Boxing

Conor McGregor provided inspiration to the Boston Bruins by giving a thunderous pep talk before Saturday night's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets ... kinda surprising given his felony robbery arrest just days before.

Conor was the guest of honor at TD Garden ... check out his roaring speech to the Bruins in the locker room.

The crowd went crazy when Conor came out for a ceremonial puck drop.

During the game, he went crazy with fans and went back into the locker room to congratulate the Bruins on their win.

Earlier in the day, Conor was in Chicago leading the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

As we reported, Conor was arrested for robbery/strong-arm and criminal mischief over $1,000 in Miami Monday morning for smashing a fan's cellphone and then taking it.

The fan, Ahmed Abdirzak, is suing Conor, claiming battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Sylvester Stallone isn't just a huge fight fan, he's also a minority owner of the UFC -- and tells TMZ Sports he's genuinely concerned for Conor McGregor after his latest arrest.

"This is a crossroad in his life," Stallone told us in Beverly Hills ... referring to both the arrest AND the fact he's coming off a huge loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov.

"If he can't overcome his fear and beat this man, I think it'll plague him for the rest of his life."

The conversation with Stallone is amazing ... he opens up about all of the issues Conor is facing in his life and provides him with a road map on how to come out on top.

In fact, Stallone says McGregor should be "inspired" by the obstacles in his life -- and use all of the negativity to fuel an epic comeback ... both in and out of the Octagon.

Sly says Conor should tell himself, "Okay, I've gone through a very rough time. I've been somewhat publicly humiliated. I'm at a crossroad in my life ... I have to overcome an incredible opponent who seems invulnerable."

That's when Stallone honed in on Conor's loss to Khabib -- "This is a crossroad in his life. This is probably the most important one because if he doesn't live up to his ideal ... if he can't overcome his fear and beat this man, I think it'll plague him for the rest of his life."

"I think [Conor] lost last time because he got resentful, he got prideful, he got arrogant ... put his hands down ... he walked right up to that gentleman and he just got smashed in the face when he could have been defensive. There was no Plan B. Not even a Plan A minus."

Stallone says he REALLY wants to see a rematch between the "two UFC Gods" -- adding, "I wanna see a guy that leaves everything on the table."

As for Conor's pending legal situation in Miami, where he's accused of smashing and stealing a cell phone from a fan who wanted a picture ... Sly has some advice for Conor on handling the burdens of fame.

"Keep smiling. You can't critique a smile."

Boxing star Adrien Broner is off the hook in his sexual battery case after prosecutors decided there just wasn't enough evidence to prove he grabbed a woman's vagina at an Atlanta area mall.

The 29-year-old was arrested in February 2018 after a woman claimed Broner touched her butt, thigh and "private parts" without her permission outside of a Louis Vuitton store.

Aftermath of the alleged incident was captured on video -- you can see the woman yelling and getting angry at Broner.

Broner denied the allegations -- but cops arrested him for sexual battery and simple battery ... both misdemeanors.

But, when the boxer appeared in court last month ... prosecutors said they did not have enough admissible evidence to "prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt" and dropped the charges.

In other words, there's no smoking gun video to prove he committed the crime.

Per court records, "the alleged victim in this case understands and consents to this decision."

The Osundairo brothers told Chicago police if they really wanted to hurt Jussie Smollett, they could've killed him ... and here's proof.

We've obtained video of Abel Osundairo throwing haymakers Thursday night in Chicago, and you can tell the "Empire" extra is a beast in the ring. Take solace in the fact you weren't his opponent.

Remember, Abel's lawyer says Jussie told the brothers he wanted Abel to "attack" him, but not rough him up too badly. Judging by his boxing skills, Abel suppressed his true strength during the "attack."

Abel and Jussie are on two totally different paths ... hours after Jussie strutted into a Cook County courthouse to enter a not guilty plea in his 16-count felony indictment, Abel advanced in the Chicago Golden Gloves amateur boxing tourney, with a first-round TKO in his quarterfinal match.

Dude's a beast, he's boxing in the 178-pound weight class. No wonder Jussie cut the brothers a check for a training program.

Errol Spence tells TMZ Sports he's ready to take Floyd Mayweather's place as the #1 star in boxing -- saying, "I'm next up to be a superstar icon."

Spence is 24-0 and headlining a massive PPV fight against 39-0 Mikey Garcia on Saturday for the IBF World Welterweight title ... the fight should be one of the best fights of the year.

In fact, Garia told TMZ Sports he believes it's gonna be an all-time classic.

But, Spence says it's not just a fight for him -- it's an opportunity to become one of the highest paid athletes on the planet ... just like Floyd, who changed the game when it comes to how fighters get paid.

"I feel like Floyd opened the door and I'm gonna kick it down," Spence says.

In fact, Spence says he'll probably steal a page from Floyd's playbook and fight Manny Pacquiao -- right after he defeats Garcia.

Spence praised Manny as a "blood and guts" fighter -- and says he believes Manny wants the fight too ... which is why he'll be ringside at the Garcia fight in Dallas this weekend.

After Manny, Spence says he's got his sights set on Terence Crawford -- who's also undefeated with a 34-0 record.

Look, if Errol wants to be known as TBE ... he's gotta get through the best in the world and he knows it.

As for Floyd, Errol says Mayweather will sometimes dish out advice when they hang out -- but mostly he likes to show off his fancy cars.

Hey, can't give away all your secrets ... right?

Out of Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury ... who does all-time heavyweight great Lennox Lewis think would've given him the absolute TOUGHEST fight?

Answer ... the 6'9" herky-jerky boxer-puncher that rose from the dead to get a draw with Wilder last year ... Tyson Fury.

We talked to the 3x heavyweight champ who ruled the division for a decade -- who's calling the Errol Spence-Mikey Garcia mega fight on Saturday -- and he told us why he thinks his fellow countryman would cause him the biggest problems.

"I think Tyson Fury would've given me some trouble because he's so big. He's a bit lanky."

That's sayin' a lot ... Lewis was an absolute beast in the ring -- compiling a 41-2-1 record with 32 knockouts -- including wins over boxing legends like Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.

So, does Lennox think that Fury could actually beat him???

HELL NO.

Floyd Mayweather is finding new ways to get at Conor McGregor -- this time, he's mocking the UFC star's Miami meltdown by BEGGING paparazzi to shoot him in Beverly Hills.

Remember, McGregor was arrested this week for taking a fan's phone and smashing it because he didn't want to be shot on the way out of the Fontainebleau hotel Monday morning.

Enter Mayweather -- wearing a super bright yellow sweatshirt so everyone could see him -- instructing the photogs to "Shoot me, man! Shoot greatness!"

Floyd knew exactly what he was doing ... and so did everyone in his massive entourage -- just look at the smirks while Mayweather puts on his show in the middle of the most famous part of L.A.

Meanwhile, Conor is still in Florida where he's facing criminal charges for the cell phone incident.

Conor recently tweeted about wanting a rematch with Floyd after getting beat up in their boxing match back in 2017.

Conor says he realizes what he did wrong in that fight and believes he can make the adjustments to give Floyd his first loss.

Conor McGregor duped the dude whose phone he allegedly snatched and smashed in order to get to the goods ... so claims the guy who lost his phone.

TMZ Sports spoke with Ahmed Abdirzak, a UK resident, who tells us he was vacationing in Miami before Monday's scuffle with the former UFC champ.

Ahmed says he spotted Conor on their way out of the club as he waited for the valet to bring his ride around. Once he saw Conor, Ahmed tells us he pulled out his phone to snap a pic -- and then says Conor actually approached him and appeared to be offering a handshake.

Once he had a hold of his hand, Ahmed says Conor pulled him in and grabbed the phone out of his hand ... allegedly proceeding to stomp on it while his bodyguards blocked off Ahmed. Ahmed asked for the phone back, but to no avail.

He says Conor put it in his pocket, laughed and hopped into a waiting vehicle. Ahmed's pissed about his phone, 'cause he says there's precious content on there for him that he'll never get back.

As you know, Conor was arrested and booked for robbery/strong-arm and criminal mischief, and made bail Monday night. He was calm and collected as he made his way past cameras and into his ride.

Conor McGregor went right back to business after getting released from jail Monday night ... hitting the streets of Miami for a late-night run!!!

As we previously reported ... the UFC superstar was arrested after he allegedly smashed a fan's phone for trying to take a pic of him outside the Fontainebleau hotel early Monday morning in South Beach.

He was booked for robbery/strong-arm and criminal mischief over $1,000 -- the price of the fan's phone -- and was released a few hours later, around 8 PM PT.

Now we know exactly what Conor did after getting out of the slammer ... 'cause we've obtained video of The Notorious going on a shirtless jog shortly after he posted his $12,500 bond.

Yeah, Conor (seemingly) ain't worried ... and maybe for good reason. He was initially charged with a felony after the NYC bus incident with Khabib -- but struck a deal and only ended up with 5 days of community service and an anger management course.

Conor's attorneys released a statement on Monday ... saying, "Last evening Conor McGregor was involved a minor altercation over a cell phone that resulted in a call to law enforcement.

Mike Tyson says he loved Michael Jackson ... but there's no way in hell he would've let his kids hang with MJ unattended.

The legendary boxer joined Michael Rapaport on his "I AM RAPAPORT" podcast (coming to Luminary this spring) ... where he was asked about the explosive "Leaving Neverland" documentary.

Of course, Wade Robson and James Safechuck -- the two centerpieces of the HBO special -- accused Jackson of sexually abusing them as children.

Tyson -- who was friends with Jackson and even visited him at Neverland several times -- says he believes a lot of the blame falls on the parents of the kids.

"The parents have to be responsible for that sh*t. I just thought the fact that these kids, Michael is telling them, 'if anyone knows about this we're both gonna go to prison forever.' It was just ... really horrible."

"I have an 8-year-old kid. I wouldn't let Michael hang out with my kid. I wouldn't let my kid go over Michael's house. I love Michael. Ya know what I mean. Michael has a reputation of this."

Tyson says "whatever happened when [Robson and Safechuck] was kids is wrong" ... but did critique the men for participating in the documentary.

"What you're doing now is even wrong. Coming out saying this stuff. It comes across that these are guys just out to get some money."

8:00 PM PT -- Conor posted bail and strolled out of the Miami-Dade County Jail a little while ago. He was totally reserved as someone escorted him to a waiting SUV.

No billionaire strut tonight.

5:16 PM PT -- Conor's attorneys just released a statement on the arrest.

"Last evening Conor McGregor was involved a minor altercation over a cell phone that resulted in a call to law enforcement. Mr. McGregor appreciates the response of law enforcement and pledges his full cooperation."

Conor McGregor has been arrested again ... this time for allegedly smashing the phone of a fan outside the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, at around 5 AM Monday, the owner of the phone was walking out of the hotel at the same time as Conor and as the fan attempted to take a photo, Conor slapped the victim's phone out of his hand, causing it to fall to the ground. McGregor then allegedly stomped on the phone several times, damaging it.

According to cops, McGregor then picked up the phone and walked away with it.

It appears the incident was captured on surveillance video.

He's been booked for robbery/strong-arm and criminal mischief over $1,000. He is currently being held on $12,500 bail.

It's unclear why Conor was outside the hotel at 5 AM, but it seems he and the fan were leaving LIV nightclub, which is inside the hotel. LIV closes at 5 AM.

It appears Conor went back to the Miami home where he was staying. The alleged victim subsequently filed a police report. Cops went to Conor's home and arrested him just before 6 PM ET.

He's been in South Florida over the last few days with his girlfriend, Dee Devlin, and their son, Conor Jr., along with other family members. Conor and his family were in Miami to celebrate his mother's birthday. He had rented out the Versace Mansion for the blowout.

The timing of the new arrest is interesting ... TMZ Sports broke the story Conor just completed his sentence in the dolly attack case. He completed 5 days of community service at churches in Brooklyn as well as completing an anger management class.

If Conor is convicted in the phone smashing case, the Florida can take Conor's previous transgressions into consideration during sentencing.

2:58 PM PT -- The Harris County Coroner's Office just listed Foreman's death as "asphyxia by hanging."

George Foreman's daughter, Freeda Foreman, died of an apparent suicide -- and based on the evidence surrounding her demise ... it appears she hanged herself.

A spokesperson for the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office in Texas -- the same county where Freeda was found dead over the weekend -- tells TMZ ... early indications are that Freeda's cause of death was an apparent suicide.

A final determination on the cause of death will be made by a coroner, but law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation tell us that Freeda appears to have died by asphyxiation. Seeing how no foul play is suspected, all signs point to a hanging.

Unlike her father, Freeda had a short-lived boxing career ... having appeared in only 6 bouts and winning 5 of them. She retired with a 5-1 record after her first loss in 2001. George reportedly paid her to quit boxing 'cause he wasn't happy about her being in the ring.

Freeda is survived by her husband, two daughters, 3 grandchildren and 11 siblings.

She was 42 years old. RIP

This should silence the Conor McGregor haters riding him for taking L after L ... 'cause he just won, arguably, his toughest fight yet -- a crying kid in the freakin' Everglades!

Conor and his GF, Dee Devlin, took Conor Jr. out for a swamp tour Saturday on those cool airboats. Probably seemed like a great idea for a family outing, but looks like the 1-year-old tyke wasn't having it.

Conor's kid burst into tears over something -- alligator, hunger or the blazing heat and humidity -- but rather than pack it in for the day, the Notorious One sprung into daddy mode.

Little sunscreen, pat on the head from Dad and Junior was good to go.

It's another 'W' for Conor, fresh off clearing up his criminal case in NYC. TMZ Sports broke the story ... Conor completed his community service by doing manual labor at 2 Brooklyn churches. Maybe he learned a little patience too.

In any event, McGregor's in a great mood. He joked he was "hunting gators today" before heading out on the bayou ... and got in a sparring session with his kid.

Adrien Broner is FINALLY paying off his $1 MILLION jewelry debt ... agreeing to give it all back in 3 installments -- TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... the boxing star was hit with a lawsuit last year after he allegedly stiffed a jeweler out of more than $1 MILLION in fine jewels.

Pristine Jewelers NY said Broner promised to pay for multiple items which totaled $1.252 Mil ... but his checks never cleared -- and then he refused to follow through on a payment plan.

But, according to legal docs filed this week ... Broner has finally reached a settlement with the company -- and has agreed to pay off his debt.

Per the details of the agreement ... Broner made his first payment on March 4 and will pay $500,000 by Dec. 31, 2019, and then the final $500,000 no later than 6 months after that.

It's interesting ... according to docs -- Broner struck the agreement with the jeweler on Feb. 15 -- just a couple weeks after he reportedly earned a $2.5 MILLION check from scrapping with Manny Pacquiao.

Unclear who Adrien will fight next ... but if he's looking to cash in on an exhibition match -- we know there's a boxing analyst out there that'd be a PERFECT fit.

George Foreman's daughter, Freeda -- who followed in her dad's footsteps and became a professional boxer -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Freeda's body was found in her home near Houston, Texas by a family member. Cops are awaiting a report from the coroner's office on the cause of death, but we're told no foul play is suspected.

Freeda began boxing professionally as a middleweight in 2000 and won her first 5 fights before losing her sixth bout in 2001. She retired after the loss with a pro record of 5-1 with 3 KOs to focus on being a mother and other projects, including boxing promotion.

Her parents also didn't enjoy her being in the ring ... so George reportedly paid her to quit.

Freeda was born in Texas and is one of George's 5 daughters. He also has 5 sons, all named George, and Freeda's middle name is George as well.

She appeared in a couple documentaries about her dad, and had a guest role on a 2003 episode of "King of the Hill."

Freeda wrote on her Twitter bio ... "Aside from my love of family, being a good mother, wife, and friend, I aspire to make a positive difference in our American Criminal Justice System."

She's survived by her husband, 2 daughters, 3 grandchildren, her parents and 11 siblings.

Freeda was 42.

Conor McGregor has a pretty powerful supporter -- with Chuck Liddell telling TMZ Sports the Irishman is right ... his fight with Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone should be promoted as the MAIN event.

Remember, Cowboy told ESPN this week ... fight negotiations broke down because Conor refuses to be billed as a co-main event.

The issue is that neither Conor nor Cowboy currently hold a title -- so they would share the main event billing with whatever title fight would take place on the same card.

Cowboy claims Conor ain't down with that -- and won't share top billing with anyone else. So, for now, the fight doesn't seem to be happening.

Enter, UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell ... who tells us he REALLY wants to see that fight because Conor and Cowboy are two of his all-time favorites and the bout would be awesome!!!

"I'm excited for that fight," Chuck told us on the way out of 1OAK in L.A. ... "I hope it happens."

As for the main event issue, Chuck says ... "It's a main event fight for sure. No matter what."

"Come on, Conor McGregor and Cowboy?! Two of my favorite fighters! I love watching those guys fight."

Chuck thinks Conor is ultimately using the main event issue as a way to negotiate more money because he's a smart businessman ... and believes the two sides WILL come to an agreement.