Boxing

The Jake Paul retirement count is now up to 2 -- or at least 1.5 -- 'cause the YouTube superstar says he's "temporarily" leaving the sport to enjoy his hot girlfriend and shoot some guns until someone steps up to fight him.

24-year-old Paul -- who set his location on IG to "Dorado Beach East, Puerto Rico" -- says he's "on vacation until further notice" ... and posted pics getting mushy with Julia Rose, taking bubble baths, soaking in the pool and shooting at the gun range to prove it.

This ain't the first time the Problem Child has threatened to hang his gloves up -- remember, he claimed he was "retired" back in August after whooping Tyron Woodley in Cleveland.

But, it's a bit different this time around ... 'cause Jake says his hiatus is only until someone steps up and agrees to fight him.

It's clearly a shot at Tommy Fury, who's refusing to agree to a $1 million payday ... claiming he's being lowballed big time.

Woodley surely seemed committed to a rematch -- he even got an "I Love Jake Paul" tattoo in hopes of keeping his chances alive -- but it's unclear if JP reopened talks with the ex-UFC champ.

No word on how long this retirement will last ... but considering his previous stint lasted a whopping one day, we're fairly certain he'll be back very soon.

In the meantime, enjoy retirement, Jake!!

When Andy Ruiz gets a full backside tattoo, the boxing star goes all in -- neck, back ... and even butt cheeks!

The former heavyweight champ showed off new back ink Monday ... and it's HUGE -- stemming from the top of his neck to the bottom of his bum.

Ruiz got the piece done by Ish Tattoos ... and it's some seriously impressive work -- especially considering Andy's 6 feet 2 and nearly 300 pounds.

The tat artist documented some of the work on his social media page ... saying it took two full sessions to complete.

Ruiz got a big warrior with wings inked under his previous "Victorious" tat ... and he also added a neckpiece with the bible verse, "Corinthians 15-57."

Andy was clearly happy with the results ... captioning a photo of the artwork, "Back and cheeks done hahaha. Thanks to my boy Ish Tattoos."

Unclear when we'll see Ruiz show off the new ink next in the ring ... he's coming off a big May victory over Chris Arreola -- and is reportedly gunnin' for Luis Ortiz or Charles Martin next.

Claressa Shields says a knockout isn't enough for her 2nd MMA fight ... she's trying to BREAK BONES, telling TMZ Sports she's been putting in a ridiculous amount of work in the gym, and is ready to go!

26-year-old Shields -- regarded by many as the greatest female boxer in the world -- is set to return to the cage for her 2nd MMA fight on October 27 at a big PFL event in Hollywood, FL ... taking on 21-year-old Abigail Montes.

"She a decorated amateur kickboxer. Even though she only has 2 fights in MMA, she's been kickboxing for I don't know how many years in Mexico," Claressa says.

"She comes forward with a lot of punches, so, we're definitely gonna see a very, very entertaining fight and I know I'm gonna handle business and I'm trying to break Abigail's jaw, for sure."

😲😲😲😲😲😲

Shields flashed potential in her first MMA fight against Brittney Elkin in June ... winning via 3rd round TKO. However, she faced adversity ... repeatedly being taken down by the more experienced MMA fighter.

We asked Claressa how much time she's spent defending the takedowns ... and lets just say she's really been bustin' her ass.

"Every day. Every day. That's something we work on every single day, and I've gotten very good at it. Very good."

But, Shields isn't just working on her defense ... she tells us she's also drilled her takedown offense AND kick game.

"If I can stop the takedown, a lot of people's in trouble. If I can go for the takedown, people are in trouble. When I start adding those kicks to my punches, people are in trouble."

Big trouble.

Lamar Odom didn't get the knockout he predicted, but the NBA champ looked good in the boxing ring Saturday night, beating up Jennifer Lopez's ex-husband, Ojani Noa ... before being called out by Benzino!

41-year-old Odom beat 47-year-old Noa, who was hitched to Lopez from 1997-1998, by decision in a 3-round exhibition Celebrity Boxing fight in Miami, FL.

6'10" Lamar had a 9-inch height advantage over J Lo's 6'1" ex-hubby ... and wisely used his length to stay on the outside and jab Ojani, keeping him at a distance where Noa couldn't get close enough to hit Odom.

Even though he didn't get the stoppage, Lamar looked considerably better than in his first fight in June against Aaron Carter.

Odom knocked out the pop star in the second round.

Noa, who is in good physical shape, clearly presented a tougher challenge.

But, 56-year-old Benzino, who was calling the fight ringside for FITE, clearly didn't think Lamar looked very good.

"I wasn't impressed with that fight," Benzino yelled in the ring following the bout, "I want a shot at the champ!"

The champ ... at least unofficially is Lamar Odom.

And, there's a good chance this fight will go down. Celebrity Boxing tells TMZ Sports the hip-hop star is under contract to fight in March.

Of course, we broke the story on Saturday ... Odom recently became a part-owner of Celeb Boxing and told us he was willing to continue fighting.

Lamar Odom vs. Benzino would make for an interesting fight ... if CB can hammer out all the details.

Jake Paul turned himself into one of the biggest stars in combat sports, and now The Problem Child tells TMZ Sports he's gunning to recreate the formula and turn Amanda Serrano, arguably the greatest female fighter in the world, into a giant star.

"Amanda’s the number one pound-for-pound female boxer and greatest Hispanic female athlete of all time, and she hasn’t been treated fairly in her career. She’s a superstar and she needs that extra backing or help." Paul, joined virtually by Serrano, told us.

Paul just signed Serrano to his promotion company, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) ... and says the plan is to turn Serrano, the unified featherweight champ (41-1-1), into a famous, big money fighter.

"Slowly but surely, we’re knocking that wall down and she will become a superstar with our guidance. She’s already a superstar but just taking it to the next level," Paul says.

"She needs to be on billboards. She needs to be sponsored by the biggest companies in the world. She embodies so much and is so powerful and we’re just gonna help her out."

The question is ... why does Amanda trust her career with the most polarizing figure in combat sports?

"I’ve seen him and what they’ve done in the last two years. How he’s made his name boxing, coming from YouTube, an influencer and I'm just excited to see what he’s done with himself and I'm excited to see what he can do for me," Serrano told us.

"I’ve been in this sport so long and never got the fair shake of it and I’m excited to have him as part of my team to help me with the other end of it."

We asked Jake if he plans on signing other fighters ... and building out his promotion company.

"That’s the idea with Most Valuable Promotions, but we’re not in a rush. If we end up only signing one, two, three fighters, then so be it. It’s about quality over quantity and right now our focus is fully on Amanda."

Lamar Odom loved Celebrity Boxing so much ... he literally bought the company.

Well, some of it, at least ... 'cause when we asked the NBA champion if he planned on continuing to fight, that's when he dropped the news, telling TMZ Sports he's now a partial owner of the organization.

"I'm a part owner in Celebrity Boxing, so if I gotta keep fighting to keep building the brand, I don't see no problem with that, being a businessman," Odom says.

41-year-old Odom is boxing Ojani Noa, Jennifer Lopez's ex-husband, Saturday night in Miami.

It's not LO's first time in the ring ... back in June, the ex-NBA star knocked out Aaron Carter in the 2nd round of their boxing match.

Lamar was originally supposed to fight former heavyweight champ, 54-year-old Riddick Bowe ... but the fight was scrapped after there were concerns about the boxing legend's ability to protect himself in the ring.

So, 47-year-old Noa -- a gym rat -- stepped up and took the fight.

Odom believes his 2nd fight, although he has more experience, will be tougher than when he faced the former pop star ... but, not that much harder.

First, Floyd Mayweather ... next, Mike Tyson??

That very well could be a reality for Logan Paul ... 'cause Iron Mike says he's now down to box the YouTube star -- claiming the fight could earn the two a fortune!!

Tyson revealed on his latest episode of "Hotboxin' With Mike Tyson" that he'd have zero issues stepping into the ring with either Logan or Jake Paul ... adding the scrap could net a $100 million payday.

"Hell yeah," Tyson said when rapper Freddie Gibbs asked if he'd box the two YouTube stars. "That would be a lot of money."

Tyson seems to think boxing Logan would make more sense than fighting Jake ... considering the elder Paul bro is a bit heavier.

As for if Logan would do it ... Tyson certainly thinks so -- telling Gibbs, "For $100 million bucks, they'd do anything. They don't care about getting beat up."

Tyson -- who's coming off a great performance against Roy Jones Jr. -- had previously told us he was eyeing Lennox Lewis for his next bout.

But, if Logan's down ... seems Tyson would have no problem moving on to that tilt.

Claressa Shields isn't playin' around when it comes to Jake Paul ... the boxing and MMA superstar is throwing down the gauntlet, challenging The Problem Child to a fight, and promising to beat his ass.

TMZ Sports talked to the 26-year-old 2x Olympic gold medalist who just recently vowed to NEVER fight on a Paul undercard, claiming it'd be disrespectful to her incredible career.

"I wasn't talking s**t about Jake Paul yesterday. What I was speaking was facts. Jake Paul gets inside a boxing ring with me, he's getting his ass whooped!"

And, Shields is down to put her money where her mouth is ... and if the YouTuber turned boxer doesn't want to a real, sanctioned fight -- Claressa is down to spar and let his cameras roll the entire time.

"I bet you Jake Paul would get hurt, he probably get dropped, he would have a newfound respect for me if we spar or fight," Shields says.

"I'm not calling Jake Paul out because I know how the world looks at women fighting men, they look at it like 'oh no, ew' but I spar men daily and that's the truth."

Claressa -- the only fighter, male or female, to hold all 4 major titles in multiple weight classes -- also took issue with Paul addressing female boxing star Amanda Serrano -- who he just signed to his MVP promotions -- as the greatest female fighter ever.

"I'm the motherf***kin' GWOAT! I saw him make that post today with Amanda Serrano. He needs to know that I'm the GWOAT."

(BTW, there's ZERO beef between Claressa and Amanda. In fact, Shields says she has "love and respect" for Serrano.)

Bottom line, Shields -- who returns to the PFL MMA cage October 27 -- has a message for Jake ... and anyone else who thinks she can't handle herself in the ring because she's a woman.

"Cut the s**t! Don't disrespect my skills. Look, just because a man is a man and he's in boxing doesn't mean that they can beat me and there's a lot of guys who's been in boxing for years who cannot do nothing with me, let alone Jake Paul".

Manny Pacquiao is done with competitive fighting ... the boxing legend announced Tuesday night he's retiring from the sport for good.

Pacquiao revealed the news in an emotional video on his social media page ... thanking his family, friends, trainers and everyone else who helped him along his journey to becoming one of the greatest of all time.

"This is the hardest decision I've ever made," Pacquiao said, "but I’m at peace with it. Chase your dreams, work hard and watch what happens. Good bye, boxing."

Pacquiao absolutely dominated in the ring from the day he took his first pro fight back in 1995 -- finishing his career with a brilliant record of 68-8-2.

He earned victories over guys like Keith Thurman, Adrien Broner, Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya and so many more in his 26 years in the sport.

"Even me," said Pacquiao, who ended up winning a staggering 12 world titles in his career, "I'm amazed at what I have done."

The 42-year-old -- a current senator in the Philippines -- will now be able to put all of his focus behind his political career ... one in which he's hopeful will end with him being the president of the Philippines in the not too distant future.

Forget a bottle, get Alex Volkanovski a shoe ... 'cause that's what the UFC star was chuggin' champagne out of at the Raiders game, celebrating his win over Brian Ortega.

And, we got it all on video!

The 32-year-old Aussie fighter hit up the Dolphins vs. Raiders game on Sunday -- after his crazy unanimous decision victory the night before at UFC 266 -- and the football game was LIT!

Check out this clip ... you can clearly see AV enjoyin' himself in Allegiant Stadium's "Wynn Field Club," watching the game with his UFC belt and a crowd of people.

That's when Alex really starts to party -- in the most Australian way -- by chuggin' some bubbly outta somebody's shoe!

And, get this, it wasn't Volkanovski's sneaker ... it was some dude's navy Vans.

One drink wasn't enough ... the champ yelled 'give me some more!' -- and promptly got a shoe refill.

FYI, there's a name for this sorta thing -- a "shoey" -- a popular way to drink beer in the Land Down Under. Alex subbed champagne for beer ... he was celebrating, after all.

Of course, Volkanovski wasn't the only one in Vegas who got a W -- the Raiders secured an overtime victory, and are 3-0.

Now, who's thirsty?!?

"Dana White, if you're listening, this is a real message. Forget the cringe, forget the persona, this is straight-up me. I am the greatest combat athlete of all-time and I promise you, give me that opportunity, I will knock [Alex Volkanovski] out in less than 3 rounds."

That's 34-year-old Henry Cejudo making it crystal clear, he wants to un-retire and fight the UFC's featherweight champion, telling TMZ Sports he believes he'd KO 32-year-old Volkanovski in 15 minutes or less.

"Not only do I believe I can beat him, I know that I can stop him, dude." Triple C says.

"As much as I saw good things from Volkanovski, there still is a lot of holes. I believe my height will be a problem, because he is a couple inches taller than me. My speed, my wrestling, my experience, I've been in there with the best."

"Alexander 'The Average,' okay you had a great performance, it was a great fight, I just believe I have the 'it' factor to beat this dude, not only beat him, but stop him."

Of course, Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega at UFC 266 was a crazy 5 round war ... one that Alex won by unanimous decision.

Even Henry couldn't help but admit the fight was awesome.

"It was a great fight man. A great fight. 5 rounds, that's what a true mixed martial arts fight is. They showed striking, these guys wrestled, they showed submissions."

As for Cejudo's future, many people already consider Cejudo the most accomplished combat sports athlete ever. After all, Henry was a flyweight (125 lbs.) and bantamweight (135 lbs.) champ, in addition to an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling.

Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, and Amanda Nunes are the other fighters who have simultaneously been UFC double champs.

Simultaneous or not, no UFC fighter has ever been champ in 3 divisions ... which is exactly what Cejudo would become if he fought and beat Alexander.

Henry last fought in May 2020 ... when he beat Dominic Cruz via TKO with only seconds remaining in the 2nd round. He retired inside the Octagon following the fight.

Ryan Garcia is back from his hiatus with a plan ... telling TMZ Sports he now wants to KO JoJo Diaz Jr. next -- and then set up a mega-fight with Gervonta Davis.

The 23-year-old undefeated boxing phenom broke it all down for us at the Canelo Alvarez vs. Caleb Plant pre-fight event in L.A. this week ... saying he's in a way better place after taking some time away from the ring to focus on his mental health.

And, now, he tells us he's ready to fight Diaz Jr. in his first tilt back ... with a contract with the 32-1 former champ "95 percent" done.

"He's going to get knocked out," Garcia said of Diaz Jr. "He's going to get caught with a shot sooner or later, and he doesn't have really that good of defense."

After that, Garcia -- who's 21-0 as a pro -- says he wants Tank ... telling us, "I've been chasing that fight for so long."

"He's always going to be there. I'm hunting him down."

As for finally hammering out a deal for that huge fight with Davis ... Garcia seems to think it should be pretty easy if he makes quick work of Diaz Jr. like he expects.

"I'll make you rich," Garcia said in a message to Davis. "And, then I'll continue my great career."

MVP quarterback today ... WWE superstar after that?!?

Kofi Kingston says that's entirely possible for Lamar Jackson ... telling TMZ Sports after watching the Ravens star flip during a touchdown run this past Sunday, he could see the QB killin' it in the ring!

"I would love to see what Lamar could do in a wrestling ring," Kofi says. "He would be incredible."

Lamar put his athleticism on full display in Baltimore's huge win over the Chiefs ... somersaulting into the endzone on a key fourth-quarter play.

The 24-year-old didn't exactly stick the landing -- he joked he hurt his backside in the tumble -- but Kofi tells us the sheer athleticism of it all stuck out to him big time.

"I'd give it a 10 out of 10," Kofi said of the flip. "I don't really care about the form ... He was just out there showing off."

And, now, Kofi says he's pretty damn sure Lamar could be as big of a star as he is in Vince McMahon's world!!!

"It'd just be a matter of getting the psychology aspect of putting matches together and stuff like that," Kingston says.

Floyd Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya 2?!

Maybe, just maybe.

Our Mayweather sources tell us the 50-0 fighter is aware De La Hoya called him out ... and Floyd's actually open to a fight with Oscar, IF he really has $100 million.

But, we're told, people in Floyd's camp highly doubt he has the dough.

Remember, we saw De La Hoya leaving dinner with his GF Holly Sonders in L.A. ... and when we asked him about his fighting future, ODLH said he wanted Mayweather.

"You know who I'm gonna call out for my next fight? Floyd Mayweather."

And, that's when the Golden Boy threw out a huge money proposal ... "I'll offer Floyd Mayweather $100 million."

Of course, Oscar and Floyd last boxed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2007 ... where Mayweather won a 12-round, split decision.

Mayweather retired in 2017 following his fight with Conor McGregor ... but has been fairly active, taking several exhibition fights since -- including a bout this summer against Logan Paul.

Oscar hasn't fought since 2008 ... when he lost to Manny Pacquiao.

De la Hoya was scheduled to fight MMA legend Vitor Belfort ... but unfortunately came down with a serious case of COVID, forcing him into the hospital.

But, Oscar made it crystal clear ... he wants to fight this year, and he wants it to be against Mayweather.

Bottom line, if the bag's real, and it's big enough, Floyd will listen.

UFC star Jon Jones was arrested early Friday morning in Las Vegas for domestic violence and tampering with a vehicle, and is currently behind bars, TMZ Sports has learned.

Our law enforcement sources tell us they received a call from Caesars Palace around 5:45 AM. Cops responded to the hotel ... where they made contact with the UFC superstar.

34-year-old Jones was ultimately arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence and injuring or tampering with a vehicle, a felony.

Jones is in Vegas this week because his 2013 fight against Alexander Gustafsson was inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.

The fight was inducted Thursday night ... just hours before he was arrested.

It's not the first time Jones has been in trouble with the law. He's previously been arrested for DUI, among other crimes.

The circumstances that led to the arrest are not yet clear.

The day after Riddick Bowe was pulled from his fight with Lamar Odom, the former NBA star has a new opponent, and it happens to be a dude who knows what it's like to have an insanely famous wife ... 'cause he was married to J Lo.

TMZ Sports has learned 47-year-old Ojani Noa has agreed to fight the 41-year-old ex-hooper on October 2 at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, FL ... all part of a Celebrity Boxing card.

If you don't remember Noa, a former server, he was married to Lopez from 1997 to 1998 ... before they split.

Of course, Odom, the 2x NBA champ, was married to Khloe Kardashian from 2009 to 2016.

Odom -- who beat pop star Aaron Carter via 2nd round TKO in June -- was originally scheduled to fight former heavyweight boxing champ, Bowe.

However, after 58-year-old Evander Holyfield recently lost to Vitor Belfort ... and didn't look great in the ring, everyone from Celebrity Boxing to the Florida state athletic commission thought it best to remove him from the match.

Riddick isn't totally off the event ... Paulie Malignaggi is also boxing Corey B on the card. Bowe will referee that fight.

Ojani was actually scheduled to step in the ring against a much shorter opponent last year ... having inked a deal to scrap with Joe Giudice. However, COVID screwed up those plans.