was hit hard by the virus, forcing him to go to the hospital on Friday.

Oscar managed to film a video the same day from his hospital bed ... and it was clear he was in bad shape.

However, the Hall of Famer bounced back quick ... and is clearly on the med.

Unfortunately, De La Hoya's still out of his Saturday night fight with Belfort ... and fellow legend, Evander Holyfield has stepped in to fight the MMA legend.

If that wasn't enough ... former President Donald Trump -- who doesn't see eye-to-eye with ODLH -- will be doing commentary for the fight.

Bottom line, despite the setback, Oscar made it clear he still intends to return to the ring after a decade-plus layoff ... and he closed out his health update with a big shout-out to his millions of fans.

George Foreman sounds like he was really looking forward to Michael K. Williams acting in his biopic ... telling us the late actor could've carried the entire movie.

The boxing legend tells TMZ ... Michael was the perfect fit to play his trainer and mentor Doc Broadus in his upcoming biopic, and not just because he looked the part.

George tells us he liked the fact Michael could also relate to boxers. George also says once he saw a picture of MKW in a suit, he knew he was going to be the one to anchor the biopic.

As we reported ... Michael was found dead Monday in his Brooklyn apartment, a little over a week after being cast in the Foreman biopic.

George says he didn't have a hand in Michael's original casting and says it's going to be up to producers to fill the role ... but he says he'll be mourning Michael for a few days before thinking about who can play Doc.

Terrell Owens is ready to get into the celeb boxing game ... saying he wants a fight with Donovan McNabb -- and he's promising he'll knock his former QB out if it all goes down!!

T.O. joined Shannon Sharpe on the "Club Shay Shay" podcast this week and made the call-out ... making it clear time has NOT healed his feud with McNabb one bit.

"Shannon, I'll knock him out," Owens said ... "It'll be controlled anger. I'll be like a Navy SEAL. I'll be a Navy SEAL. 'Cause they're cool, calm under all conditions."

"But, there would be a fire burning inside of me."

Owens says the idea for the potential fight originated during a conversation with fans while he was ringside at Chad Ochocinco's boxing match on the undercard of the Logan Paul vs. Floyd Mayweather event in June.

"I had people asking me, 'T.O., you next? You next?!'" Owens said. "And, then I had one guy that was like, 'Yo. If you had to fight, who would you want to fight?'"

"I said, Donovan McNabb."

As for how violent the match would get ... Owens made it clear he would hold NOTHING back.

"I'd knock Chunky Soup from him," T.O. said. "From 2004! Trust me. All the heartache and all the stuff that I went through -- me trying to be the nice guy!"

Owens and McNabb have famously feuded for years ... with T.O. having previously said the beef between the two began while they were teammates with the Philadelphia Eagles.

In fact, T.O. has thrown shade McNabb's way nearly every chance he's had over the past few years ... even clowning Donovan's Hall of Fame candidacy to TMZ Sports in 2019.