Boxing

Tank Davis couldn't wait to put his hands on Rolando Romero ... the undefeated fighter shoved Rolly off the stage moments after they faced off before their highly anticipated boxing match, nearly sparking a brawl between the fighters and their camps.

TMZ Sports was just feet away, outside Barclays Center in Brooklyn, when the incident kicked off ... in what was supposed to be weigh-ins and the final face-off for the undefeated boxers before they scrap Saturday night in NYC.

After squaring off, 26-year-old Rolly (14-0, 12 KOs) took a half-step forward and flexed, with his right arm appearing to come close to 27-year-old Tank's (26-0, 24 KOs) head.

Gervonta clearly didn't like that, and gave a one-armed push to the back of Romero, who was forced to jump down from the stage ... an elevated platform a few feet high.

Rolly immediately made a beeline for Tank, but was held back by people on stage. Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions (Davis is splitting with the promotion after the Romero fight), was in the mix, keeping the fighters away from one another.

While the scene was chaotic, peace was ultimately restored, and no one was injured.

It's not a surprise the men tried to hurt each other ... there's A LOT of bad blood between them. And, on the surface it doesn't seem to be manufactured beef to sell a fight -- these guys flat out don't like each other.

Good thing for Tank and Rolly, the fighters get to beat the hell out of each other in about 30 hours.

Future Hall of Famer James Toney says his class -- "Roy Jones Jr., Floyd Mayweather, Laila Ali, Holly Holm" -- is simply the greatest of all time, telling TMZ Sports it's point-blank, the "best ever!"

Now, there's a bit of an asterisk here. Floyd isn't technically part of the 2022 class like the retired, 54-year-old former 3-weight class world champ.

Mayweather, 50-0, was supposed to be inducted last year (2021) -- along with Wladimir Klitschko and Andre Ward -- but the ceremony was postponed due to COVID-19.

Same deal with Laila ... class of 2021.

2020's HOF class also had to wait ... that group includes Bernard Hopkins and Shane Mosley.

The International Boxing Hall of Fame decided to hold a massive event, inducting three classes into the hall in one star-studded weekend.

That event will go down next month in New York, and Toney is pumped ... just not as much as his family.

"Man, I'm excited. My mom, my wife, they're more excited than I am."

In the ring, Toney had quick hands and good power, but it was his defense and counterpunching that made him a world champ across multiple weight classes.

James was nearly champ in a 4th weight class, heavyweight (he actually beat John Ruiz in 2005), but was stripped of the title over a drug test he flunked following the bout.

All told, "Lights Out" fought professionally 92 times, ending his career with a 77-10-3 with 2 no contests. James beat Evander Holyfield in 2003. He also fought Roy Jones Jr. in 1994. Despite Toney losing the bout, Roy has credited James with being the best pure boxer he faced.

Bottom line, James was a problem ... and now he'll be celebrated alongside the greatest pugilists ever.

"Now I'm originally, literally, one of the greats of all time. I'm forever in history. So I'm excited, happy."

The love for Deontay Wilder in his Tuscaloosa hometown will last forever ... 'cause the city just immortalized the heavyweight boxer with a life-size statue!!

The 42-2 fighter was surrounded by his family and fans on Wednesday when he removed the sheets off the new "Bronze Bomber" figure that's located in front of Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports offices on Jack Warner Parkway.

"It's me!" Wilder said while hugging the sculpture.

The statue -- designed by Caleb O'Connor -- looks exactly like the heavyweight boxer ... from his braided hair and mean grin all the way down to his shorts and shoes.

The 36-year-old knew the honor was coming ... and said in the days leading up to the event this week that it would be "a monumental moment" for him.

"For the first time in my life, I'm at a loss for words," Wilder said. "This is generational wealth. This is black excellence. This is greatness."

Wilder's boxing career started in Tuscaloosa when he turned 20 ... and he later went on to become the WBC heavyweight champ from 2015 to 2020.

Chuck Liddell says Brendan Langley should turn his crummy situation into potential cash ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks the ex-NFL player should try pro fighting after his wild brawl with an airline employee last week.

The UFC star watched the vid of Langley and a United Airlines worker duking it out while at LAX on Tuesday ... and it wasn't hard to tell, despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the fistfight, the Iceman was impressed with Langley's power.

So much so, Chuck said he believes Langley -- a former Denver Broncos third-round pick -- should seriously consider trying to make a career out of throwing his hands going forward.

"Those fights are doing well," Liddell said of amateurs, viral video stars and celebs getting in the ring. "Turn him into a fighter. Have him fight somebody!"

Liddell says a YouTuber would make sense as a potential opponent for the 27-year-old.

Langley, meanwhile, could be looking for the work ... the Calgary Stampeders announced Tuesday afternoon that they have suspended their wide receiver indefinitely after the fight.

WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle just underwent a brutal procedure on Tuesday -- the American Hero had BOTH his knees replaced ... but, luckily, he says everything went off without a hitch!!

The Olympic gold medalist posted a video from the hospital bed minutes ago ... shouting out his fans for their well-wishes and detailing the long road of recovery ahead.

"Thank you all for your prayers and best wishes for my 2 knee replacement surgeries today," Angle said Tuesday. "So far so good."

"I realize rehab is going to be a bitch, but I'm ready for it."

The 53-year-old laughed about his legs feeling numb due to an epidural he received for the procedure ... appearing to be in good spirits.

Of course, the dude's had his fair share of pain over the years -- Angle won a gold medal in wrestling in 1996 with a broken neck and went on to join the then-WWF in 1998, where he would reach iconic heights as a performer.

The technical wrestler made a name for himself all over the wrestling circuit -- fighting for various promotions such as WWF/WWE, ECW, NJPW, and Total Nonstop Action.

In 2017, WWE enshrined the 4-time champion into its Hall of Fame, capping off a remarkable career from one of the greatest wrestlers to step inside the squared circle.

Oleg Prudky -- a two-time Ukrainian boxing champion -- was killed while defending his country against Russian troops, the Ukrainian Boxing Federation announced on Monday.

He was just 30 years old.

"It is with sorrow that we inform you that the master of sports of international boxing class, the champion of Ukraine Oleg Prudky, was killed in the fights with Russian occupiers," the Ukrainian Boxing Federation said in a statement on its Instagram page.

"Boxing Federation of Ukraine expresses condolences to the boxer's family. Eternal memory to you Olezh."

Prudky was working with the Cherkasy Police special forces and was one of the four officers that were killed during an attack on Sunday, police said in a statement to talkSPORT on Tuesday.

"On May 22, defending the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, our colleagues, police officers of the Special Operations Department of the KORD Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police, were killed," the police said.

"They defended Ukraine – the dead police heroes of Cherkasy region."

Before joining the forces to defend his country, Prudky boxed in amateur and semi-pro leagues and competed in several European championships.

The super-lightweight became a two-time amateur champion and was part of the Ukrainian Otamans team in the World Series of Boxing semi-pro competition.

Prudky leaves behind a wife, Mariana, and two daughters. His wife tragically wrote on Instagram following his death, "How do I tell them that they will never see you again."

"You are my ANGEL! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH"

Mike Tyson finally broke his silence about his confrontation on a JetBlue flight with an out-of-control passenger, and one thing's clear ... he's really pissed over what went down.

Mike was on his 'Hotboxin' podcast and was clearly relieved the San Mateo County D.A. decided not to charge Mike for battery. As you know, the video -- obtained by TMZ -- shows Mike punching away at the guy after getting harassed even before the plane took off.

Mike said, "He was f***ing with me, man. I took pictures with this n****."

Mike says he knows there's always the chance someone will become "overly excited," and that's why his wife has been on him not to fly commercial.

Mike concedes, "I shouldn't even be taking public planes," adding, "A bodyguard and a f***ing yes man. What am I gonna do on a plane?"

He admitted situations like the one on JetBlue "trigger me" and he acknowledged ultimately it's a lose/lose situation.

And, speaking of triggering, Mike had reminisced about an incident during the infamous Holyfield fight.

Ryan Garcia is covered in tattoos ... but the star boxer revealed this week that he's actually "so insecure" about them.

The 23-year-old -- who just got most of his body art done in the last couple years -- explained he's self-conscious about his ink while reading some "Mean Tweets" with Jomboy's Dan Canobbio.

On the "Inside Boxing Live" show on Friday, the 22-0 fighter read a string of tweets directed toward him -- and one of them mentioned his tats.

"All that money and Ryan Garcia's tattoos look like he downloaded them off 2k," Garcia read.

Even though the pugilist giggled initially, he later admitted he's not always feeling super confident about his body ink.

"Yo, I'm so insecure about my tattoos!" Garcia responded. "You're a d***head!"

Garcia has double-digit tattoos on his chest, shoulders and arms -- with the most notable being two lions on his pecs.

Newly retired Tyson Fury might be done throwing his hands ... but he's clearly not opposed to still using his feet -- 'cause the star boxer attempted to kick a cabbie's car after an apparent altercation with the driver in France.

The incident went down sometime Wednesday ... when Fury seemed to be roaming the streets of Cannes after having just a little too much to drink.

In video shot by a bystander, Fury -- wearing a white shirt and dark-colored shorts -- can be seen needing some assistance as he stumbled to a cab in the middle of the road.

But, even though Tyson and his entourage were attempting to get a lift from the cabbie, it seemed the driver wanted no part of it -- because the guy was continuously waving them off.

Eventually, the driver pulled away from the pugilist and his buddies -- and that's when the 33-year-old fight attempted to stick his boot into the car's bumper.

You can see in the video, Fury appeared to just barely miss. Fury's friend, meanwhile, also seemed to throw a kick at the ride too.

Thankfully, it doesn't seem the altercation escalated any further -- and Fury appeared to joke about his level of intoxication in an IG post on Thursday morning.

"Strong beer!" Fury said while on a run with his father.

Fury -- who retired after beating Dillian Whyte last month -- has been in France for the last several days enjoying his newfound time off ... being spotted on a yacht as well as at different restaurants and watering holes in the country.

Tragic news in the boxing world ... undefeated fighter Musa Yamak died during a match on Saturday -- after he suffered a heart attack in the ring and collapsed to the mat.

The awful scene went down in Germany ... when Yamak was in the middle of his fight with Hamza Wandera.

Yamak had reportedly taken at least one big blow from Wandera in the second round ... and as he was coming out of his corner for the third round of the scrap -- he stumbled, and eventually crumpled to the ground.

Trainers and other medical personnel on the scene rushed to his aid -- but, sadly, Yamak later passed away.

He was just 38 years old.

Turkish official Hasan Turan mourned the death in a social media post hours after the tragedy ... saying, "I wish God's mercy on the deceased ... my condolences to his sad family and fans."

Yamak -- who turned pro in 2017 -- had built an impressive resume in his career, starting 8-0. In 2021, he gained notoriety after winning the WBFed International title.

UFC legend Rashad Evans will be in the ring next month ... not to fight, but to serve as referee in the celebrity boxing match between Blac Chyna and Alysia Magen.

The mixed martial artist -- who was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2019 -- made the IG announcement on Tuesday with a clip of Chyna and Magen's first face-off ... where things got a little heated.

"I'll be ref' at this event," RE said with a bunch of fire emojis.

The bout will go down at the Charles Dodge Center in Pembroke Pines, FL on June 11 ... and the winner between Chyna and the Air Force vet will take home the Women's Celebrity Boxing title.

And there's a good cause ... Chyna says the money she raises will go to a non-profit in California.

"I am fighting to raise money for the Pasadena Humane Society," Chyna said last week.

Of course, Evans ain't the first UFC great to ref a celebrity match -- last June, Chuck Liddell had the gig for the Lamar Odom and Aaron Carter fight at the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City.

Liddell told us -- before Odom KO'd Carter -- he was gonna let the two fight despite it being a celebrity match.

"People are paying to watch you fight. You're getting paid to fight. You wanna make some money, you gotta fight."

Floyd Mayweather says his canceled exhibition fight in Dubai is back on ... saying the scrap will now go down on Saturday.

The boxing legend just shared an updated flyer for the event with a new date of May 21 listed. His former sparring partner, Don Moore, tells TMZ Sports he is still the opponent.

The scrap is still scheduled to happen on the Burj Al Arab hotel helipad.

UFC legend Anderson Silva, meanwhile, will still be on the undercard for the event ... according to Floyd's new flyer.

As we reported, the fight between Mayweather and Moore was originally slated to go down on May 14 ... but was canceled following the death of United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan earlier this month.

Event organizers had vowed to reschedule the fight after a mourning period ... saying, "We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and reassure fans that this spectacular event will be staged in future."

The late Tupac Shakur's last studio album "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory" is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and it's being pushed into the digital world.

That means creating an NFT -- non-fungible token -- from the original artwork ... a controversial piece depicting Pac as Jesus Christ wearing his crown of thorns while nailed to the cross. The parental advisory sticker infamously covered his pelvic area.

Released on November 5, 1996, nearly 2 months after his murder, Pac recorded the album under the alias Makaveli ... unleashing some greatest hits material such as "Hail Mary" and "To Live In Die In L.A." -- and fueling rumors he was still alive in the process.

Riskie Forever designed and sold the painting Tupac handpicked to be the album cover back in 2015 ... but crypto/NFT wallet manager Zelus helped him recover the art, and auction house Heritage Auctions will sell it to the highest bidder.

The auction goes down starting today through June 18 in Dallas at 445 Park Avenue and fans will also have a chance to win up to $100,000 through sweepstakes on the MakaveliArt.com website starting today all the way to June 5.

Mike Tyson will host the painting Tuesday on a special episode of his "Hotboxin" podcast, where he will also run through some of his cherished Tupac memories. They enjoyed a long-running friendship during the course of Pac's life, whose last moments were spent attending the Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon fight on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas.

Iron Mike tells TMZ Hip Hop: "This episode was cool to shoot. Having the opportunity to honor Pac and have this painting here with us was awesome. It's by far the most iconic hip hop album artwork of all time."

Riskie, an iconic hip hop artist, was initially propositioned by then Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, who later introduced him to 2Pac -- and commissioned Riskie to create the album cover.

Floyd Mayweather remains at the top of Logan Paul's s*** list -- the YouTuber-turned-fighter tells TMZ Sports he STILL hasn't been paid in full for the bout in June ... saying he's out MILLIONS.

It's been 11 months since the social media superstar faced off against Floyd in the ring ... and as each day goes by, Logan is getting more and more upset over the situation.

When we caught up with LP at Hard Rock Cafe in NYC this week, he said he is still fighting to get what he deserves ... and he's done talking -- it's time to see him in court.

"No, he has not paid me in full," Logan tells us. "That is a fact. Short a few mil."

When we asked if he's been trying to talk things over with Floyd's camp, Logan makes it clear it's too late for all that.

"Nah," Paul added. "We're taking this one to court."

"See you in the courtroom. Congrats on going to prison, Floyd."

Remember, the Floyd vs. Logan fight was a big success ... and Logan previously told us in February he was going to take legal action if he didn't get his cut.

If you're waiting for Shawn Porter to unretire, you can stop right now ... 'cause the ex-boxing champ tells TMZ Sports he's hung up his boots for good.

Remember, the former 2x welterweight champ retired after his bout with Terence Crawford last November, ending his career with a 31-4-1 (17 KOs) record.

But, since it's been some time since he called it quits, we had to ask the 34-year-old if he's beginning to get the itch to come back.

"Nope! I'm good, man," Porter said with a laugh this week. "I was able to do everything I wanted to do by the time I was 34 in the sport of boxing."

"With that being said, I'm ready to move forward and conquer some other things out there in the world."

SP added, "Boxing is not it anymore for me."

Of course, Porter took his talents from the ring to the broadcasting industry as a boxing analyst ... and he's been super successful there.

Jermell and Jermall Charlo vs Jake and Logan Paul?!

Not happening, according to Jermell, who tells TMZ Sports the Paul bros ain't on the Charlo bros level right now, but, absolutely no shade here ... 'cause the light-middleweight champ says he's actually a big fan of what they're doing in the sport.

"I f**k with the Paul Brothers."

"I like what they're doing. Let them keep boxing and keep going. They're gaining experience in boxing right now. They're doing what they're supposed to do. They're doing what legacy makers are doing and that's why I feel like the Paul Brothers, they're gonna keep on doing what they doing and making big money in boxing and making money on YouTube."

In fact, Jermell says other fighters could -- and should -- learn from Jake and Logan.

"Boxers need to learn from that s**t, bro."

Of course, the Paul bros, and particularly Jake, have taken the boxing world by storm. Jake is 5-0 professionally.

Jake has beaten fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib, before taking on 2x Slam Dunk champ and all-around incredible athlete, Nate Robinson. Paul flatlined the 5'8" hooper on the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. undercard ... and that's when his popularity exploded.

The Problem Child then beat former MMA champ Ben Askren ... putting the wrestling legend on the canvas.

Then, it was time for his biggest test by far ... MMA legend and future UFC Hall of Famer, Tyron Woodley, whom Jake beat twice, culminating in one of the most brutal knockouts of the year.

As for Logan ... he fought KSI twice. The first fight was a draw, and Paul lost the rematch (LP received an unusually harsh penalty during the fight which affected the result).

So, pretty impressive. But, Jermell and Jermall are two of the top boxers in the world right now. We talked about Jermell's titles ... and he isn't the only one in the fam with belts. Jermall is a former two-weight class world champion.

Speaking of brothers ... we asked Jermell if he'd ever fight his twin, Jermall. The short answer? Nope.

But, what about for a lot of money? Nope.

"I don't care about no money like that. I got enough money man, life is great. Never put my hands on my brother," Jermell told us.

There's more.

We also talked to Jermell -- who is fighting undefeated boxer Brian Castano Saturday night on Showtime -- about Canelo Alvarez's recent loss to Dmitry Bivol, and what it means for the Mexican boxing legend's legacy.