Boxing

Amanda Serrano's fighting on the Jake Paul-Tyron Woodley II card ... and the boxing star tells TMZ Sports she's looking to flatten her opponent, and set up a multi-million dollar bout with one of the baddest women in the world, Katie Taylor!

33-year-old Serrano -- the 41-1-1 featherweight champ -- recently signed to Paul's MVP Promotions ... and is boxing 38-year-old Miriam Gutierrez (14-1) Saturday night on Showtime PPV.

Amanda, who routinely KO's her opponents, is always fun to watch ... but this fight has some added juice because a win could set AS on a collision course with Taylor.

"[Me vs. Taylor is a] mega-fight for women's boxing. But, right now I have Miriam in front of me. This is my test. This is my measuring stick. If I knock Miriam out, it's gonna be a statement fight," Serrano told us.

If you're not familiar with the women (first, ya should be) ... Serrano and Taylor (in addition to Claressa Shields) are considered the top 3 female boxers in the world.

Who's the best? That's a surefire way to start a debate.

As for the payday with a Serrano-Taylor fight ... Amanda's coach, Jordan Maldonado, says both boxers can expect a fat check.

"Kudos to Jake Paul. Amanda's upcoming fight with Katie Taylor is a 7-figure fight, and it's because of him that that's happening. It'll be the first time in the history of female boxing that both girls are making 7 figures."

Obviously, we're talking a minimum of $1 million ... but first, Serrano needs to win in Tampa.

And, there's a reason the checks would be so big ... AS vs. KT would without doubt be one of the biggest women's boxing events ever.

"That's why Saturday night is a big night for me," Amanda said, adding "I'm not overlooking Miriam because she's a tough girl, she's a great test for me, but this fight definitely means a lot."

Maldonado broke it down like this.

Jake Paul is lettin' it be known he has no issue with being the "Problem Child" -- 'cause he turned his nickname into an insane diamond chain -- that's worth $225,000!!!

The YouTuber debuted the ice at his pre-fight event with Tyron Woodley on Thursday in Tampa, Fla. -- and TMZ Sports has learned it's an absolutely gaudy piece.

We're told Paul hit up his old pals at BlueMoon and Co. in Los Angeles to put the bling together ... and they pulled out all the stops for it.

In addition to the words "Prblm Child" written in diamonds on the front of the pendant ... the ice also has his full name inscribed on the back. There's also a spinning star on top.

We're told the chain is infused with 95 carats of VS quality diamonds and 14k of gold -- and in total it weighs a pound (545 grams)!

The whole thing is handmade by the company ... and we're told it's all valued at $225K.

Of course, the bling wasn't the only thing screamin' money during Paul's presser with Woodley -- JP also had a Most Valuable Boxer belt with him, which he says is worth $500K!

Mexican boxer Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez tells TMZ Sports he'll be honoring the late Vicente Fernandez during his fight tonight ... by rocking some custom tribute shoes and playing the singer's music in the arena.

The 30-year-old is set to scrap with Yunieski Gonzalez at AT&T Center in San Antonio later today ... and he tells us he's going to do everything in his power to make sure Fernandez's presence is felt.

Ramirez says on one of his shoes there will be an image of Vicente ... and when he walks out to the ring for his match, he'll play "El Rey."

"He was a legend," Ramirez said of Fernandez this week ... "It's sad for his family, for everyone too because everyone knew about Chente."

"It's really sad that he just passed away."

Ramirez said he grew up listening to Fernandez ... and had artist Ali Gonzalez add the Fernandez imagery to his shoes shortly after the singer's death earlier this month.

If you thought Frank Gore and Deron Williams were just gonna spar for a few rounds on Saturday, think again -- the NFL star tells TMZ Sports he's gunning to put a hurt on the ex-NBAer ... and come away with the win!!

Frank and Deron will both be making their boxing debuts on the Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley II undercard in Tampa ... and with just over 24 hours to go, we asked Gore what he's expecting in the fight.

"I wanna look good, man," he tells us. "I wanna show everybody whatever you put your head to, you can do it."

"I'm going for the W. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to win. If the knockout come, it will come. I wanna show everybody that I got skills."

BTW -- Frank and Deron weighed in on Friday ... and they both looked GOOD. Since Gore's been training like crazy, we had to ask if this was just a one-time thing, or if we'll see him in the ring for years to come.

"If I have a good time and feel like I want to do it again, I'll do it," he said. "I'm very happy about my decision to take this fight."

Gore admits he's a bit nervous as he gets closer to stepping in the ring ... but he's looking forward to showing the world what he's got.

Jake Paul just got an incredibly expensive early Christmas gift -- a $500k championship belt decked out with a Rolex, Cartier watch and a Birkin bag attached to it!!!

The Problem Child showed off the "Most Valuable Boxer" belt at his presser with Tyron Woodley on Thursday -- saying it's a one-of-a-kind and designed by artist Alec Monopoly.

It came out lookin' like money -- literally -- the thing has two wildly valuable watches sewn into the strap of the belt on one side.

The Hermes Birkin bag -- which comes with a starting price of around $40k -- is stitched in on the other strap.

Altogether, Jake says the piece cost $500k.

"Thanks to the kind-hearted CEO of @mostvaluablepromotions for the belt," Paul said, "It’s hand-painted by one of the greatest artists of our generation."

There's more -- Jake and Tyron went at it at the presser Thursday ... with the YouTube superstar coming close to saying he was going to eat Woodley's ass.

The UFC champ added he's gonna earn the $500k knockout bonus in the fight ... and then invest it all into cryptocurrency.

Jake -- and his belt -- will be facing off against Woodley on Saturday.

Jake Paul says he's looking to fight Canelo Álvarez in three years ... explaining he believes he'll be ready to box the world champ in 2024.

"I think three years from now," Paul said, "us getting in the ring will A) be massive, and B) three years from now, my skill level will be good enough to make it a serious competition."

Paul initially told TMZ Sports he was looking for a fight with Canelo ... but in his talk with Graham Bensinger on the latest episode of "In Depth With Graham Bensinger," he said he's ready for it to happen in only a couple of years.

Paul says it just makes too much sense monetarily ... telling Bensinger, "This year, 2021, Canelo will be the No. 1 highest paid boxer. And I will be No. 2."

"So, what better fight than to put the No. 1 highest paid and the No. 2 highest paid against each other? Because that equals the biggest payday."

Of course, a year ago, there appeared to be no chance of a fight happening between the two ... with Canelo telling TMZ Sports he was NOT a fan of either Jake or Logan Paul in the ring.

But, when we got Canelo in September, he sang a little different tune ... saying "maybe" Jake and Logan ARE good for the sport after all.

Canelo would likely rough up Jake if the two fought now -- and perhaps things wouldn't be a whole lot different in a couple of years -- but the YouTube star still says he wants in on the action regardless.

Abel Osundairo was proudly rocking a red MAGA hat while celebrating a big moment in his boxing career ... but he says he's not throwing a jab at Jussie Smollett.

Ya gotta see this video TMZ obtained of Abel and brother Ola celebrating Abel becoming the top amateur boxer in his weight class ... they're partying it up at a Chicago club, with some eye-catching hats.

Abel's got a red hat that says MAGA ... which, of course, plays like a reference to Jussie claiming his attackers yelled "this is MAGA country" during the hoax attack.

While some think he was gloating over Jussie, who was just found guilty of lying to Chicago cops, Abel's attorney, Gloria Rodriguez tells TMZ ... the hat is not a shot at Smollett or show of support for Donald Trump.

Instead, Abel's lawyer says he customized the MAGA hat with an outline of Africa as the letter "A" because he wants the hat to be a reflection of his Nigerian heritage. It's more like Make Africa Great Again ... than anything else.

The celebration went down Sunday night at Chicago's Sage nightclub after he won a boxing tournament in Louisiana, vaulting him to the No. 1 amateur boxing ranking in the 189-pound division.

Remember, we've seen Abel show off his boxing prowess before ... so it's no shock he's climbing the ranks.

Ola's got an interesting hat too -- his red lid says, "Free Larry Hoover," which is timely considering Kanye West and Drake just squashed their beef with a benefit concert for the notorious Chicago gangster ... who Ola believes was wrongly imprisoned.

AEW star Anthony Bowens is opening up about the fan who shouted a homophobic slur at him last week ... telling TMZ Sports he's glad the incident was captured on video, 'cause it proves there's still more work to be done towards inclusion.

As we previously reported, Bowens was called the homophobic f-word while competing in a 4-on-4 tag team match when the incident took place.

"Unfortunately that kind of stuff comes with the territory, being an out LGBTQ athlete," Bowens says.

"This is actually the first time that I've audibly heard something like that during a performance or during television."

Bowens -- who came out as bisexual in 2017, but now identifies as gay -- tells us it's something he's gotten used to after going public ... saying when he started a YouTube channel with his boyfriend, they received similar, if not, worse treatment.

"I have really thick skin, I'm kind of used to it from my boyfriend Michael and I," Anthony said. "We have our YouTube channel and when we first started that the comments were brutal."

"I can't even repeat them."

But Bowens makes it clear his time at AEW has been nothing but great ... and this was an isolated incident.

"This is not indicative of the AEW fans at all," Bowens said. "Any interactions I've had with them since starting the company have all been positive."

As for AEW, Bowens expressed his gratitude toward the company for supporting him throughout the entire ordeal ... and making him feel comfortable enough to be himself.

Tyron Woodley says it was actually a blessing Tommy Fury got hurt and had to pull out of his December 18 fight with Jake Paul -- because nobody wanted to see that crap!!!

Hey, T-Wood said it ... not us.

TMZ Sports talked to the 39-year-old future UFC Hall of Famer just days before he's set to step in the ring with the Problem Child, and Woodley tells us the real winners here are the viewers.

"Nobody wants to see no f***ing Tommy Fury fight, come on now," Tyron tells us, saying, "Now his brother is lit. But, he can't ride the coattails of Tyson."

TW went on to say that Fury may go on to have a solid boxing career ... but as of right now,  he simply doesn't present the same threats as Woodley.

So, when we asked Tyron if he was a more difficult opponent ... he didn't hesitate.

"Of course I am, s***. That's why he took [the Fury] fight instead. He made a double wager and then didn't honor it because s***, why would he go back and give me the chance to finish off what I started now that I've been in there with him."

Of course, Tyron and Jake scrapped back in August ... a fight that the YouTuber turned boxing star won by split decision (Woodley wholeheartedly believes he won the fight).

Since, Woodley has all but demanded a rematch ... but Paul shot him down. That is until Tommy pulled out of the fight last week with a chest infection and broken ribs, per his reps.

So, Tyron's in ... and this time he says he will not leave things up to the judges.

"I just feel like, definitely, I can't leave any doubt."

Jussie Smollett is a guilty man, but the only thing Bola Osundairo is guilty of is having hot hands ... as he demonstrated in the boxing ring just as the actor's fate was sealed.

Bola's been fighting for well over a year now, and it just so happened he had a match Thursday night in Louisiana while a jury found Jussie guilty on 5 of 6 felony charges for falsely reporting a hate crime.

As you can see from our video, Osundairo was dominant, winning a unanimous decision against his opponent Ezri Turner. The fight was part of the 2021 USA Boxing National Championships ... Bola won his previous contest as well.

Minutes after the jury read its verdict, Bola's brother, Ola, shared a few words with reporters outside the courthouse ... but he didn't talk about the case, just shouted out his brother's fight and exclaimed "Nigerian-American lives matter!"

TMZ broke the story, Bola and Jussie were friends -- even hitting clubs together -- in the weeks leading up to the staged attack. Ola and Bola maintained from the beginning that Smollett had paid them for the hoax because he wanted press.

BKFC fighter Jordan Nash suffered a NASTY eye injury Thursday night, forcing his fight to be stopped ... and it's pretty darn hard to look at.

Nash was fighting fellow bare knuckle boxer Noah Cutter ... when the horrific injury, a gash to his eyelid, happened in the ring.

Yikes.

In the pic (look if you dare), you can see the gruesome eye injury up close and personal. Nash is bleeding profusely from his left eye, and appears unable to open it.

Despite fighting with only one eye, Nash showed tremendous heart -- somehow making it to the fifth and final round of the fight -- before it was ultimately stopped by officials.

It was Nash's first professional loss.

Of course, horrendous injuries are common in fighting ... especially bare knuckle, where gloveless hands can gash skin.

The silver lining ... if fans didn't know Jordan Nash before, they certainly do now.

Tyron Woodley says he's gonna beat Jake Paul on December 18 ... and then he's gonna do it again, 'cause the former UFC star tells TMZ Sports there's a rematch clause in his contract.

We talked to 39-year-old T-Wood fresh off signing on to once again box the YouTube star in Tampa on less than 2 weeks' notice ... and while we were talking, Tyron revealed a third fight is in the works if he wins next weekend.

"Yes, there is a rematch clause in there," Woodley says, adding, "After I knocked you out Mr. Betting Man, are you gonna run, or are you gonna wanna try to fight someone else, or are you gonna come get this work."

Of course, Jake -- who was originally scheduled to fight Tommy Fury -- won the first fight by split decision when they faced off on August 29 (a fight Woodley believes he actually won). So, a Woodley dub would even them up at one win apiece.

As for what he's going to do this time around, Woodley tells us to expect violence.

"I bet I beat his ass. I bet if he get up, I bet I do it again. I bet if he get up, I bet I knock his ass down again."

First things first ... Woodley has to win. Then, do it all again.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson wants all the smoke -- the mixed martial artist tells TMZ Sports he's dead serious about fighting Shannon Briggs ... and when he does, "he's gonna f*** him up."

"That guy's a f***ing a**hole," Jackson told us this week. "I want to box and I think that his old ass would be a perfect match to be my first boxing match."

"I'ma f*** him up. I'm sick of that guy. All he does is troll me. Imma f*** him up."

Rampage didn't stop there ... "He think I'm playing with him. He think it's all fun and games. That man 50 years old. He too old to be acting like that," he continued.

Jackson says his desire to clash with the former heavyweight champ came after Briggs called him out following his last loss.

"I told him I wanted to have a boxing match and Shannon agreed to get in there with me," Jackson said. "We putting MMA fans vs. boxing fans."

The feud between Jackson and Briggs ain't new -- last month, they got into a shoving match at a Triad Combat weigh-in (the two were captains of opposite teams) ... an event that pitted MMA fighters against professional boxers.

Jackson tells us that any clash he has with Briggs will be bigger than just pride and ego ... saying that he's gonna show the world that MMA fighters are the best.

"I'm coming to get that respect," Rampage said. "You boxers, y'all don't respect us. Better put some respect on my name."

We might not have to wait much longer to see the former champs lock horns ... 'cause Rampage also told us that we could see the highly anticipated bout sometime in the new year.

"Jake Paul can go suck a d*** for all I care ... p***y."

Tyson Fury just went the hell off on both Jake AND Logan Paul ... absolutely unleashing on the brothers and calling them "s***house p*****s."

As we previously reported, Jake has been talking a ton of crap after Tyson's brother, Tommy, backed out just 2 weeks before their fight was set to go down in Tampa ... calling the champ and his now-former opponent a "f***ing bitch."

Logan also chimed in ... saying it's a good thing Tommy is handsome, 'cause he's a p***y."

Now, Tyson is firing back at the YouTube superstars ... and boy, he didn't hold back.

"Jake Paul can go suck a d*** for all I care ... p***y," Tyson said. "Him and his brother are s***house p***ies and could never live in my world because they're f***ing bitches."

"And, if you don't like the language, get f***ed."

Yikes.

Tyson says Tommy missing out on the fight is no big deal -- saying there will be plenty more paydays to come.

As for whether he wants to see Tommy and Jake reschedule their fight, Tyson says he has zero interest in what the two boxers do.

A fan shouted a homophobic slur at gay AEW star Anthony Bowens during a match this week ... and it's disgusting.

Bowens -- who publicly came out as bisexual in 2017, but now identifies as gay -- was locked up with Jungle Boy in a 4-on-4 tag team match when the incident took place.

In the video, you can hear the fan yell the hateful words, saying "f*****g f**" ... as JB and Bowens collided in the middle of the ring.

It's unclear exactly who hurled the slur ... but it was heard over the raucous crowd.

Bowens addressed the ugly incident on social media after the event, writing ... "This is why I posted that photo the other day. Stuff like this unfortunately still exists. Not phased, I'll just keep fighting against stuff like this till the day I die.🌈"

Of course, Bowens is referring to a photo he posted on Instagram recently, where he's proudly kissing his BF in front of protestors.

Bowens wrote ... "Standup against hate," tagging both his partner Michael Pavano -- a YouTube star -- as well as GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign in the post.

In 2019, Anthony spoke to Sports Illustrated about the importance of his role in the sport ... representing the LGBTQ+ community.

Baby Slice -- aka Kevin Ferguson Jr. -- is putting his MMA career on hold ... 'cause the fighter just signed a deal with Celebrity Boxing, the org.'s CEO tells TMZ Sports.

29-year-old Slice, 3-3 as a professional mixed martial arts fighter with Bellator, recently part with the promotion ... announcing he was transitioning to the boxing ring.

Well, that's now officially official, 'cause Damon Feldman tells us he's signed Ferguson Jr. and is in the process of finding an opponent for him.

Baby Slice will likely fight early next year.

Of course, Baby Slice's dad Kimbo Slice -- who passed away at the age of 42 in June 2016 -- was an absolute legendary streetfighter turned pro MMA star.

Slice rose to fame fighting in backyards across south Florida ... almost always brutally beating his opponent.

Although he wasn't traditionally trained until later in his life, Kimbo more than held his own in the cage ... even beating Ken Shamrock in 2015.

We're told Baby Slice's opponent could be a reality star ... but that he's open to any celeb who wants to step up.