TMZ Sports - Page 50

Shakur Stevenson says he has no problem fighting Teofimo Lopez or Devin Haney down the road -- but his dream matchup would be a scrap with Gervonta 'Tank' Davis.

And, that's no disrespect to Teo and Devin ... the 24-year-old telling TMZ Sports, they're great at what they do.

"Teo is a great boxer-puncher," Stevenson says, "Devin is a great boxer, He's not that big of a puncher but he got really good boxing skills."

"At the end of the day, all of them guys are good fights for me later down the line."

Awesome news for boxing fans.

But, if Stevenson had to just pick one, it'd be Davis ... saying he and Tank are the best in their weight class, like Terrence Crawford and Errol Spence at welterweight.

"I feel like me and him in the ring one day would make the best versus the best," Stevenson said, "like how Bud and Errol is like 'elite versus elite' on like a whole new level of talent."

"At the end of the day, that's mainly who I would think that would be one of the best fights."

"It's like respect to Tank. I give respect to Tank because I feel like he's skillful and he's like an exciting fighter. He's a big puncher, aggressive and I respect his game."

If (and hopefully when🤞) this matchup happens, Stevenson says he would have to be on point every second of the fight ... and, so would Tank.

"I can't make no mistakes. Same with him! I feel like he can't allow me to take control of the fight because I can take control of a fight real easy."

"Once I take control of a fight and once I take off, it's like how do you get back in the fight? You can't get back in once you down six, seven rounds because it's too late now."

Stevenson just did that to boxer Jamel Herring -- a former champion -- with a 10th round TKO on Oct. 23, becoming the new WBO junior lightweight champion.

41-year-old Glover Teixeira is fighting for the UFC light heavyweight title Saturday night ... and the MMA star tells TMZ Sports he ain't even thinking about laying down his gloves, insisting he feels better than ever.

Teixeira -- who hasn't lost a fight in over 3 years (Corey Anderson) -- says he's totally changed his lifestyle around ... and is in the best shape ever, physically and mentally, heading into his UFC 267 fight with Jan Blachowicz.

We asked Glover for his secrets.

"Focus. Discipline. Today I live completely different that I did a few years back," the #1 contender tells us.

"Food, meditation, mindset. Recovery. Little things like an ice bath, all those things to recover, train with quality. It's a big change, man."

It's not the first time GT has fought for the title. He lost to Jon Jones at UFC 172 way back in 2014.

Glover says he always believed he'd make it back to the title fight ... but admits "he didn't think it was gonna take this long."

But, he's back, and if Teixeira can get the dub, he'd become the 2nd oldest UFC champ ever ... behind only Randy Couture, who incredibly was heavyweight champ at 45 years old.

Speaking of 45 ... we asked Glover if he wants to be fighting past his 45th birthday.

"I do. Yeah. Because I love this."

We also talked to the current champ ... and Jan made it clear he isn't taking Glover lightly, regardless of his age.

Cory Sandhagen is a man with a plan ... laying out his blueprint to TMZ Sports, saying he plans to get some revenge after his title fight with Petr Yan by beating T.J. Dillashaw and Aljamain Sterling.

"I have a loss to Sterling and I have a loss to Dillashaw recently. I think it would make a beautiful storyline for me to get the title this way and then get to scrap those 2 L's off my record. Almost rematch those guys right away," 29-year-old Sandhagen says.

#3 ranked Sandhagen is fighting #1 ranked Yan at UFC 267 Saturday night ... and the interim bantamweight title is on the line.

The winner will likely face Aljo -- the champion -- to unify the title.

And, that's exactly what Cory wants ... 'cause he lost to the champ in 2020 via a 1st round submission.

As far as T.J. ... Sandhagen lost by a razor-thin decision to the former champion back in July. But, T.J. was seriously banged up in the fight, and needed surgery.

So, Sandhagen vs. Yan was born. But, is the winner of this fight the actual champion??

Cory says yes.

"I think I see Petr Yan as probably the best guy in the division, so to me, yeah it'd mean beating the best guy in the division and becoming the champ."

After that, CS wants to immediately avenge the 2 losses ... starting with Sterling, a loss that's been annoying the hell out of Cory.

"The Sterling one definitely irks me a little more. With Dillashaw, at least I got to beat him up, ya know?"

Sandhagen continued ... "The decision didn't go my way or whatever, but T.J. definitely walked out of the cage way more beat up than I walked out of the cage. So, a little bit easier of a pill to swallow or whatever, but the Sterling one irks me bad."

"It just couldn't go any worse."

The Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves are duking it out in the World Series ... so there's no time like the present to highlight the gorgeous wives and girlfriends on each team!!

Astros ace Justin Verlander might be injured this season, but his model wife, Kate Upton, definitely still counts for recognition -- even if she won't be in the crowd cheering on.

Same goes for the Braves' side -- Eva Luccia is dating Ronald Acuna Jr., who's also injured ... but if ATL wins it all, the dude gets a ring ... so it counts!!

Daniella Rodriguez is married to Houston shortstop Carlos Correa, who's NOT injured ... so there's no debate here.

There's more -- Liliana Armas, who's married to Atlanta Braves outfielder Guillermo Heredia, and Reagan Howard who is married to 'Stros infielder Alex Bregman also highlight the list.

The Univ. of Tennessee has just barred 16 students -- and 9 other fans -- from attending games the rest of this season ... after the school says they were all involved in throwing trash at the Ole Miss game.

If you missed it ... UT football fans heaved things onto the field at Neyland Stadium on Oct. 16 after losing to Ole Miss -- infamously hitting head coach Lane Kiffin with objects, and making a massive mess.

Two days later, the SEC fined the university $250,000 for the chaos ... and this week, UT announced after an investigation, it found 16 UT students and 9 non-students had been involved in the trash throwing.

The school said, as a result, all of the above are banned from all university sporting events for the rest of this academic and athletic year.

School officials said more punishment could be on the way.

UT's Athletics Director Danny White says the university is also taking extra measures to ensure a similar scene never happens again ... promising changes in a letter to the SEC this week.

Some of the plans, White explained, are effective immediately ... including prohibiting student guest tickets, increasing law enforcement at games, and removing bottle caps from concession stands.

Mark your calendars ... Jake Paul and Tommy Fury will officially take the ring in December -- with the YouTube superstar announcing the fight date Friday.

"Pucker up Timmy, it’s time to kiss ur last name and ur family’s boxing legacy goodbye," Jake said on Twitter minutes ago.

The epic showdown is set to happen at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay ... and Jake is vowing to hang out with some local celebs after coming away with the win.

"DEC 18th Im changing this wankers name to Tommy Fumbles and celebrating with Tom Brady."

Of course, Jake has previously claimed Tommy will have to legally change his name if he loses ... which he's told us he's not sweating at all, 'cause Fury is guaranteeing to put Paul into retirement.

Jake is 4-0 with wins over Nate Robinson, Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley ... but this is his first fight against a boxer.

Fury -- heavyweight champ Tyson's lil' bro -- is 7-0.

After months and months of going back and forth, it's finally happening ... and we legitimately cannot wait.

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan was back in the operating room on Friday ... the WWE legend had yet another surgery -- this time after he revealed he's been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The former wrestler and his family spelled everything out on his social media page this week ... announcing in a video on Thursday that doctors had recently found cancer in his body.

"It's been going on for a couple months now," Duggan said, "and [my wife] Debra and I have been living with it and getting ready, but reality is here."

Duggan said he went down to Charleston, SC on Friday to have a procedure done to try to help eradicate the disease ... and, fortunately, Duggan's family said everything went well and the 67-year-old is now recovering.

"Jim's surgery went as planned," Duggan's family said. "He is resting comfortably now. Thank you for your prayers, good vibes and well wishes. Please continue them as he continues to heal."

As we previously reported, Duggan just had surgery less than two weeks ago ... though it's unclear if it was related to the cancer or for another issue.

Duggan has battled health problems in the past ... back in 2018, he spent time in the ICU suffering from heart issues -- but he recovered from that a short time later and thanked doctors for it all.

Duggan is one of the best wrestlers of all time and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011.

Saquon Barkley was thinking about his alma mater before their huge game against Ohio State this weekend ... 'cause he just hooked up each Penn State player with his unreleased Nike signature kicks!!

The Nittany Lions thanked the New York Giants star running back for sending over his Air Trainer 3 collab sneakers ... saying, "Just delivered📍👀"

It's an EXTRA special gift ... 'cause these Nikes won't be available to purchase until next Friday.

The shoes are pretty dope -- they have an awesome colorway with SB's lightning logo in the heel and insole, plus his jersey #26 on the tongue ... and come with a price tag of $140.

SB always shows love to his alma mater ... just last month, the 24-year-old was hangin' on campus with students, getting wrecked in beer pong.

Of course, PSU fans looooove Barkley -- he left his mark during his three seasons by logging in 5,557 all-purpose yards, 53 total touchdowns ... and was a Heisman Trophy candidate.

The Pro Bowler also set the school record for most rushing touchdowns, most rushing yards by a freshman and sophomore and most total yards in a game.

The National Women’s Soccer League Player’s Association has been heard loud and clear -- the org. just announced the league has met all 8 of their demands for change made amid the Paul Riley scandal.

Riley was fired as head coach of the North Carolina Courage after a damning report from The Athletic accused him of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and homophobic rhetoric while working with multiple leagues and teams dating back to 2010.

Games were canceled as a result of the scandal ... and once the season resumed, the NWSLPA listed 8 demands to fix the current culture within the league and players held a protest at mid-field.

Among the demands ... the players called for an independent and thorough investigation into each club "to determine whether any abuse, whether presently known or unknown, has occurred at any point in time.”

The league also agreed to the creation of a 5-person committee to oversee the investigation, which will include "two representatives from the NWSL Players Association, one from NWSL, one Club representative, and one jointly selected neutral party."

On top of that, players will be directly involved in finding Lisa Baird’s replacement … giving them “an opportunity to be heard” in the hiring process after the commissioner resigned amid the backlash.

"Each of these demands is seen by the players as one step closer to the goal of taking our league back," Tori Huster, president of the NWSLPA, said.

Yasiel Puig has settled his sexual battery case after cutting a check to his accuser, TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story, a woman -- ID'd as Jane Roe in court docs -- alleged the former L.A. Dodgers star forced her into a bathroom while at a Lakers game at Staples Center in 2018 and was sexually inappropriate with her.

The woman claimed she did not know Puig before the incident ... and eventually sued him in 2020 over it all, asking for more than $50,000.

At the time, Puig denied any wrongdoing ... saying in a statement, "The fact is that I had consensual sex with a woman I met at a Lakers game after she propositioned me."

He continued, "Afterward, we talked about going out together, but she said she did not want her fiancé to find out. We messaged each other afterward and planned to get together again, but we never did. She's now suing me based on completely made-up allegations."

The two battled it out in court over the last year ... but sources tell us the sides settled this week after Puig paid the accuser an undisclosed amount.

Court documents confirmed the settlement.

We've reached out to Puig's attorneys for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

As for the accuser, her attorney, Vince Finaldi, tells us the case "has been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties."

Puig, meanwhile, has been out of the MLB since 2019 ... when he last played for the Cleveland Indians.

Jake Paul's proving revenge really is a dish best served cold ... 'cause after almost 2 years, he's finally responding to Gigi Hadid, brutally clapping back over the drama surrounding Zayn Malik and her family.

"Your 'rEsPeCtFuL KiNg' punched your mom in the face," Paul Tweeted on Friday.

Let's explain.

Jake's beef with the model started back at the Wilder vs. Fury II fight in 2020, when the YouTuber claimed the singer told him to "f*** off" for no reason, saying he almost had to "clap up" Malik.

Gigi defended her man at the time, writing, "Lol cause he doesn’t care to hang w you and your embarrassing crew of YouTube groupies ..? Home alone with his best friends like a respectful king cause he has me, sweetie. Unbothered by your irrelevant ugly ass. Go to bed"

While the feud seemed long over, Paul reignited the beef after Zayn recently got in a blowout fight with Gigi's mom, Yolanda Hadid ... who claimed the father of her granddaughter pushed her into a dresser.

We broke the story ... Malik pled no contest to 4 charges he criminally harassed Yolanda and a security guard. He must take an anger management class and domestic violence program ... and he was also given 360 days of probation.

Zayn denies getting physical with Yolanda.

Jake obviously saw the situation as a perfect opportunity to troll the hell out of Malik and Hadid ... using her own words against her.

Logan Paul even weighed in, clowning his bro with a simple Tweet.

After a Halloween away from the office, TMZ is back together in person for another spooktacular day ... sharing costumes and some scary good times!!!

It's definitely been the year of Britney, and lots of costumes in the office reflected the singer's many eras ... from "Toxic" to "Slave 4 U." There was also some politics, billionaires and even Kim K at The Met Gala mixed in.

Jake Paul, Jeff Bezos, AOC, Run-D.M.C., Dog the Bounty Hunter, Kanye West, Morgan Wallen, Olivia Rodrigo and Bernie Sanders were all fair game ... and it wouldn't be Halloween 2021 without a 'Squid Game' costume.

Halloween falls on a weekend this year, so be sure to check the website for plenty more celeb looks, haunted parties and holiday treats.

Khloe Kardashian and her daughter True are battling COVID together, and both need some time to recover, which means canceled commitments for Khloe.

Khloe announced Friday, "Hi guys I wanted to let you know True and I tested positive for Covid ... Luckily I have been vaccinated so all will be ok. We will be over here in quarantine and following current guidelines."

It's the second time Khloe's had COVID, she revealed in October of last year she had recently recovered from the virus, but had a bad case ... with vomiting, shaking, headaches and hot and cold flashes.

Khloe was just one of several members from the family who have publicly said they've had COVID ... Kanye, Kim and their kids also tested positive in 2020.

Halloween falling on an NFL Sunday doesn't happen often ... so Robert Woods made sure to take advantage of the occasion -- by coppin' awesome "'Freddy Vs. Jason" movie cleats!

TMZ Sports has learned the L.A. Rams receiver wanted to make sure he was all set with some scary cleats for the spooky holiday ... so he hit up his go-to artist, Joe Castro, to get the spikes done for his game against the Texans.

The 29-year-old decided to go with the 2003 horror film, "Freddy Vs. Jason" ... and Castro delivered.

You can see the pieces came out awesome ... they feature Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger on the side of the Nike cleats ... with a splash of blood painted on them too.

Castro tells us it took 7 hours to create the hockey-masked slasher and the bladed-glove slayer pieces ... and there's a good chance you'll see Woods wearing 'em during pregame warmups Sunday.

Metta loves Meta.

Ex-NBA star Metta Sandiford-Artest is giving his stamp of approval on Facebook's new look ... saying it's an awesome change!!

Mark Zuckerberg just announced Thursday his company is switching to "Meta" ... as it plans to expand from social media to the "metaverse."

Of course, shortly after the change was made public, the NBA champ's name started to trend ... with jokes starting to pour in.

But, Metta finally shared his thoughts on the company's similar name ... tweeting, "Very happy that @Meta is doing this. Metta / Meta is an awesome name."

Metta adds he's excited to see what Zuck's company does moving forward.

"I was literally working, and my phone was ringing non stop. Lol. Congrats FB / #meta."

The company responded to the shoutout ... saying, "Best name ever, right? Can't wait to see you on court in the meTTaverse."

Miami Marlins pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. -- one of the best managers of arms in baseball -- had surgery this month to remove his prostate and lymph nodes after being diagnosed with cancer last February.

Thankfully, though, Stottlemyre says he's recovering well and is optimistic about his prognosis.

The 57-year-old revealed to the Miami Herald this week that after feeling rundown toward the end of 2020 ... doctors ran tests on him and discovered prostate cancer.

The pitching coach said he kept it all a secret during this past season ... explaining only team CEO Derek Jeter, general manager Kim Ng and coach Don Mattingly were the only ones who knew of his battle.

"I didn't want anyone to know," said Stottlemyre, who added even his team's aces weren't aware. "I didn’t want people feeling sorry for me."

Stottlemyre says doctors quickly identified that he needed surgery in order to remedy the situation ... and he had initially planned to have the operation done during the All-Star break in July.

But, Stottlemyre explained he ultimately waited 'til this month to go under the knife ... saying the cancer was slow-developing enough to hold off until after the season.

"We talked about the risk of waiting, and because it was a relatively slower-growing cancer, they inevitably decided it was OK to have it after the season," Stottlemyre said.

"I wanted to do it during the All-Star break, but I wanted to be there for my pitchers so I chose to do it after the season."

Stottlemyre says the operation was intense -- "my insides are obviously a mess" -- but he's exercising daily and is planning to return to Miami's coaching staff in 2022.

"I feel good," said Stottlemyre, who's been coaching for the Marlins since 2018. "I'm walking five miles a day and I'm going to stay in shape and I am going to return to Miami."