Boxing

Anthony Joshua will fight again, despite losing by KO on Saturday ... with AJ's promoter, Eddie Hearn, telling us the plan is to chill for a bit, and then take a fight next year!

"I had a great chat with him yesterday, and he's like, 'Look, I feel great. Even after getting beat, I feel great,'" Hearn told Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (full interview airs tonight on FS1).

Of course, 34-year-old Joshua was shocked by Daniel Dubois over the weekend, losing by 5th round knockout, despite being a heavy favorite in front of a packed house at Wembley.

Don King says his health's much better than Mike Tyson's suggesting ... claiming he's feeling fine and dandy after his 10-day stint in the hospital -- despite MT basically saying he's on death's door.

The legendary boxing promoter released a statement via his reps Saturday ... telling fans he's recovering and feeling fine -- and, he's got a lot of love for Mike Tyson.

It's a short, to-the-point statement ... but, clearly DK wants everyone to know his health issues aren't as bad as previously reported.

Ryan Garcia's been trollin' Devin Haney heavy for his alleged link to Diddy ... but the boxing star tells TMZ Sports at the end of the day, it's no laughing matter.

Garcia -- who is currently suspended from boxing -- spoke with us in Los Angeles just a few days after Diddy was arrested in New York on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

The allegations center around alleged "Freak Off" parties ... and with photos showing Haney with Diddy in the past, Garcia has trolled Devin on social media.

Legendary boxing promoter Don King was hospitalized with health issues recently ... spending more than a week receiving treatment a local facility, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Mike Tyson -- who worked with King for nearly two decades -- first revealed the development during an interview with Cam'ron and Mase on the "It Is What It Is" podcast this week ... when he was asked about his current relationship with his former promoter.

"You know, Don is not doing well right now," the 58-year-old boxer said on Friday. "He's probably close to 100 years old, he's not doing well."

Terence Crawford ain't m.A.A.d after the UFC broadcast mistook him for Kendrick Lamar on Saturday ... telling TMZ Sports he laughed it all off -- 'cause he's convinced it was done on purpose!!

Bud went viral for his appearance at Noche UFC at the Sphere in Vegas ... when a lower third graphic misidentified him as the "Not Like Us" rapper.

Screengrabs of the goof made rounds on social media ... and it was pretty ironic, as K. Dot name-dropped the boxing superstar on his "euphoria" diss track directed at Drake earlier this year.

Edgar Berlanga plans on beating Canelo Alvarez on Saturday, and the boxing star already has his next move plotted out, telling TMZ Sports the winner should get Terence Crawford!

The 22-0 fighter will try to take Alvarez's super middleweight world titles (WBC, WBA, WBO) in one fell swoop when the pugilists meet in a 12-round bout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this weekend.

If Berlanga does win, it'll be a major upset. Sportsbooks have Edgar as the underdog, as you'd expect when facing someone with the pedigree of Alvarez, one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world. Alvarez has 61 victories, with 39 coming by way of knockout.

Rolando Romero seems to be planning on having one of the best performances of his career later Saturday against Manuel Jaimes ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned the boxer's copped all kinds of cool custom gear for the battle.

We're told Romero (a.k.a. Rolly) was hooked up with some Bruce Lee and Kobe Bryant swag from his go-to guy Aztek Kustoms ... just ahead of his 10-round tilt with Jaimes (16-1) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Aztek hooked Rolly up with unreleased Nike Machomai 3s boxing shoes ... and made them look just like the Kobe 5 Protro Bruce Lees that Bryant originally released in 2010.

Ryan Garcia isn't letting his boxing suspension stop him from getting in the ring ... the star boxer tells TMZ Sports he's fighting in December!

The 24-1 boxer broke the news to us earlier this week ... months after the New York State Athletic Commission suspended him after testing positive for a banned substance in April, saying he'll soon be fighting again.

"You're gonna see me fight in December," Garcia told us. "It's gonna be a big fight. Stay tuned!"

Jorge Masvidal is ready to get back in a UFC Octagon ... telling TMZ Sports he's eyeing fights with none other than Leon Edwards and Michael Chandler -- and one of the two has already responded!!

Masvidal spoke about his impending return to Dana White's org this week after being away from it all since April 2023 -- and he told us he's itching to get back.

For now, no firm return date has been set ... but he said he's hoping to be on a card sometime either at the end of this year or the start of 2025.

"Hawk Tuah" girl's gonna be spittin' on that ... mic, thanks to Jake Paul ... the Problem Child's Betr company inked a deal with Haliey Welch, and she's launching a brand new podcast!

Talk Tuah will be a weekly show starring the 21-year-old viral sensation ... where Welch will "bring her signature blend of southern values and comedic flair to the show and will also continue to diversify her platform and voice as a regular contributor to the company’s always-on, character-driven social content."

Jake Paul isn't worried one bit about Mike Tyson's health status leading up to their fight ... telling TMZ Sports he's so confident the boxing legend will be in the ring come November, there's no backup plan whatsoever.

We caught up with "El Gallo" less than two months 'til their big showdown in Dallas ... and despite Iron Mike's medical emergency that forced them to push the fight from its original July date, he's certain everything's good now.

"I don't have concern," Paul told us. "He's doing great. He's super healthy behind the scenes and feeling great."

Star boxer Jermall Charlo has been formally hit with a DWI charge following allegations he drunkenly crashed his Lamborghini in Texas back in May.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, in addition to the DWI ... prosecutors also levied a misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident charge against Charlo. Court records show officials formally filed the misdemeanor counts against the 34-year-old pugilist on Aug. 20.

As we previously reported, Charlo was first arrested in the case on May 6 -- when cops claimed Charlo slammed his red Urus into another car on a Brazoria County roadway.

Jeremy Stephens is gunning to improve his Bare Knuckle Fighting record to a perfect 2-0 next Saturday ... and the big question is, could a win propel him to a fight with former foe turned BKFC owner, Conor McGregor?!

TMZ Sports caught up with the 38-year-old fighter ahead of his second scrap with the promotion, against 6-2 Bobby Taylor. While Taylor has more experience fighting without gloves, Stephens doesn't anticipate much of a challenge.

"Body bag, not worried about the opponent, man," he said. "Just [going to] put him in a f****** bag. We're here to f****** hurt him, this is the hurt business. He's just an opponent, go in there and do my thing."

Edgar Berlanga vows to not only win his fight against Canelo Alvarez .... but he's also promising to retire the legendary boxer, telling TMZ Sports boxing needs a new frontman!

"I'm destined right now to make history on September 14th," the boxer said ahead of his Las Vegas bout against Alvarez. "To become a legend that day, to take over the sport of boxing and become the face."

Of course, Alvarez is one of the faces in boxing ... along with other fighters like Terence Crawford and Gervonta Davis.

Caleb Plant has something special in store for Trevor McCumby -- an "old-fashioned ass whoopin'" -- after his opponent branded the former champion a "quitter," making things "more personal!"

That's what the 22-2 boxer told TMZ Sports ahead of his WBA interim super middleweight title match with McCumby (28-0, 21 KOs), set to go down on September 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

It'll be Caleb's first fight since March 2023 (a loss to David Benavidez) ... but Plant says he had the best camp ever and is ready to beat up McCumby for his comments.