CELEB NEWS

Simone Biles and gymnastics go together like peanut butter and jelly—can you even imagine the sport without her? With five eponymous skills in the Code of Points, 11 Olympic medals, and 30 World Championship medals, she’s redefined what it means to be the GOAT. And like all great love stories, this one started with a twist of fate. Yep, you could even call it love at first sight.

Simone Biles spilled the tea on The Kelly Clarkson Show about how she stumbled—quite literally—into gymnastics. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t a glamorous start. “We were supposed to go to the oil ranch that day,” Simone shared with a laugh. “Yeah, very Texan thing. And it ended up raining. So they’re like, where are we going to take these kids? There was a gym down the street, and that’s where they took us.”

What happened next? Little Simone started mimicking the gymnasts. “I started copying the girls in the back, and then they were like, have you ever done gymnastics? I think you need to sign up. And they sent a brochure home, and then I signed up.” Talk about a plot twist! One soggy field trip and a little curiosity turned into a lifelong love affair.

She began training at Bannon’s Gymnastix in Houston under Aimee Boorman, who quickly realized she was coaching something special. Aimee recalled, “She had said that her brother taught her how to do a backhandspring in their backyard, but she had never had any formal gymnastics training,” according to Olympics.com.

In those early years, she would just watch people do skills and go and try them,” Aimee continued. “For example, she had seen a cheerleader doing a back tuck in her practice one day and she said, ‘I can do that,’ but she had never done one before. She stood up, and she did it just by watching.” Seriously, who is this girl? A prodigy, that’s who.

By 15, Simone was so obsessed with gymnastics that she left regular school to be homeschooled, dedicating every free moment to training. She crushed it as a junior, earning a scholarship to UCLA. But instead of taking the college route, she went pro, kicking off one of the most jaw-dropping careers in sports history. This kicked off a career so iconic it’s been praised by literally everyone—fans, fellow athletes, and even multinational companies lining up to be part of her greatness.

Simone Biles gets a special surprise from Google

Simone Biles has faced her share of critics, but time and again, she’s shown why she’s the undisputed queen of gymnastics. Now, even Google is bowing down to her greatness with a tribute that screams “GOAT energy.” Known for its quirky Easter eggs for celebrities, Google has rolled out a delightful surprise for Simone, and it’s as golden as her medal collection.

Search her name, and amidst the long list of her jaw-dropping achievements, you’ll notice a tiny goat-shaped button. Give it a click, and your screen lights up with a shower of confetti, flower bouquets, and golden goats. It’s a playful nod to an athlete who’s redefined excellence—not just in gymnastics but in sports as a whole. And while the timing might seem random, maybe it’s not. Why now?

BOXING

Claressa Shields next fight official: Danielle Perkins set as opponent for Feb. 2

Claressa Shields will face Danielle Perkins on Feb. 2 in Flint, Michigan.

Claressa Shields is set to return to action on Sunday, Feb. 2, headlining a DAZN-streamed event from her hometown of Flint, Mich.

Shields (15-0, 3 KO) will defend her WBC heavyweight title against Danielle Perkins (5-0, 2 KO), a 42-year-old who turned pro at age 37 in 2020.

If you’ve never seen Perkins fight and are wondering if she has a legitimate shot at beating the 29-year-old Shields, who is arguably the single best women’s boxer in history, the answer is no, barring an injury, miracle, or more likely injury and miracle combined.

But this is the position that Shields’ boxing career is in, basically. She’s been undisputed at 154, 160, and 168, and is now essentially fighting at “Claressaweight,” because there are no contenders at proper weights she hasn’t beaten, and she just has no real incentive to cut any more than she feels like, because the competition and box office potential are capped at a pretty clear level from this point.

BOXING

‘I think it’s going to be a banger’: Lennox Lewis breaks down Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2

Lennox Lewis says Tyson Fury has a lot of natural tools to make things harder on Oleksandr Usyk in rematch.

Former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis shares his breakdown of the upcoming title fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury. Lewis says he expects this fight to be perhaps even better than the first one as he expects Fury to take this rematch much more seriously, and even come better prepared. Here’s some of what Lewis had to say about the fight.

Oleksandr Usyk will rematch Tyson Fury for heavyweight supremacy on Dec. 21.

“It’s going to be a tough fight for both guys,” said Lewis. “It’s going to be mentally tough, it’s going to be physically tough. They’re going to push each other on the mental basis far, they’re going to push each other physically far. Both guys want to win this fight…Both guys want something from this and it’s going to be a mental challenge and a physical challenge.

“I think it’s going to be a banger, it’s going to be a serious fight…one guy was more serious than the other guy (in the first fight) — you could say Tyson Fury lost that fight and Usyk won it. Now it’s a situation where they’re having another fight, Tyson Fury has to win that fight so he’s going to be more focused, he’s going to put a little bit more weight on to get through this fight and he’s a lot more serious.

“Usyk is a mover, he’s hard to hit and he knows what to do. He goes in there, he’ll punch with you for a second and then he’s out of range. So it’s a tit-for-tat. Both guys are going to be using their intelligence, their ring IQ. Tyson Fury, he’s got the size, he’s 6’9”, he moves well. He needs to get that jab going.

“I like Tyson with a little bit more weight. Maybe he’ll come in with more weight this time. He’s always a good fighter even with weight on and with weight he can push the little guy back, he can put his weight on the little guy, there’s a lot different things that Tyson Fury can do to unhinge Oleksandr Usyk and make it a harder fight for him to win.”

BOXING

Lennox Lewis slams Jake Paul-Mike Tyson’s bout but says it won’t ‘tarnish great boxing’

Lennox Lewis is the latest name in boxing to join the criticism of Jake Paul and Mike Tyson’s fight. However, he thinks that the spectacle won’t hurt “great boxing,” such as the upcoming match between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.

While heavily controversial, Jake Paul and Mike Tyson’s fight is still the talking point of the boxing community. As the Youtuber-turned-boxer became one of the most sought-after rivals, many big names of the sport have slammed the spectacle. The latest to join the list is Lennox Lewis.

The former undisputed world heavyweight champion compared the Paul-Tyson fight, which was viewed on Netflix by 60 million people around the world, has nothing to do with the upcoming rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh.

“At the end of the day you’ve got a big event that a lot of people were happy to attend, and they felt OK. The boxing purist didn’t feel OK, they didn’t feel it was the right thing to do,” he said, according to The Herald Scotland.

“Then you’ve got the real event which is the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world, where the two best fighters in the world actually meet and box and we can actually see who is the best out of the two, and who is the king of heavyweight boxing at the moment,” he added about the Fury-Usyk fight, which will take place on December 21st.

He added, “That type of boxing doesn’t tarnish great boxing such as Usyk and Fury, because you’ve got two different types of eras and things going on. You’ve got entertainment, and you’ve got real good fighting with drama.”

Tommy Fury challenged Jake Paul, Paul called him a ‘muppet’

While Jake Paul has officially retired from “influencer boxing” to be professional, Tommy Fury joined a long-list of boxers who called him out. Fury beat Paul in a split decision in 2023, but now he responded to Logan Paul’s podcast comments, in which he said that he was “scared” for a rematch.

“I beat you once already, I handed you your first loss. The minute you stepped up and fought a real boxer, you lost fair and square. I can give you a second loss, that’s not a problem, but let’s talk some serious numbers. If you want to get in touch, you know where I am,” Fury recently said in a video on his social media.

Paul fired back on X (formerly Twitter), dismissing Fury’s callout and questioning his credibility. “What an absolute muppet. Buddy, you just pulled out of a fight for the 3rd time. You have ZERO credibility. I offered you $8M dollars and you ran away from it. And now you got dumped by Molly, getting sued by DAZN and still can’t call a shot without your dad GTFOH,” Paul wrote.

If Paul and Fury’s rematch isn’t actually in the cards, Paul has plenty of offers from other boxers to continue his career. The “Problem Child” has been called out by Artur Bierberv, Daniel Dubois, Gervonta Davis, and even Ryan Garica.

BOXING

Gervonta Davis Announces His Retirement in 2025: The Undefeated ‘Tank’ Bids Farewell to Boxing After an Unstoppable Career

Gervonta “Tank” Davis, one of the biggest names in global boxing, has confirmed that his career is coming to an end. With an impeccable record of 30 fights undefeated and 28 knockouts, the 30-year-old fighter has announced that he plans to retire in 2025, leaving behind a legacy that has amazed fans and experts alike.

In a recent interview with Fight Hub TV, Davis revealed his dissatisfaction with boxing and his decision to hang up his gloves after his next fight scheduled for March 1, 2024, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he will defend his WBA lightweight title against Lamont Roach Jr. The fight, originally set for December this year in Houston, was postponed for reasons not yet clarified. However, this could be Davis’ last big opportunity to confirm his dominance in the lightweight division before retiring.

“After next year, I’m out of this… Out of the sport,” the champion said, visibly upset by the aspects surrounding his profession. “It’s trash… This stuff is trash, trash… Tired. Tired of all this crap,” he added in frustration.

Although many have speculated whether his retirement could tarnish his undefeated legacy, Davis appeared indifferent to such comments. In a previous interview with Fight Hype, the boxer made it clear that, for him, his status as the best will always be secured: “I don’t even care about that, bro. I don’t even care about that, and where I come from, bro, I’ll always be the greatest. I’ll always be a G for myself,” he stated.

Davis’ retirement, which comes at the peak of his career, has had a significant impact on the boxing world. His decision to step away from the sport at the height of his success has not been universally well-received. In an interview with Vlad TV, Bill Haney, father and trainer of Devin Haney, questioned Davis’ choices regarding his opponents. According to Haney, “Tank” has avoided the most dangerous boxers and downplayed the challenge presented by Lamont Roach Jr. “I don’t think Lamont has the quality to beat Davis. And if he fights Shakur Stevenson, it will be a good fight. I give it 50-50, but I think ‘Tank’ is avoiding real boxers,” Haney said, criticizing how Davis has managed his career.

Despite the criticism, Gervonta Davis remains one of the most charismatic and controversial figures in modern boxing. His aggressive style and impressive knockout ability have solidified him as one of the best in the sport today. With his retirement looming, the question of what kind of legacy he will leave in the sport will be one of the most debated topics in the coming months.

For now, Davis seems determined to end his career in the ring in 2025, before his name fades from boxing history as one of the greatest of his era. However, many hope that, at least in his final year, ‘Tank’ will give fans some of the most exciting battles of his already brilliant career.

BOXING

Floyd Mayweather Has No Doubt Who The Best Opponent He Faced Was During His 50 Fight Career

Floyd Mayweather fought a who’s who of boxing stars during his illustrious career.

After making his professional debut back in October 1996, Mayweather went on to become a five-weight world champion, before retiring with a perfect 50-0 record in 2017.

During that time, he took on all comers, sharing the ring with the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez, Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez and Ricky Hatton.

Despite the best efforts of them all, nobody could come close to defeating Mayweather, leading to him being widely regarded as one of the best boxers of all time.

Mayweather has now reflected on his incredible career whilst on the Million Dollaz Worth Of Game Podcast and picked the man who he felt was the best opponent he ever faced, and it was an obvious choice – Manny Pacquiao.

“It’s because of his movement. He’s a hell of a fighter, and I can see why he won so many fights, and I can see why he’s going down as a Hall of Famer. It’s just certain moves he makes.”

Mayweather and Pacquiao met back in May 2015, in an event that was dubbed as ‘The Fight Of The Century.’ The two had been linked to a showdown for a number of years, with many fans feeling it came a lot later than they would have liked.

It was a huge commercial success, setting the combat sports gate record with over 72 million dollars, and generating 4.6 million PPV buys.

Inside the ring it wasn’t the same spectacle, with Mayweather comfortably winning by unanimous decision in a rather uneventful affair.

While Pacquiao may have been the toughest opponent that Mayweather faced, he opted for a different man when naming who hit him hardest in his career.

CELEB NEWS

Exclusive – Suni Lee reflects on difficult year: “It taught me that I’m a lot stronger than I think I am”

U.S. gymnast Suni Lee finally feels like she’s back on the right track.

The Tokyo 2020 all-around gold medallist spent the last nearly 12 months adjusting to the realities of a kidney-related health concern that ended her NCAA career at Auburn University early and prevented her from making a run at international competition months later.

Now, she has once again found a consistent rhythm to her training.

“I’ve been back in the gym every single day, eight hours a day, and it’s been going pretty well,” Lee told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview ahead of her 2024 competitive debut at the Winter Cup, Saturday (24 February) in Louisville, Kentucky.

“I’m in remission right now, so I’ve just been getting it under control and starting to work up into routines and getting ready for the season.”

In Louisville, Lee plans to compete on the uneven bars and balance beam only. Her goal there: earn a spot at the upcoming Baku World Cup competition where she can submit an original element she showed the world last month on her social media – a full twisting layout Jaeger catch-and-release move on the uneven bars – to be named in the sport’s rule book.

“I feel really prepared on beam,” Lee said. “Bars… I’m feeling pretty good. We’re kind of just going to get the skill named and then doing a basic bars set. I’m just doing Pak through [to the end of the routine].”

Lee’s confidence ahead of competition belies the struggles she’s faced.

The 20-year-old competed vault and balance beam in August 2023’s U.S. Classic and U.S. Championships, but withdrew from Team USA’s World Championships and Pan Am Games selection competition a month later, ending her season and beginning a difficult five-month period from which she and longtime coach Jess Graba say she’s only recently emerged.

“I had kind of a rough patch, and I was in and out of the gym for about five months,” Lee says.

“It was more just mental, but also trying to figure out my health and just be as healthy as possible coming into the new year because I knew I wanted to not have to worry about it as much, or, like, just make sure that I was going into remission and not going to have a little break out before a big meet.”

But without gymnastics as an outlet, Lee and Graba say times were tough.

“Being depressed,” says Graba in response to a question about how Lee filled her days when she couldn’t make it into practice.

“During that time, I was honestly not doing a lot of anything good for me, I was just kind of rotting in my bed and hoping that it would all go away,” adds Lee, later saying, “Things are definitely way better now. Of course, I still have to go to the doctors every couple of weeks. I just got an infusion. But they said that I’ve been progressing a lot.

“I’ve been able to wake up every single day and I’m perfectly fine,” she continued. “I also have been doing this for long enough now, I think, to know the right time to take my medicine, to be able to be perfect for in the morning.”

CELEB NEWS

Google Rewards Simone Biles With Special Gift Amidst Latest WCC Gymnastics News

Her fans have been saying it for years, and after Paris, even some of the doubters, such as Piers Morgan, have changed their minds. Despite already being history’s most decorated gymnast, Simone Biles sought redemption for her disastrous performance at the Tokyo Olympics. Now, after winning three golds and a silver at the 2024 Olympic Games, even Google search has no more doubts.

Google, who still owns the most popular search engine in the market, has bestowed Biles with a special gift on Google Search. The company, who sometimes attach animated easter eggs to certain popular keywords, has recognized Simone Biles as the greatest gymnast of all time. Simply ‘googling’ the seven-time Olympic gold medalist will last you on the search page, but now there’s a special goat-shaped button.

Clicking the GOAT button will initiate a shower of flower bouquets, confetti and golden goats. While this isn’t any official award, it’s a fun way of celebrating the gymnast who has come to revolutionize every aspect of women’s gymnastics. It’s also another cheerful addition to the news of Biles’ club, the WCC hiring two new coaches to take Laurent and Cecile Landis’ place.

CELEB NEWS

Daily Dose of Social Media: Novak Djokovic hints at Cristiano Ronaldo’s new project, Alcaraz shares funniest fan encounter

Novak Djokovic drew attention on social media after reposting a video from Cristiano Ronaldo, joining several elite athletes amid ongoing speculation about a potential collaboration.

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, we look at some of the day’s highlights: Aryna Sabalenka trains in Dubai with a fun challenge alongside her team, while Carlos Alcaraz appeared in a new Q&A round in a viral ATP video.

ATP Shares Alcaraz’s hilarious fan moment and Federer admiration

The ATP shared an old interview with Carlos Alcaraz during the Queen’s Club Championships earlier this year. The 21-year-old Spaniard spoke candidly about topics ranging from the funniest moment he has experienced with a fan to which tournament in another sport he would like to win. He even took the opportunity to praise Roger Federer, whom he chose as his companion if he were ever stuck in an elevator.

The 4-time Grand Slam champion recounted the funniest moment he’s had with a fan:“They asked me for a selfie, and they took the selfie, but with the other camera, the wrong one. We waited like ten, fifteen minutes to take the real selfie,” he said. When asked what he would choose to eat if it were the only thing he could eat for the rest of his life, Alcaraz hesitated before enthusiastically answering: “Let’s say sushi… no. Paella!” he exclaimed. “That’s a good question,” he added.

On another note, he was asked if there’s a question fans frequently ask that bothers him or he’d like them to stop asking. “It’s not annoying, but I would say the comparison with Rafa (Nadal),” Alcaraz replied.

CELEB NEWS

‘Authentic’ Trait That Puts Scottie Scheffler on a Different Level Than Tiger Woods Comes to Light

The Scottie Scheffler vs. Tiger Woods debate takes another turn. This time in favor of the current world no. 1. Ever since Scheffler won the 2024 Hero World Challenge, experts have been debating whether he is better than Woods. Being only the third individual to win back-to-back Hero titles apart from Viktor Hovland and Mr. T seemed to have raised this question.

Hours after his victory at Albany, Scheffler rose up the table for the longest streak as the world no. 1 surpassed Sir Nick Faldo at 4th. A table that is dominated by Tiger Woods, with two streaks that are more than 3X longer than that of the current world no. 1.

Of course, Scheffler is still quite young at 28 and has a lot of time to be able to match that record. Yet, he and everyone in golf know what a mountainous task it would be to surpass the 82X PGA Tour winner.

But there is one situation where Scottie Scheffler has Tiger Woods beat according to insiders. Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz hosted Joel Dahmen on a GOLF’s Subpar podcast a few hours ago talking about various topics. One of the conversations was about how good Scottie Scheffler has been in recent times. That’s what prompted Dahmen to say, “I think it’s cool that he’s also a great human being,” as the hosts approved of the pro’s comments. Drawing a comparison with other great pros like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, he further added, “It’s different than maybe some of the other greats is where they are more sheltered and they don’t say as much.”

Considering everything that transpired in 2009 after the infamous accident that eventually led to Tiger Woods’s infidelity scandal, the GOAT has been quite hesitant to talk to the press. He had also previously emphasized his displeasure about communicating with journalists as he said, “I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means.”

Coming back to Scheffler, Dahmen mentions, “He’s pretty authentic. I think he’s getting really comfortable.” Talking about Mr. Inevitable’s interactions with journalists, he said, “He’s starting to joke a little bit more with the media. He has to do it every week.” Putting himself in Scheffler’s shoes, Dahmen questioned, “What are you going to do? Give them answers all the time?”

Acknowledging Scheffler’s personality, the 1X PGA Tour winner, Dahmen, said, “He’s just a fun good dude and he’s probably a better dad than me. He’s probably a better husband than me. What else can’t this guy do?” Colt added to the conversation by stating “He’s pretty good at everything,” which received a nod from Joel Dahmen.