Fights

Andy Ruiz says he's ready to do something Anthony Joshua wouldn't do -- actually make a fight with Deontay Wilder ... telling TMZ Sports, "That's what we're aiming for!"

Oh, and Ruiz also says THE DRAKE CURSE IS REAL!!!!

The heavyweight boxing champ was leaving "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Tuesday when we asked about a potential fight with The Bronze Bomber ... and Ruiz told us he's all the way down!!

"But, first things first," Ruiz said ... "I gotta get Joshua."

Ruiz is referring to the rematch clause which was included in his original fight contract with Anthony Joshua. AJ has already triggered the clause and the rematch is expected to go down later this year.

But, after that, Ruiz says he's all about Deontay -- the reigning WBC heavyweight champ.

FYI, Wilder praised Ruiz after upsetting Joshua over the weekend -- saying, "You’ve been blessed to come out of the struggle and to become the 1st Mexican Heavyweight Champion Ever!"

"P.S It’s all up to you in what you do with this huge opportunity."

As for Drake, Joshua famously posed with the rapper before the Ruiz fight -- and then lost -- reinforcing the belief that Drake curses athletes!

So, when we asked Ruiz about it, he told us bluntly, "Don't even bring Drake around me!"

HA!

There's more ... Ruiz also talked about his diet, workout routine and that epic post-victory meal after the Joshua fight -- which sounds AWESOME!!

Congrats to the champ!!!

Errol Spence Jr. is arguably the lb.-for-lb. BADDEST dude in boxing ... but Shawn Porter ain't scared, telling TMZ Sports he's gonna beat Errol up and take his belt!!!

Porter -- the WBC welterweight champion -- joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (weeknights on FS1) ... and called out Spence -- the undefeated IBF welterweight champ.

"We can talk about Errol Spence being the boogeyman. I don't mind. We can talk about Errol Spence being the most dangerous man in the division. I don't mind."

"He can have all those titles. He can have the IBF title. I'm the WBC champion. And, all it is is a matter of time before I take that title from him."

The 2 champs have been going at it for months ... after Porter beat Danny Garcia in September 2018, Spence confronted SP and declared himself the best 147-pounder in the world.

Fast-forward to March ... Shawn and Errol got into it live on television.

Bottom line, these guys have been teasin' this fight forever ... and Shawn says he's done with the talking.

"Everything is lined up. Everything is ready. We've been presented some contracts. We put our signatures on those contracts, and now we're waiting to hear from his side."

"Jon Jones who? Cormier who? Conor McGregor who?" ... Henry Cejudo tells TMZ Sports he's the "greatest combat athlete of all-time."

Yes, you heard right ... Henry says he's the best ever.

The UFC's Flyweight champ (125 lbs.) came through the TMZ office days before his UFC 238 fight against Marlon Moraes -- where Cejudo's fighting for the Bantamweight title (135 lbs.) -- and entry into the exclusive champ-champ club.

For Cejudo ... it comes down to personal accomplishments -- and he believes there ain't a man or woman on Earth with a better resume.

"I feel like I'm the greatest combat athlete of all-time, and the credentials speak for itself," Henry tells us.

"Who's won Olympic gold medal? Who's won a flyweight title? Who's gonna fight for a second belt? Nobody. It's me."

FYI -- HC won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

It's not just a second belt he's after ... Henry also wants to be #1 on the UFC top pound-for-pound list -- where he's currently ranked 4th.

It looked more like a WWE match than a basketball game ... and ex-NBA player Terrence Jones was at the center of it -- trading nut shots, vicious clothesline fouls and dance moves(!!) in one of the craziest on-court altercations of all time.

The ex-Kentucky Wildcats star -- who played for the Rockets and several other teams in the NBA -- now plays in the Philippine Basketball Association's TNT KaTropa ... and got into it with Calvin "The Beast" Abueva of the Phoenix Pulse in a game over the weekend.

It all started when Abueva knocked Jones down with about 7 minutes left in the game ... and TJ retaliated with a shot to the family jewels.

While Abueva recovered, Jones celebrated as Yung Joc's "It's Goin Down" played over the PA system (seriously, everything about this video is perfect).

Of course, a dude with a nickname like "The Beast" isn't gonna just let that slide ... so he retaliated with a clothesline on Jones after grabbing a rebound.

And, what did Abueva do right after??? He danced his face off.

The Beast was suspended indefinitely and fined 50,000 pesos (about $1k) for the hit ... and Jones was fined a total of 70,000 pesos for the whole altercation.

"I just kept going, you know what I mean? Whatever, who cares, f**k it. Let's just throw down."

That was UFC fighter Anthony Smith's reaction to BREAKING HIS HAND in the 2nd-round of his UFC fight with Alexander Gustafsson on Saturday in Stockholm, Sweden.

Smith -- who won via rear-naked choke in the 4th -- tells TMZ Sports it was "super painful" (as you'd expect) ... but there was NO WAY Lionheart was quitting over a broken bone.

"I definitely felt the break and it hurt, but as the fight went on it got worse for sure," Smith tells us.

"Honestly, man, here's my mentality. I'm here, I'm hurt, let's just fight. I don't want any regrets. I don't want to wonder, ah, maybe I coulda pushed it or whatever. I just go do it."

"I told [my coach] Mark, he said, 'How are you feeling?' I said, 'my hands broken.' He said, 'alright we're gonna start throwing elbows.' And, I said, 'Nah, I'll just keep throwing it."'

How the hell did Smith continue?

"I know this sounds silly. But, I remember sitting down in between rounds. My hand was broken. We're going into the 4th. I just kept thinking, man, I just wanna get home and go camping."

Anthony's home, and he's having surgery to fix the break on Wednesday ... and then he says it'll need 4 months to heal.

Blac Chyna is keeping things real on her new show, even if that means kicking her mother's ass on camera ... or vice versa.

Sources tell TMZ ... BC's reality series, "The Real Blac Chyna" is 100% unscripted, meaning producers decided to simply follow her around and shoot everything as it happens. That includes some wild footage in a teaser trailer that shows Chyna and her ma, Tokyo Toni, coming to blows at home.

Toni and Chyna have a legendarily toxic relationship -- which, of course, makes for great TV -- and they didn't disappoint. Our sources say the physical altercation you see in the trailer broke out when Toni started yelling at Chyna to get her ass into therapy.

You can tell mom knows how to push Chyna's buttons, and it wasn't until the women seriously went after each other -- Chyna grabbed a bottle -- that production staff broke it up.

Unlike other reality shows that use loose scripts and outlines to manufacture drama, we're told Chyna's producers are shooting unfiltered and largely uncut. Whatever the cameras catch is what you'll see.

This ain't the only blowout Chyna and Toni get into either -- our sources say they face off a number of times while recording daily for several weeks. BTW, we're told the crew was rolling when BC's Harvard debacle went down in April.

There's certainly no shortage of content for the Zeus Network -- a streaming platform -- as Chyna's had no lack of real-life drama since she shooting began -- including the altercation with her former hairdresser ... who claimed Chyna pulled a knife on her, despite a lack of evidence to prove that.

George Foreman says Anthony Joshua can be champion again ... and he's offering to help the former undefeated fighter, telling TMZ Sports, "He needs someone like me."

Joshua lost via TKO at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr. at MSG Saturday night ... in one of the most shocking boxing upsets of all-time.

The loss made a lot of people question Joshua's greatness ... and whether he's truly elite.

Not former 2x heavyweight champ George Foreman ... who actually believes the loss could HELP the UK superstar become an even better fighter.

"They're gonna have to go back to the gym. I think he'll be a greater fighter, Joshua now. If he goes back and gets his mind together. He's gonna even be better, but right now he better learn to box and he better get a good manager. I'll do it."

We asked Foreman if he was serious about the offer ... and his response?

"That's certain. He needs someone like me."

If Foreman was steering AJ's career, there's 1 bigtime move he'd make straight away -- NO REMATCH.

"If I'm Anthony Joshua's manager, I say, 'let sleeping dogs lie.' I don't want to fight that guy anymore, because you don't know what you did wrong. You go back and you're gonna do the same thing. Let it slide" ... Foreman tells us.

"Leave Ruiz alone. Let him alone."

So, does the loss take Joshua out of the conversation with Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury for best heavyweight in the world? Foreman's answer ... 6 emphatic "no's".

"No. No, no, no, no, no."

"One punch, uh huh. One punch is not gonna change that, or one knockdown is not gonna change that. He'll be back. He's in the mix. And, probably he'll be better."

Andy Ruiz will be known for WAY MORE than just beating Anthony Joshua ... so says Oscar De La Hoya, who tells TMZ Sports AR is going to have a long run as champ!!!

"Imagine all the confidence he has now," De La Hoya says.

Ruiz shocked the world on Saturday night when he knocked down Joshua FOUR times and made the heavyweight champ quit in the 7th-round.

But, some have already pegged Ruiz as the next Buster Douglas -- as in a 1-fight wonder ... and not the next big thing in boxing.

Enter De La Hoya ... who told us out at his foundation's 19th annual Golf Classic on Monday that he sees things way differently, saying Ruiz will put together a nice run as the new champ from here.

"Ruiz is the man, now, man," De La Hoya says ... "He's the man."

Of course, the Golden Boy is biased -- he has Mexican bloodlines and tells us he was rooting like hell for Ruiz in the fight!!!

Buster Douglas -- the man who SHOCKED the world and beat Mike Tyson -- tells TMZ Sports ... Andy Ruiz's TKO of Anthony Joshua is one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.

Bigger than his 1990 upset of undefeated heavyweight champ "Iron" Mike?? Buster -- a 42-1 underdog when he KO'd Tyson in the 10th round -- wouldn't pick which was bigger ... but was clear, this fight was historic.

"I think it was a great fight, man. It was a big upset. An upset is an upset. Ruiz came to fight, Andy came to get it and he got it."

"Despite all the obstacles that were laying there in front of him that were against him, that he had no chance of winning, and he went out there and did the impossible."

Let that sink in ... Buster Douglas -- the guy responsible for arguably the most shocking upset in sports history -- says Ruiz did the impossible when he stopped Joshua in the 7th round.

Douglas says he actually sees a lot of similarities between him and Ruiz.

"The man believed in what he was doing. He believed in himself despite all the naysayers," Douglas tells us ... "It's a lot of similarities there. I'm just happy for him, and wish him all the best."

Leading up to the fight, Ruiz was a heavy underdog against the unbeaten Joshua ... and seemingly nobody believed he had a chance in hell to win the fight -- a feeling Douglas vividly remembers.

"It definitely takes me back. It's like I kinda relate to what they're going through, the emotion that they're feeling going into the fight. 'I'mma show them tonight!'"

Buster says he was so PUMPED when Ruiz won ... "I felt like running!"

"That's awesome, man. It was great to see that. Takes you right back to that moment that you had yourself."

A pro bicycle rider slapped the living hell out of a fan during a big race this weekend ... hitting the guy multiple times -- and then knocking the hat right off his head!!!

It all went down during the Giro d'Italia race in Italy on Saturday ... when a spectator who was running alongside riders tripped up and accidentally knocked into Miguel Ángel López's bike.

The Colombian cyclist was thrown from his ride ... and in response -- he went OFF on the fan!!!

Lopez slapped the guy in the head a few times ... and then knocked his cap straight off his dome.

Lopez apologized for the incident after the stage, but also blamed the fan, saying, "I'm sorry for what happened. I was full of pure adrenaline. But there needs to be more respect for the cyclists."

The stars of VH1's "Black Ink Crew: Chicago" allegedly beat the hell out of a guest at a party for their show ... and now the dude's fighting back with a lawsuit.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Ronnie Spates claims he was viciously attacked by 'Black Ink' stars Ryan Henry, Van Johnson, Don Brumfield and Junior Diaz during a December bash in Chicago ... and he says the reality show's production company wanted a fight to break out to make better TV.

Spates claims he was an invited guest minding his own business at the party when Henry, Johnson, Brumfield and Diaz began kicking the crap out of him. He says the brutal beatdown left him licking serious wounds.

Spates claims show producers fueled the party with loads of booze and actively sought to encourage situations that would lead to conflict, verbal spats and physical altercations ... just so they could create explosive content.

TMZ broke the story ... cops were called to the party after it allegedly got violent. Our law enforcement sources say Junior Diaz was accused of sucker punching a guest, presumably Spates. Police say when they arrived at the scene, they found Spates bleeding from the mouth and disoriented, and he was taken to a hospital for stitches.

Spates is suing the reality stars and Big Fish Entertainment over the incident ... and he's seeking a big payday.

Unlike Jussie Smollett, at least one of his alleged "attackers" is seeing his career on the upswing ... Abel Osundairo is now training with one of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s trainers.

We're told Abel met Nate "The Snake" Jones through a well-connected boxing family in Chicago and they recently met up at Taylor Park Gym in Chi-Town to get in the ring and train. Nate's name carries weight in the boxing world ... the former pro heavyweight joined Mayweather Promotions as a trainer a little over a year after retiring and has trained Floyd in about a dozen fights ... including vs. Manny Pacquiao.

As we've reported ... Abel showed promise after mowing down opponents at the Golden Gloves tournament ... scoring first-round TKOs, unanimous decisions and, most recently, a first-round TKO in the senior novice 178-pound division to win the prestigious tourney.

Abel's still a raw talent -- he competed in a division for less experienced boxers between 21 and 35 who weigh 178 pounds or less -- but there's potential ... and further proof that if the Osundairo brothers really wanted to hurt Jussie in the "attack" ... it would've been vicious.

As you know ... Abel's lawyer says Jussie told them he wanted Abel to "attack" him, but not rough him up too badly. Since the "attack" ... Abel and his bro have struggled to land acting gigs but Abel's fortunes might have turned with Nate -- a former U.S. Olympic Boxing medalist -- now in his corner.

We're told Abel's training sesh wasn't a one-off, 'cause they plan to continue training. It's unclear if Nate thinks Abel's got what it takes to turn pro ... but training with a decorated trainer like Nate is a strong sign Abel's serious about boxing.

Arcangel got a gift from the legal gods ... he won't face charges for delivering a side kick that sent the mother of his children flying into a wall.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... prosecutors in Las Vegas are rejecting the domestic battery case due to a lack of evidence. That seems odd because cops arrested him after viewing surveillance footage of him kicking the woman.

We reached out to the D.A.'s Office about that video, and they told us the case was rejected for "lacking prosecutorial merit." They would not elaborate any further.

We broke the story ... cops say Arcangel was caught on camera kicking a woman last month at The Cromwell Hotel. According to the arrest report, the woman said she's his baby mama and they had an argument that led to what Arcangel described as a "little kick thing."

Cops say the "little kick" looked more like a brutal side kick on video, but Arcangel insisted it was just horseplay.

Gennady Golovkin wants a 3rd crack at Canelo Alvarez -- telling TMZ Sports the plan is to start negotiating the trilogy fight right after he beats up Steve Rolls next weekend.

GGG and Canelo fought to a draw when they first battled back in 2017 -- and when they ran it back in Sept. 2018, Canelo got the victory in a controversial decision.

Those fights were clearly the BIGGEST of Gennady's career in terms of exposure and paychecks -- so, it's no shock Gennady is ready for Part 3.

Of course, GGG has to get through Rolls first ... which shouldn't be a problem. In fact, GGG is such a huge gambling favorite, you gotta lay down $10,000 just to win $100.

37-year-old Golovkin says he expects a tough fight the 3rd time around ... but insists he'll finally get that "W."

There's more ... our camera asked GGG -- who grew up Kazakhstan -- how old he was when in he got in his first-ever scrap -- and Golovkin says he remembers throwing hands at age 7!!!

The story is pretty incredible ... Gennady tells us it was his first day of school when he started getting in fights.

Deontay Wilder believes he beat Tyson Fury in their '18 megafight ... but he's rematching the British star to erase all doubt -- telling TMZ Sports he's gonna knock TF the hell out.

The American heavyweight champ just announced he's rematching Fury early next year ... after fighting another scary man, Luis "King Kong" Ortiz in September.

"I wanna give great shows. I wanna put on great events because the heavyweight division was so dead for so long, man. Like over 10 years nobody knew who the heavyweight champions of the world were."

"Now they got a badass in Deontay Wilder. I already vowed and promised to put on great shows."

Wilder and Fury fought to a draw in December 2018. The fight was awesome ... and was arguably the biggest heavyweight fight in a decade -- but both guys had beef with the result.

Deontay believed Fury got an extra long 10 count in the 12th round after he landed a ferocious left ... sending TF crumbling to the canvas ... and Fury, he thought he won the fight on points.

Wilder's message to Fury???

"If you feel you got robbed in my country, in America we run it back."

"You run it back, and that's what I'm doing to prove that I knocked him out, but this time I'm gonna do it in even better fashion than I did the first time."

It's a lock to be one of the biggest events of the year ... but it ain't the only super fight Wilder has on his mind.

Cardi B's strip club beatdown case just got way more serious for her -- potentially, anyway -- because of a grand jury ... a sign prosecutors want her to face stiffer charges.

The rapper was decked out in pink as she arrived Friday at the courthouse in Queens. Inside the court, the judge revealed Cardi's case is now being heard by a grand jury. That's a big deal because she was only facing misdemeanors -- for assault and reckless endangerment -- but with a grand jury on the case, the charges could be upgraded.

Prosecutors tell TMZ ... they decided to present the case to a grand jury after "further investigation." They would not say what was uncovered during the investigation.

As we've reported, Cardi's accused of ordering an attack on sisters Jade and Baddie Gi last August. The women were bartenders at a strip club, and say they were attacked by Cardi's people because Cardi thought Jade had slept with Offset.

As we reported ... prosecutors offered Cardi a plea deal in April, but she swiftly shut it down. The offer was to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor. She would have dodged jail time, but agree to a conditional discharge and avoid trouble for some period of time. She wasn't having it.

Cardi was arrested and booked in October for her alleged role in the strip club incident.