Fights

Iman Shumpert says Draymond Green's punch on Jordan Poole was "bogus" ... telling TMZ Sports after watching the viral video, he sees why there was such public outrage.

We spoke with Shump at LAX this week ... and the former hooper kept it real, saying it's ultimately up to the Warriors to decide punishment, and they opted not to suspend the 4x champ.

"It's a grown man business," Shumpert said. "I'm sure they got to spoke about it amongst themselves. Whatever they choose to do, we got to honor that," he continued.

We asked Shump if he thinks the punch will fracture the Dubs' team chemistry as they prepare to defend their title.

"I don't think so," said Iman, who played 10 seasons in the NBA with the Knicks, Cavs, Kings, Nets, and Rockets. "They'll be alright," he added.

FYI, IS won a championship with Cleveland in 2016.

Green -- who stepped away from the team for just under a week after punching Poole at practice -- said Thursday he's not worried about co-existing with Jordan because they're professionals.

"We both know how to play basketball," Draymond said. "We're paid to do a job, and we're gonna come and do that job to the best of our ability."

Lil Baby has no love for DJ Akademiks, and he let it be known a couple of times on his new album “There’s Only Me.”

The controversial journalist first gets mentioned in the song “From Now On,” featuring Future … where Baby goes into Ak’s pockets, quipping “Akademiks know he ain’t as rich as me!!!"

Baby then applies further pressure on Ak via the song “Top Priority” which sounds more threatening … “‘Akademiks N****s’ think they can't get touched/Ion be on computers much, CED turnt me on to YouTube.”

Ak reacted with surprise to the tracks and has been fishing for the reason behind Baby’s aggression for some time.

On a recent broadcast, Ak explained how Lil Baby blocked him on Instagram -- only to DM him on Twitter, leaving him confused about the status of their relationship.

Ak was caught in a downpour last night ... as Baby’s disses dropped, he was busy denying rumors he was fighting with a woman in Miami after a viral altercation involving him and several women made its rounds on social media.

Ak later clarified he was actually breaking up a fight between his girlfriend and a pair of autograph seekers -- but apologized for raising his voice and blamed alcohol all across the board.

Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury IV would be an absolutely HUGE fight, but not the biggest ... 'cause The Bronze Bomber tells us there isn't a fight in the sport bigger than him vs. Anthony Joshua!

"The biggest fight in the world is not [Fury], it's me versus Anthony Joshua. That's still the biggest fight in the world. Everywhere I go, people talk about that fight. That's the one that they want to see," the 36-year-old former heavyweight champ told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

It's not that Deontay isn't down for another with Tyson ... because he is.

"Whether [Fury and I] fight four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten times, the heavyweight division is small. We can do those things because it's not packed like other divisions."

Wilder last fought in October 2021 ... losing to Fury via an 11th-round TKO. It was his third fight with the Gypsy King ... a trilogy that almost all boxing fans and experts agree was one of the greatest in the history of the sport.

Fury, generally regarded as the current best heavyweight in the world, recently said he'd be open to another scrap with Wilder.

As for Joshua, AJ's coming off a split decision loss against Oleksandr Usyk in August. The fight was a rematch of their September 2021 bout ... which Usyk also won.

Joshua, 24-3 (22 knockouts), is a longtime rival of the Bronze Bomber ... the men have talked about fighting for years.

If it is going to happen, it better be sometime soon -- Wilder tells us he plans to retire around his 40th birthday.

Until then, Deontay says this phase of his career is all about making his fans happy, and giving them the fights they want to see.

But, before those possible fights with Fury, Joshua, or anyone else, Deontay has to beat Robert Helenius this Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

We spoke with Helenius ... who tells us he believes he has a slight advantage over Wilder since he was his sparring partner.

"You get a sense of feeling or how and what kind of punches are being thrown in the ring," the 38-year-old heavyweight said. "Of course, it’s good for me."

Wilder is a massive favorite (around -800) against the similarly sized 6'7" pugilist ... who has a professional record of 31-3 with 20 knockouts.

And when it comes to the doubters, Helenius vows to "show them that they’re wrong."

We also talked to boxing star Caleb Plant ... who is returning to the ring for the first time since losing to Canelo Alvarez -- his first loss -- in November 2021. Plant is fighting former multiple-time world champ Anthony Dirrell before Deontay goes to work.

Draymond Green says he will be able to coexist with Jordan Poole and compete for a championship together ... but when it comes to being buddies again, he's "not sure" that's going to happen.

Green addressed the media for the first time since rejoining the Warriors on Thursday ... and made it clear he's ready to put last week's practice altercation behind him and focus on the season.

Draymond says he hung out with his kids during his time away from the team ... and had some "long days" dealing with the aftermath of the practice punch.

When it comes to repairing his personal relationship with Poole, which used to be tight, Green says the ball is in his court ... and it certainly doesn't sound like he's holding his breath.

"I'm not sure," Green added. "As I said before, that's not up to me. Nor do I think there's much relevance."

"Quite frankly, we both know how to play basketball and that is the most important for us. We're paid to do a job and we're gonna come and do that job to the best of our ability. We wanna continue to win so we gonna do what we have to do to win."

As TMZ Sports previously reported ... the beef between Draymond and Poole started in the parking lot and escalated at team practice last Wednesday, where our sources on site say Poole called several fouls during a scrimmage, and Draymond called him a "bitch" multiple times as a result.

Sources say Poole has been getting "cocky" lately over an upcoming contract, but multiple players have flat-out denied that's the case.

L.A. Rams players weren't the only ones taking a beating from Dallas on Sunday ... their fans were, too -- with one dude getting KO'd by a Cowboys fan during a parking lot brawl.

The SoFi Stadium parking lot brawl was caught on video as the Rams were losing to "America's team."

The video shows several people in Rams and Cowboys jerseys going at it as a few people attempted to keep the peace.

But, nobody listened ... and then, out of nowhere, a guy in a #88 jersey (CeeDee Lamb, Dez Bryant, Michael Irvin, Drew Pearson??) -- throws a superman punch at a fan wearing a Cooper Kupp jersey, knocking him to the ground.

The Cowboys fan didn't stop there ... the guy continued to punch the Rams fan in the face until witnesses broke things up.

The Kupp fan eventually gets up but falls back to the asphalt ... obviously shaken up from the blows to the head.

But, he wasn't the only one injured ... nearby there's another guy laid out on the ground.

It's not the only fight that went down during the Cowboys-Rams game on Sunday. Inside SoFi, a fan wearing a Matthew Stafford jersey was knocked on his ass by a guy in an Ezekiel Elliott jersey.

Ex-NBA star Ben Gordon was arrested AGAIN on Wednesday ... this time, in connection to an open assault case for a 2020 incident in Manhattan.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 39-year-old was being processed in Queens after allegedly hitting his 10-year-old son multiple times at the airport on Monday, when NYPD ran a background check and discovered an open investigation for misdemeanor assault in Harlem.

We're told the case stems from an alleged incident on March 13, 2020 ... when Ben is accused of getting in a heated argument with an adult female friend and grabbing the cell phone in her hand.

Sources tell us a scuffle ensued ... in which Ben allegedly injured the woman's finger and eye, causing pain and swelling.

The woman went to police and filed a report ... and the case remained open.

Shortly after Ben made bail at his arraignment in the airport case, he was then taken into custody on Wednesday and taken to the Harlem precinct for processing.

While it's another legal issue for Gordon, his attorney, Joshua Kirschner tells TMZ Sports he believes the former Bulls star's name will be cleared in the case.

"It’s very early in the case and we believe he will be completely exonerated once the investigation is complete," Kirschner says.

YK Osiris made a potentially poor choice to engage in a fight with a man looking to knock his head off, but his security guards realized that probably wasn't a great idea.

The "Worth It" singer left Cardi B's star-studded party Tuesday night in WeHo and got in his ride, but a clearly irate man walked over to the Lamborghini Urus, and started screaming all sorts of obscenities at YK. Something about cats ... you get it.

That's when YK opted to hop out and confront the guy! We'll say this ... the security team and had one job, and did it well. They immediately pushed the pissed-off man to the sidewalk, and put YK back in his vehicle.

It's unclear what the argument was about ... the man quickly turned his fury towards YK's security, flying off the handle about going to war, but cooler heads eventually prevailed and everyone went their separate ways.

Someone off-camera commended YK for stepping up to fight -- him being a trained boxer and all, but we're pretty sure his security did the right thing.

L.A.'s been a dangerous place for artists this year -- back in February, Kodak Black was shot a couple of blocks from where Cardi's party went down, and the sad fact is ... YK's shiny necklace could've made him a target.

We recently spoke to DJ Envy about artists traveling and maneuvering smartly in the grim aftermath of PnB Rock's murder in Los Angeles.

Envy says artists should go the distance in protecting their bling with security ... and not run into a lion's den.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr just revealed the extent of Draymond Green's punishment for punching teammate Jordan Poole in practice last week ... saying the NBA superstar will be fined and NOT suspended -- and he will rejoin the team on Thursday.

Kerr cut to the chase after the Dubs' preseason win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday ... starting off his postgame news conference by sharing an update on the 4-time champ.

Coach says the team has had "deep discussions" with players -- including Poole and Green, as well as Stephen Curry -- and other execs in the league about the incident ... and came to the conclusion that it was the best route to take after assessing everything.

Kerr -- who took the Warriors job in 2014 -- says it was "an exhaustive process" ... and it was a challenging decision.

"This is the biggest crisis that we've ever had since I've been coach here," Kerr said. "It's really serious stuff."

Kerr says he will not disclose the amount of Green's fine.

Poole and Green have had a sit-down conversation since the incident, Kerr said ... adding Jordan played a key part in determining the penalty.

By the sound of it, the two players have buried the hatchet and are willing to team up to defend their title this upcoming season.

Police have finished their investigation into the youth football game fight where LeGarrette Blount threw punches at a man ... and they've now kicked over the case to prosecutors, who will decide if the ex-NFL player will face criminal charges.

A spokesperson for the Gilbert Police Dept. tells TMZ Sports ... cops turned the case over to the Town of Gilbert Prosecutor's Office for review in the last few days.

It's unclear if the GPD recommended any charges in that handoff.

Prosecutors now have a choice -- file criminal charges against Blount ... or let him off. We've reached out for comment, but so far, we haven't heard back yet.

As we reported, cops initially began their investigation into Blount on Oct. 1, after he was involved in a huge fracas following the conclusion of a 12-year-old-and-under football game in Gilbert, Arizona.

Video, obtained by TMZ Sports, appears to show the three-time Super Bowl winner -- a coach for one of the teams involved in the game -- getting ticked off by something someone said in the postgame handshake line.

In the footage, Blount appears to sprint after somebody -- before throwing two punches at a man.

Cops say they were called to the scene, but the fight had concluded once they arrived. They said no injuries were reported.

Blount eventually apologized for his role in the incident, saying in a statement, "As a leader, coach, father and a role model I understand my actions are unacceptable. I hope and pray for your understanding and forgiveness and plan to continue to be a positive impact in the lives of our youth."

T.I. will be stepping into an octagon for an MMA showdown with popular vlogger and anti-gang activist Charleston White ... that is, if Charleston gets his wish, after he and Tip started beefing over his son King Harris.

Charleston issued the fight challenge Tuesday ... which he claimed would be the last straw in a string of disses that have been festering for a couple of days.

According to Charleston, he and T.I. hopped on the phone last night to potentially resolve their differences, but that convo crashed and burned and here we are.

He wants T.I. to wear an eyepatch during the fight, presumably to stack the odds in his favor ... and he's also calling for "judge" Steve Harvey to referee the entire spectacle.

The Texas-based YouTuber went on to mock Tip's urban legend status ... teasing him for his "Motivation" lyrics ("I'm 5'9" with the soul of a 6'4" n***a")

He also wants to add some family ties to the fight card ... offering to have his son fight King as well as any other relatives sitting on the sidelines, willing to duke it out.

The malarkey began earlier this week when Charleston claimed he alerted Atlanta D.A. Fani Willis of King's video, where he threatened to beatdown the vlogger next time he stepped foot in the A-Town.

Draymond Green's mom is justifying her son's actions at Warriors practice last week ... saying he only hit Jordan Poole because he was shoved in the first place.

Mary Babers-Green went to social media to give her two cents on the wild incident ... and essentially put the blame on how Poole handled their interaction, claiming Draymond was not trying to pick a fight.

"That wasn't a Sucker punch," Babers-Green said on Monday. "Dray didn't aggressively go to Poole. His hands were down. Man to Man you go over to talk (to ask what's up, what you say)!"

"Got shoved and reacted," she added. "End of story!"

Mary also believes the incident has been blown out of proportion ... and says the two "can get beyond this."

"Anything is fixable! Everything ain't always what you think you see!"

As we previously reported, Green is taking a few days away from the team after TMZ Sports posted video of the practice punch ... and he has since apologized to the team, Poole and Poole's family.

The punch has been a major topic in the sports world ever since it was released -- but folks appear to be divided on whether or not it was a big deal.

Kenny "The Jet" Smith recently told us violent altercations happen all the time on NBA teams ... calling it nothing but a "scuffle."

Kenny Smith says Draymond Green violently socking Jordan Poole in a practice last week is a huge nothing burger ... telling TMZ Sports similar incidents will happen "at least twice a year on each team."

We spoke with "The Jet" out at LAX last week shortly after we posted the shocking footage of Green blasting Poole in the middle of a Warriors workout ... and the NBA analyst told us that while it was "uncomfortable" to watch, it's not nearly as serious as some think it is.

"That behavior is uncommon in normal society, without question," Smith said. "However, that behavior happens a lot in sports because of the physicality, the adrenaline, and all those things."

"I thought it was going to be worse when I saw the video. I was like, 'Oh, they just got into a scuffle.'"

The video certainly seems to show far more than that -- in the footage, Green appears to lunge at Poole with full force following a verbal spat ... striking him in the jaw and knocking him to the floor.

Smith, though, insisted fights like these happen all the time in the Association -- including back in his playing days.

"I won two championships with like five guys who fought," said Smith, who won back-to-back titles with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995.

Draymond, meanwhile, addressed his actions on Saturday following the release of the video ... taking accountability for his role in the fight and saying he was stepping away from the team for a few days.

Smith told us he doesn't think the Dubs will ultimately suspend Green for the punch when he gets back, but he did say a fine for the 4-time NBA champ is likely on the horizon.

A Hooters in Texas came under intense assault this week -- with a group of youths going crazy on the establishment and their customers ... supposedly, because of some candy.

Video from the altercation first surfaced on Thursday -- when the incident appears to have happened -- but started making the rounds this weekend ... and the footage is absolutely wild. You see a bunch of young guys, some of whom are shirtless, losing their minds.

They're beating up what appear to be patrons in the vestibule of the restaurant ... wailing on one guy in particular who falls to his knees. Some of the employees -- including at least one Hooters girl -- also seem to get roped into the action ... with complete chaos unfolding.

One person filming says something to the effect of ... "all over chocolate," and you even see a chocolate bar on the ground at one point. Welp, as it turns out -- that's exactly what allegedly sparked this whole thing ... according to a Hooters manager who spoke to TMZ.

We're told these guys are door-to-door salesmen and that they came around that night trying to hawk their goods, only to be turned away over a no-soliciting policy Hooters has -- which is apparently what set them off.

There weren't more details provided, but the Hooters manager says they've resumed business and that a criminal investigation is ongoing.

We've reached out to the local authorities, including Plano PD, to see if anything further came from this ... so far, no word back.

Draymond Green just spoke publicly for the first time since punching teammate Jordan Poole at practice this week ... apologizing for his actions and announcing he's taking a break from the Golden State Warriors.

The 32-year-old 4x NBA champ met with media Saturday morning in the Bay Area, telling reporters flat out ... "I was wrong."

As for what led up to the punch, Green wouldn't say, answering, "things that happened in practice should stay in practice."

Draymond went on to say he isn't trying to convince people he was in the right ... he's here to own up to what he did wrong.

"I'm not here to change an opinion. I'm here to acknowledge my mistakes." He did, however, say the fact that the video leaked was "bulls***."

Green says he apologized to the team, organization, Jordan Poole, the Poole family, and his own family.

TMZ Sports posted video Friday showing the NBA star punching Poole in the face at practice Wednesday in San Francisco, after the two men got into a verbal argument.

Draymond says he watched the video "15 times, maybe more" and admitted "it looks even worse than I thought it was."

DG also expressed anger at the release of the video, saying ... "I thought it was bulls**t. No other videos leak from practice. When we're working on our sets, that don't leak."

Jordan Poole is set for a big contract extension with the Golden State Warriors -- something he's supposedly made known around the team's facilities -- and it's the reason things boiled over with Draymond Green ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Sources who were at the practice where Green punched Poole tell us ... in the days leading up to the incident, Poole was carrying himself differently -- in a cocky manner. The alleged behavior was creating friction between him and some of his teammates, including Draymond, who has reportedly also asked for a big extension.

Fast forward to Wednesday's practice. Our sources on site say Poole called several fouls during a scrimmage, and Draymond called him a "bitch" multiple times as a result.

Things escalated when Poole allegedly said, "You know what it is, Draymond." -- seemingly bragging over the contract situation -- and Draymond got in Poole's face, allegedly saying, "No I don't know, what is it?"

Then, as played out in video obtained by TMZ Sports, you see Poole push Draymond back, and Draymond delivers the blow to his teammate's jaw.

Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala and head coach Steve Kerr came to Poole's defense earlier this week ... denying his attitude had anything to do with the altercation.

In fact, Steph went as far as to say it was "absolute BS" ... but our sources are adamant the team is trying to save face.

Aljamain Sterling wholeheartedly believes TJ Dillashaw is juicing, telling TMZ Sports he's "100%" confident the former champ is cheating!!

"I'm excited, man. I can't wait to be standing across the cage and hear Bruce Buffer just go, 'two-time UFC former bantamweight champion Pill.J DillaRoid,' and I'm just gonna be like 'Yeah I'm gonna f**k this guy up!'"

The 33-year-old bantamweight champion is fighting the #2 ranked fighter at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on October 22.

You may remember ... TJ was suspended for 2 years for using EPO, a banned substance, during his title fight with Henry Cejudo. TJ admitted to what he did, apologized, and vowed to never again cheat.

But, Aljo ain't buyin' it.

"I think this is a legacy fight for myself to beat a guy like this who's been cheating for years and beating a lot of people for years. I think it does a huge boost to my stock and just go out there and have a good performance. The rest will take care of itself."

We asked Sterling ... you really think TJ's still doping?

"100% man! That guy knows the ins and outs of that whole thing," Aljamain said.

There's much more ... we also talked to Aljamain about the fight, and how he sees himself getting the win.