Fights

Canelo Alvarez has touched down in Texas for his big fight against Callum Smith ... and he's traveling in style!

The boxing superstar took off Sunday in a private jet from San Diego -- where he trains -- and landed in San Antonio just before midnight.

Once he landed, Canelo was driven to his hotel where he went through COVID safety protocols -- including a temperature check and walk through one of those sanitizing misters.

Canelo is set to fight the undefeated Englishman (27-0) on Saturday night at the Alamodome.

Promoters say, "A limited amount of fans will be in attendance" due to the pandemic.

It's been a whirlwind month for Canelo -- who split with longtime fight promoter Oscar De La Hoya after some issues with CA's famous $365 MILLION contract.

Alvarez officially split with Golden Boy in early November -- and quickly booked the fight with Smith.

Tyson Fury says he's "optimistic" he will fight Anthony Joshua in 2021 -- telling his rival, "Grow a pair and sign the contract, Big Boy!"

The Gypsy King appeared on "Good Morning Britain" where Piers Morgan referenced a report that the fighters could sign a 2-fight deal worth more than $500 MILLION!!!

"Well that doesn’t sound too bad," Fury said ... "but then again, I don’t believe everything I see in the paper."

"Let’s hope this fight happens. I’m willing to take the fight, I don't know if they are. I’ve been willing to take the fight for the last 5 years. It’s not happened so far but I’m very optimistic that will happen in 2021."

Of course, Joshua is coming off a violent victory over Kubrat Pulev -- he demolished the heavyweight Saturday night with a 9th-round knockout.

After the fight, Joshua was asked about a possible matchup with Fury -- and Tyson wasn't satisfied with his answer!

Tyson even mocked AJ on social media -- "Anthony Joshua just sh*t himself live on television! He got asked did he want the fight … and he went around the bushes and put his ass on the edge!"

"I want the fight! I want the fight next! I'll knock him out inside 3 rounds! He's a big bum dosser, I can't wait to knock him out!"

31-year-old Joshua is 24-1 as a pro with his only loss coming by way of Andy Ruiz. He defeated Ruiz handily in the rematch.

32-year-old Fury is 30-0-1 -- with his 1 draw coming by way of Deontay Wilder. He smashed Wilder in the rematch.

An Ohio couple says they were brutalized by cops during a simple traffic stop for tinted windows, but the Police Chief says there's way more to this story than the video shows.

It went down in Hamersville, when cops stopped a car driven by a young woman who did not have a license. Her aunt, Tammy Hampton, came with her husband Carl to take the car back home. Police Chief Guy Sutton tells TMZ, Tammy was ordered to stay clear of the car the cops stopped but she defied orders. Tammy says she was cuffed, kicked in the legs and told she was being arrested for resisting.

That's when her 65-year-old husband got involved and things got hot. He told cops, "Get your hands off my wife," and things escalated into a wrestling/punching match. The Chief says his officers took Carl to the ground after he got in the face of one of the officers.

The cop pulled a stun gun, and that's when someone screamed Carl just had heart surgery, so the officer backed off. Carl was taken into custody for obstruction and resisting arrest. Carl suffered a black eye and abrasions, but did not need hospitalization.

Tammy and Carl were not taken to jail because of COVID concerns. They were given citations and released.

What the hell is the deal with the Khabib Nurmagomedov comeback? Is it happening or not?

That's the question we asked the guy who would know ... Dana White and we finally have some clarity.

"The truth is, [Khabib] is not committed to anything," White tells TMZ Sports ... "What he has committed to is meeting with me next month."

White says he and Khabib will sit down in January to discuss a potential return to the Octagon after The Eagle's sudden retirement back in October.

"We're gonna find out how persuasive I can be," White says ... adding, "I'll bet on me every time."

In the meantime, White is gearing up for UFC 256 on Saturday night -- and he is FIRED UP about this one.

The main event features Deiveson Figueiredo taking on flyweight champ Brandon Moreno -- both guys are fighting on just 3 weeks rest from their last victory.

Figueiredo is coming off a 1st-round win over Alex Perez on Nov. 21 -- the same night Moreno defeated Brandon Royval.

As Dana points out, "This is the fastest turnaround ever for a championship fight."

The co-main event is also insane -- Tony Ferguson vs. Charles Oliveira, who happens to be on a 7-fight win streak.

Things got loud and aggressive at the Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev pre-fight weigh-in ... with the boxers threatening each other before Saturday's big fight.

Joshua stayed cool, calm and collected while Pulev -- who's 28-1 -- ran his mouth and tried to bait AJ into a physical altercation.

Both men started the weigh-in wearing COVID masks -- but those came off after the yelling began.

Security rushed in and got between the fighters -- it's typical pre-fight shenanigans. Apparently, they knocked over a light. Good times.

But, after the clash, Joshua predicted a violent end to his rivalry with Pulev when they finally get in the ring at the SSE Arena in London.

"I told [Pulev] that many years I've been watching boxing, and I've seen so many fighters talk a load of rubbish, then they get smacked up."

"I would have just clapped him on his jaw there and then. But, I've gotta do that tomorrow."

Joshua added, "He thinks he's a warrior, but I said 'don't let the guys you fought gas you up, you’re up against a real one now."

You may remember Pulev as the dirtbag who was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission back in 2019 for kissing a female reporter during a post-fight interview without her consent.

The woman, Jenny Sushe, hired Gloria Allred to go after his ass.

Not everyone thinks Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul is a joke ... the head of the WBC says he supports the fight "100%" -- insisting it will be GREAT for the sport of boxing.

"This is going to be something good for boxing," World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman said this week on SiriusXM's "The Ak and Barak Show."

"This is going to bring millions of eyes to our sport."

The Feb. 20 exhibition match has been criticized by some boxing experts -- and even some top boxers -- as a circus act.

In fact, Yahoo Sports' combat sports writer Kevin Iole described the match as "another low blow to the boxing world."

He added, "No thank you, Floyd Mayweather. Hard pass, Logan Paul."

But, Sulaiman says he doesn't agree -- "I appreciate Logan and Jake, they have worked hard. I will support Floyd vs Logan 100%."

As we previously reported, 50-0 Mayweather will take on 0-1 Paul in an exhibition that will NOT count on their pro records.

Floyd is 43-years-old. Logan Paul is 25.

The rules of the exhibition -- including how many rounds and how it will be scored -- have not been released yet.

Spectacular Blue Smith won't be having a spectacular time, or any kinda time, inside Disney World -- the mouse folk are pissed the rapper allegedly socked one of its employees.

Sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell TMZ ... the Pretty Ricky member is now prohibited from entering all of the Walt Disney World Resort properties in Florida following his Monday night battery arrest at the park.

As we reported ... the rapper allegedly fake sneezed and said "coronavirus," presumably as a joke, while standing in a line for a ride. A park employee overheard and said something to Smith about his bad humor, and they got into an argument.

When the staffer asked him to step out of the line, and blocked Smith with his arm ... the rapper allegedly punched him on the right side of his jaw/temple area.

Cops say Smith's son claimed his dad only hit the man accidentally as he lost his balance. Not shockingly, that excuse didn't fly and Spectacular got arrested.

Dana White doesn't mince words -- and when the UFC boss was asked about Floyd Mayweather agreeing to fight Logan Paul, he didn't hold back.

"Yeah ... when people ask me about the state of boxing right now, that’s where it’s at,” White said Sunday night on the 'Nelk Boys' show on Twitch.

Then he dropped this factoid about Logan ...

"Didn’t that kid get beaten up by the f*cking video game kid from England and now he’s going to fight Floyd Mayweather?”

White is referring to Logan's only professional boxing match -- a 2019 sanctioned bout against his YouTube rival, KSI.

Paul fought well -- but ultimately lost in a split decision after 6 rounds.

"Doesn't he weigh 200 pounds too?" White added ... "I dunno. Good luck to him."

As we previously reported, Mayweather vs. Logan Paul is an exhibition -- not a sanctioned bout -- so it won't count on either of their records.

The fight is set for February 20 -- but soooo many questions remain.

Still unclear where the fight will take place? How many rounds will it be? Who will score it? Will they try for knockouts?

White isn't the only one who has doubts about the fight -- boxing star Ryan Garcia also had an interesting reaction after the fight was announced.

"I, Claressa Shields, will whoop Jake Paul's ass! He can come in the ring weighing 180 pounds and I will come weighing 168 and I will beat the s**t out of him!"

Yup, that's one of the greatest female boxers ever ... telling TMZ Sports she's ready to humble the YouTube superstar and show him what it's like to go up against a REAL fighter!!

We spoke with the champ about the recent Paul and Nate Robinson fight ... and she says they made a "mockery" of the sport because there are actual boxers who should have gotten the chance to fight under a Tyson and Jones Jr. card instead of social media stars and NBA players.

The 25-year-old says it's smart for Jake to keep calling out non-pro boxers ... but guarantees the dude would get exposed against a real fighter.

"Jake Paul is making his money, he's doing his thing, but stay away from us real fighters," Shields says.

"And anybody out there that say 'Oh, Jake Paul will destroy her because she's a woman', ... I'm the greatest woman! So, no, Jake Paul won't do nothing with me and if he think he can, he can come see me."

Shields says she's not talkin' sparring, either -- she would take Paul on in a real fight ... and donate her earnings to the water crisis in her hometown of Flint, Michigan.

As for what the boxing world would think of the potential matchup, Shields thinks people would still take Paul just because he's a dude.

"I've been boxing for 14 years, 2 Olympics but they would still give Jake Paul the nod because he's a man. And it's like, you guys don't know nothing!"

"[Jake Paul] had too much talent for Nate Robinson. I'd like to get Nate down here for a few weeks and train him and get a rematch."

That's 71-year-old boxing legend George Foreman -- fresh off watching 23-year-old Paul DOMINATE Robinson on the Tyson-Jones Jr. undercard last weekend -- offering to train the ex-NBA star for a rematch with the popular YouTuber.

Most people say 36-year-old Robinson -- who was finished with a devastating KO punch in the 2nd round -- should NEVER fight again.

Not Foreman -- the 2x World Heavyweight Champ who faced Muhammad Ali and beat Joe Frazier (and so many other heavyweights) -- who says Robinson has untapped talent.

"I can turn him into a 5, 6 round fighter in no-time flat. Make him do what I say," Foreman says.

"He may not want to box again, but I wouldn't want him to leave without doing a better show than he put on. You don't wanna go on like that."

Of course, it's highly unlikely Nate would get an immediate rematch. Paul wants to fight Conor McGregor ... and everyone from Antonio Tarver to Evander Kane has called out the YT star.

Down the road ... why not?

If it happens, real talk -- does Foreman actually believe he can train Robinson to beat the dude who just whooped him??

We asked George.

NFL player Su'a Cravens is addressing the rumors on social media -- saying when it comes to Montana Yao, "There was no cheating."

There are rumblings Su'a's 2019 fight with Yao's estranged husband Malik Beasley was over cheating allegations ... the insinuation that Malik went after Su'a for getting involved with his then-girlfriend.

But, Su'a tells TMZ Sports straight up that's just not the case at all.

"There was no cheating," Su'a says ... "Montana and I hung out years prior to her and Malik even starting to date."

As for why Su'a and Malik threw down in that apartment lobby in Colorado back in 2019 -- all Su'a would say is Malik "brought that up onto himself. He got beat up for no reason."

Su'a claims he was later contacted by law enforcement and was asked if he wanted to press charges against Malik, since it appeared from the video that Malik was the aggressor ... but "I chose not to."

As we previously reported, Malik and Montana later got married. They have a child together.

But, recent photos of Malik and Larsa Pippen holding hands in public during an outing in Miami have caused some issues with their relationship.

Jake Paul admits he's seriously wrestling with the idea of taking a boxing match against his older brother Logan Paul -- but says he's 100% certain he'd whoop that ass if they do!

"I sort of change my mind on it every day," Jake said about fighting his brother ... "One day I'll do it, the next day I'm like 'I don't think I should do that.'"

Remember, Jake called out Logan -- along with Conor McGregor and others -- following his KO victory over Nate Robinson on Saturday ... leading many to wonder, would he REALLY fight his own bro?

Now that he's had time to think about it, Jake says it's come down to this -- "I would just do it to prove people wrong."

Jake says he's sick of hearing everyone praise Logan as the superior fighter -- saying, "I'm like a 10-times better boxer."

"I've had 2 fights and I've been in the ring for a total of 7 minutes and I've knocked down my opponents 6 times in that 7 minutes."

Jake previously told us he's dead serious about pursuing a boxing career -- and wants to take on some bigger names.

Since then, athletes like ex-boxing champ Antonio Tarver and NHL star Evander Kane have called out Jake.

Bottom line ... he doesn't HAVE to fight Logan -- he's got options.

Disgusting moment at a high school football game in Texas -- where a top player violently exploded on a referee AFTER he had already been ejected ... and the whole thing was caught on video.

It all went down Thursday night right after Edinburg High defensive end Emmanuel Duron was ejected from the game following a late hit penalty against an opposing player in the 2nd quarter.

After the ref announced Duron was disqualified from the game, Duron -- wearing #88 -- sprints back on the field and blasts the ref with a full-speed blindside tackle, sending the official crashing to the ground.

Multiple Edinburg High coaches and players had raced out to try and stop Duron's attack, but they were too late.

The ref was in obvious pain -- and remained on the ground for several minutes. He was later evaluated in an ambulance, according to The Monitor's Andrew McCulloch, who was reporting at the game.

Several police officers escorted Duron off the field -- but it's unclear if he was formally arrested and booked for a crime.

We're reached out to cops and the school district for information -- we'll let you know when we hear back.

Duron is a junior defensive tackle and all-around top athlete. He's scored a rushing TD as a running back and also kicked a 51-yard field goal earlier this season.

He's also a high school wrestling star, whose coach had said to reporters back in March that he's among the best in the state and a clear favorite to win a state title.

Marvin Vettori is straight-up GIDDY to become the first Italian to main event a UFC card -- telling TMZ Sports, "It's f*ckin' massive, man. It's beautiful."

The 27-year-old old middleweight -- born and raised in Trento, Italy -- is set to take on Jack Hermansson at "UFC Fight Night" on Saturday in Las Vegas.

"It's super exciting, man," Vettori tells us ... "I'm proud of this moment. But man, we've gotta make it a memorable f*ckin' day."

Vettori is 15-4-1 as a pro fighter -- but he's on a 3 fight win streak ... and says the goal is to prove he's worthy of a title shot.

FYI, Vettori is currently the #13 ranked UFC middleweight. Hermansson is #4.

The last time Marvin took an "L" was in 2018 to Israel Adesanya -- a split decision loss that Marvin badly wants to run back.

He's even talkin' some trash to the reigning middleweight champ.

But, Vettori says he's focused on the goal at hand ... beating Jack Hermansson.

George Foreman was so impressed with Mike Tyson's performance against Roy Jones Jr. -- he thinks the 54-year-old could still make a serious run at a heavyweight title RIGHT NOW.

Yes, he's dead serious.

"If he gets 3 more exhibitions like that, at that level, I would even back him in challenging any title contender, even a champion," Foreman told TMZ Sports.

"If the right situation arrived, Mike Tyson could be in for a good title shot ... and [with 3 more] of these exhibitions, he can beat some of these guys who can be champion out there."

In fact, Foreman says he'd pick Tyson to beat guys like Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder ... under the right circumstances.

"If you go 8 two-minute rounds, I'd back Tyson," Foreman said ... "10 two-minute rounds, I'd back Tyson!"

Foreman said he didn't expect to feel so charged up about Tyson -- but he says his feelings are genuine, he was extremely impressed.

NHL star Evander Kane REALLY wants a piece of Logan and Jake Paul ... telling TMZ Sports he's dead serious about getting into the boxing ring with the two YouTube stars.

"I'll take on any Paul brother," the San Jose Sharks winger says. "I don't care who it is. Either one of you can get it."

If the call-out sounds random ... it's 'cause it kind of is -- Evander says he was watching Jake's fight against Nate Robinson on Saturday when he got the urge to punch JP in the face.

Kane says he was heated over the way Jake celebrated his knockout victory over the former NBA star ... and he wanted to teach the 23-year-old a lesson.

"I’d wreck ya," Kane told Jake on social media a day after the fight. "Easy to beat up guys with no experience and much smaller. August 31st 2021 Vegas we can see if you really about that action. #YOURMOVE"

Jake never responded to the challenge ... but his older bro, Logan, sure did.

The 25-year-old went on his "Impaulsive" podcast Tuesday and threw a bunch of shade Evander's way, questioning the hockey player's chin and wondering if his name was even big enough to share a card with Jake.

"San Jose Sharks?" Logan said. "What is that exactly? Is that some sort of fish? An aquatic animal who lives in San Jose?"

Logan added, "The man's probably tough as nails -- but I bet his chin's not."

Kane -- who's known as one of the biggest on-ice fighters in the NHL -- tells us those comments now have him wanting to get in the ring with Logan too!

"He can get it," Kane said. "They're in for a rude awakening."

Kane says he actually grew up around boxing, training in the sport as a teenager -- and he tells us it wouldn't take long for him to get the muscle memory back.

And, he says if either of the Paul bros accept a celeb fight with him ... the match is only ending one way ...