Interview

Terence "Bud" Crawford's retirement this week shocked many, but not Shawn Porter ... 'cause he tells TMZ Sports the boxing champion had been talking about hanging up the gloves for "a long time."

In fact, Porter says Crawford began talking about the end of his boxing career just before their 2021 fight at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

"I knew once he fought Canelo [Alvarez], he felt like there was nothin' left for him," Porter said.

Nancy Grace says the double homicides of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner are a textbook example of a case that calls for the death penalty ... and that could be bad news for alleged murderer Nick Reiner.

Nancy tells TMZ ... this case is the classic example of when capital punishment should be applied, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen.

Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman mentioned the death penalty in a recent press conference, so it's being talked about among prosecutors ... but as Nancy explains, a final decision on capital punishment goes way beyond the D.A. office.

Former boxing star Shawn Porter says there's good news and bad news for Jake Paul ahead of his fight against Anthony Joshua -- The good?? The "fixed fight" chatter will end after Friday. The bad?? It's probably because it'll be a rough night for him.

The 38-year-old champ joined TMZ Sports ahead of the big bout going down in a matter of hours on Netflix ... and he broke down his thoughts on El Gallo taking on the biggest challenge of his life -- an active former heavyweight champ and Olympic gold medalist.

Porter says anyone who actually fights knows Jake's bout against then-58-year-old Mike Tyson wasn't fixed -- the legend was simply old and not in shape. Joshua, on the other hand, is as fit as it gets.

Kristin Cabot -- one half of the couple who went viral on social media this summer when they were caught getting cozy at a Coldplay concert -- has confirmed she and ex-Astronomer CEO Andy Byron are not dating ... and she blames the whole fiasco on alcohol.

The former "chief people officer" for Astronomer opened up about the life-changing ordeal in an interview with The New York Times published Thursday ... she confirmed she is not dating Byron. In fact, they barely have any contact at all. She reasoned ... "Speaking with each other was going to make it too hard for everyone to move on and heal."

Cabot told the NYT she understands she made a choice -- an alcohol-fueled one -- that has now impacted her career. She explained ... "I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss. And it’s not nothing. And I took accountability, and I gave up my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay."

However, as she and her loved ones -- including her minor kids -- continue to heal from the traumatizing publicity, she is speaking out because she doesn't want her silence to become acceptance, noting ... "I want my kids to know that you can make mistakes, and you can really screw up. But you don’t have to be threatened to be killed for them."

Browns legend Joe Thomas has high hopes for Shedeur Sanders in Cleveland ... telling TMZ Sports if the rookie puts together three good performances to end the season, the Orange and Brown just might have their next franchise quarterback on their hands.

We caught up with the Hall of Famer this week ... and with Cleveland currently sitting at 3-11, there weren't too many positives to discuss about his former team's 2025 campaign.

Of course, the Browns' crowded QB room has been a hot topic throughout the season ... and with Joe Flacco out of the picture, Thomas said Dillon Gabriel proved he's not franchise QB material in his six games as a starter.

“Survivor” Season 48 contestant Eva Erickson narrowly dodged the gunman who opened fire at Brown University Saturday afternoon, but she says she's not overly worried about another shooting there.

Check out our interview -- the Ph.D. candidate says she feels "safe" while hunkered down at her off-campus residence in Providence, Rhode Island because she assumes the assailant is "long gone," reasoning ... "Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place." On the other hand, she notes the idea is "horrible" because it feels like the shooter has gotten away.

As you know, there's an intense manhunt for the gunman by local and federal authorities, and the FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information in the ongoing case. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley told ABC News Monday authorities "continue to receive zero credible threats to our community, Brown or the broader community," which he's certainly caught some flack for as the suspect remains on the lam.

While Eva feels safe overall, she tells TMZ she and her peers have just as much information as the general public, and the lack of knowledge about the assailant has everyone "on edge." She is pining for the answers to simple questions -- how and how such a tragedy could have happened.

One thing she's sure of -- something needs to change. Eva says it's "insane" students are so vulnerable to gun violence in America, noting ... "I just wanted to go to school and learn and have this community and be safe. And now that's been taken from me." While she says she doesn't have the answers, she looks at lawmakers who are better equipped to advocate for gun safety regulations.

Donald Trump’s second term keeps sparking serious WTF moments ... now his chief of staff says his erratic behavior boils down to having "an alcoholic’s personality."

Trump’s former campaign boss and current chief of staff Susie Wiles spills it all in a Vanity Fair tell-all, explaining her analogy ... saying Trump operates like he can do no wrong -- a mindset that seems to mirror the reckless, impulsive behavior often associated with alcoholism.

For the record -- Trump’s late brother Fred Trump Jr. struggled with alcoholism, though Trump himself doesn’t drink. Still, it looks like Susie knows the disease well ... her own father battled alcoholism too.

CJ Perry says John Cena is a hero in her book after seeing him tap out in his final WWE match ... even though his last act didn't go the way some fans hoped.

The wrestling legend stopped by the office Monday and joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked her about John ending his iconic WWE career with a disappointing loss to Gunther.

It wasn't your typical storybook ending, but CJ says she's got even more respect for John for the way he tapped out after Gunther put him in a sleeper hold.

Rob Reiner and his son Nick were on rocky ground long before tragedy struck ... with both publicly hinting at a fractured father-son relationship years before the director and his wife were brutally killed ... crimes Nick is now allegedly linked to.

Back in a 2015 interview while plugging "Being Charlie" -- a film loosely inspired by Nick’s real-life struggles, directed by Rob and written by Nick -- Rob admitted the two butted heads during the writing process, but the clash actually helped him understand his son more ... and said it even made him a better father.

As Rob got emotional, Nick sat stone-faced ... before finally chiming in that their bond came from him watching his dad in his element, doing what Rob did best -- making movies -- adding he probably should’ve kept quiet and learned from him.

Jordan Firstman is ripping the HBO Max hit "Heated Rivalry" ... he says the show has a bunch of unrealistic gay sex scenes.

In an interview with Vulture, the openly gay actor repeatedly slammed the streaming show, saying ... "I'm sorry, I watched those first two episodes ... and it's just not gay. It's not how gay people f***."

Jordan filmed real, non-simulated sex scenes in his 2023 flick, "Rotting in The Sun" ... so he would seem to be kind of an expert here.

Andy Dick had everyone worried after suffering a drug overdose on the streets of Hollywood this week ... but he’s making it pretty clear he’s not planning to seek out any professional help.

The troubled comedian invited a TMZ photographer into his L.A. home Wednesday and he straight-up told us he’s not going to rehab -- offering up that answer only after he first posed the question hypothetically to himself, his buddies, and back to us -- even though we’re the ones who brought it up.

Notre Dame fans are outraged the Fighting Irish were left out of the College Football Playoff, and they're demanding the system they say is flawed be fixed immediately ... and Kirk Herbstreit may just have the answer!

It's not just University of Notre Dame football fans who are HEATED over the College Football Playoff snub ... people around the program are pissed, including former Fighting Irish star turned team broadcaster, Ryan Harris!

"I think I want to check their Bitcoin accounts. I want to see their cryptocurrency wallets to see what actually went into the decision-making. This has all the images of horse-trading on it," Harris told TMZ Sports on Monday, clearly still upset about what unfolded on Sunday.

FYI, Harris, who started four years at tackle in South Bend between 2003 and 2006, didn't single out any specific committee members and provided no evidence that anything untoward went down during the process.

Marjorie Taylor Greene got into a heated back-and-forth with "60 Minutes" journalist Lesley Stahl as both accused each other of fueling the current toxic political environment.

The Georgia congresswoman sat down with Stahl for a wide-ranging interview, during which they turned to the subject of Green apologizing on CNN three weeks ago for taking part in the toxic culture.

Greene explained that American politics has become the most toxic it's ever been ... prompting Stahl to say "you contributed to that" and slamming Greene for "insulting people."

Brian Walshe -- the Massachusetts man on trial for allegedly murdering his wife Ana --- is a narcissistic sociopath who reveled in watching cheating wife porn after he suspected his spouse of stepping out on him ... according to Dr. Phil.

TMZ caught up with the famous doc amid Walshe's murder trial ... and Phil walked us through Walshe's penchant for browsing Pornhub looking for smut films depicting a cheating spouse, which Walshe suspected Ana of being before she disappeared in 2023.

It's a kickass card, but UFC 323 may not be the biggest event featuring combat stars this weekend ... 'cause big-time streamer N3on is linking up with Jon Jones, Alex Pereira, and a gang of other badass fighters for Telegram's Gift Drop!

"A bunch of fighters are going to be a part of [the drop]," N3on told Babcock, announcing the big collab with Telegram. "I've streamed with a bunch of people, but like you said, these are real stars coming in."

And he ain't lyin'.