TMZ Sports - Page 47

If Logan Paul and Mike Tyson eventually fight in a celeb boxing match ... the YouTube star says he'd win -- exclaiming this weekend, "I would f***ing beat Mike Tyson."

The former heavyweight champ has been rumored to be a possibility for Paul's next big boxing match ... and Logan made it clear to media members Saturday that he'd beat the fighting legend if they met in the ring.

"He's too old," Paul said of Tyson ... "He's aging. Father time takes a toll on everyone."

If you're wondering, Paul is 26 while Tyson is 55 -- and Paul seems to believe that age gap would give him a chance.

"I got the reflexes of a cat," Logan said. "Like a young, quick feline, brother."

Paul hasn't fought since he went 8 rounds with Floyd Mayweather back in June ... but he says that bout is the reason he'd have confidence going into a Tyson fight.

"We saw with Floyd, dude," Paul explained. "There's no f***ing reason that I should have been able to last -- not just last, Floyd's on my highlight reel dog. There's no reason that should be possible."

Ex-MLB player Pedro Feliciano -- who pitched for the New York Mets for 9 seasons -- died on Sunday night, baseball analyst Eduardo Perez reported.

He was just 45 years old.

Perez did not reveal a cause of death for Feliciano ... but the ESPN broadcaster did say the former reliever passed away in his sleep.

"He was a really good [baseball player] but a better person off the field," Perez said. "He will be missed."

Perez added Feliciano had been out jet skiing with his family earlier Sunday.

Feliciano was drafted by the Dodgers in 1995 and ultimately made his MLB debut for the Mets at 25 years old in 2002.

He went on to throw for the Mets until 2010 -- and then signed a two-year deal with the Yankees, though he didn't play for the Pinstripes in either 2011 or 2012 while battling injuries.

He eventually re-signed with the Mets in 2013, but didn't log any more time in the Big Leagues following that season.

Feliciano revealed in '13 he had been diagnosed with a rare medical condition -- one in which he said doctors found he had a "little hole" in his heart. It's unclear if that played any role in his death Sunday.

RIP

Houston Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor said his team is sending their thoughts and prayers to those affected by the chaos at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival on Friday ... saying the incident is "bigger than football."

8 people are dead and hundreds of others are injured as a result of the tragedy ... and after the Texans fell 17-9 to the Miami Dolphins, Taylor opened his postgame press conference by addressing what went down back home.

"I know something bigger than football happened back in our Houston community this past Friday at the festival," Taylor said. "Just wanted to let the city of Houston know that our organization, our team, our prayers are definitely with y’all."

"Never want to see loss of life. We'll continue to keep praying for y’all."

Canelo Alvarez has hands like cement and apparently a voice like a baby angel -- 'cause after the boxer beat Caleb Plant in the ring Saturday ... he showed off his amazing pipes at a nightclub!

Alvarez hit up Zouk in Las Vegas to celebrate his big TKO win ... and at some point during the party, he grabbed the mic from Zedd and blessed the packed crowd with an impromptu singing performance.

The star boxer belted out "Eso Y Mas" -- a popular Mexican love song by Joan Sebastian -- and it was great!!

According to Zedd -- who posted the footage of Canelo's pipes on his TikTok page -- the pugilist sang for about 20 minutes ... and you can see by the DJ's face and everyone else's in the crowd, they were stunned by it all.

Canelo looked awesome on stage -- he was calm and cool, hittin' melodies we never knew he had!!

Las Vegas Raiders star Darren Waller says he was stunned by the news of Henry Ruggs' car crash last week -- calling the tragedy "shocking."

"Henry is somebody everybody liked," Waller said Sunday after the Raiders lost to the New York Giants -- Vegas' first game without Ruggs this season.

"Not just because he was the fastest person you've ever seen run on the field. But he was a good person and a respectful person."

Waller spoke with reporters for the first time since Ruggs was involved in a horrific wreck in Vegas last Tuesday ... and the tight end made it clear he and the rest of the Raiders were disappointed to not have Ruggs around the team anymore.

Waller called the 22-year-old "somebody you liked being around on a daily basis" ... and said Ruggs' situation -- coupled with the Jon Gruden email scandal earlier this year -- have taken a toll on the team.

"It is shocking," Waller said. "And it does hurt a little bit."

As we previously reported, Ruggs was cut by the Raiders just hours after he was accused of speeding and then slamming his Corvette into the back of Toyota -- killing a woman and her dog.

There's a simple solution for Zion Williamson's reported weight issues ... so says Kenny "The Jet" Smith, who tells TMZ Sports all the Pelicans star needs to do is focus and eat less.

Sounds easy enough, right??

There have been reports that the former #1 overall pick's weight has inflated to north of 300 pounds during the offseason as he battled an injury ... and even Kenny's "Inside The NBA" co-hosts Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley have been joking about the situation.

But, when we spoke with Smith at LAX this week, we got real about Zion ... asking how he can shed the extra pounds and get back to game shape by the time he's back to 100%.

"Every player in their career... they're going to get hurt at some point if you have a long career," Kenny told us. "In that time, you gotta figure out how to stay in shape and stay into a basketball body."

Kenny says he's confident the 21-year-old will figure it out ... and it won't be as hard as people think.

"The easiest part is he'll figure out how to eat less. It's not hard when it's your profession. He puts the hours in to become a great basketball player. He'll figure out those hours he needs to keep his body right."

"It's not hard, just eat less."

We also talked to The Jet about Scottie Pippen's recent comments about Michael Jordan only making "The Last Dance" doc to prove to the youngins that he's still the G.O.A.T over LeBron James ... and he sets Pip straight.

Jake Paul went in hard on Zayn Malik Saturday night, calling him a d***head, adding he deserves everything that's coming to him.

Jake was in Vegas, and as he strolled through a hotel lobby he said of Zayn, "He's a f***ing lunatic. The guy's a complete asshole."

TMZ broke the story ... Zayn pled no contest to 4 counts of criminal harassment after he allegedly got into a screaming match with Yolanda Hadid and Gigi. Yolanda says Zayn pushed her into a dresser. He denies it.

Jake and Zayn have long-standing beef ... which began last year when they were both staying at the same Vegas hotel. We're told Jake asked if Zayn was going to party, and Zayn responded, "IDGAF if you have a good night." It went on from there, with Zayn allegedly screaming at Jake, "Who the f*** do you think you are?"

Dana White -- an absolute Las Vegas legend -- tells TMZ Sports moving to Sin City is not the reason for the Raiders' off-field woes ... explaining bad things happen in every major city.

The UFC honcho -- who's called Vegas home for years -- told us out in NYC this week he does not believe moving from Oakland to Nevada has contributed to the problems with the Raiders.

"People are going to make mistakes," White said, "and bad things happen every day, no matter what city you're in."

Dana's not wrong -- but the Raiders have had more notable issues than any team since they made the trek from NorCal to Vegas before the 2020 season.

Star running back, Josh Jacobs, was arrested and charged with DUI in January. Star receiver, Henry Ruggs, was hit with a DUI charge after a fatal car crash this week. And, cornerback, Damon Arnette, has been accused of injuring a woman in a 2020 car crash as well.

White does admit Vegas "is a rough city" to try to keep your nose clean in ... but he still believes there are more places in the U.S. that players can find similar trouble in.

"Listen, Vegas is a tough city and so is L.A.," White said. "Go spend a weekend in L.A. It's the same thing. It is what it is."

If Shawne Merriman were running the New Orleans Saints ... he tells TMZ Sports he'd sign Philip Rivers ASAP -- guaranteeing the QB is ready to play in the NFL today.

"One thing I know about Philip," said Merriman, who played with the quarterback in San Diego for years, "he's been tossin' the rock. There's no rust there."

Rivers has been linked to New Orleans after Jameis Winston tore his ACL in the Saints' game against the Buccaneers ... with the ex-Chargers QB saying this week he'd consider coming out of retirement if Sean Payton called.

But, the Saints headman said his team was going to be sticking with the signal-callers already on its roster for at least the immediate future ... something that Merriman clearly thinks is a mistake.

"He's in shape, he's ready to go," Merriman said of Rivers. "If the Saints are smart, the Saints will pick him up."

Rivers hasn't played a snap in the NFL since losing a playoff game to Buffalo last January ... but he has stuck around the game -- coaching high school football in Alabama.

And, Merriman says that gig has no doubt kept him ready for an NFL return if and when the Saints or anyone else calls.

"The truth of the matter is," Merriman said, "Philip has taken really good care of his body."

If this is Lou Williams' last year in the NBA, a big music career could be part of his retirement plan ... 'cause rapper 2KBABY tells TMZ Sports he's spent hours in the studio with the hooper -- and they have a bunch of songs ready to drop!!!

The 35-year-old Atlanta Hawks guard recently spoke out about his future in the league ... saying 2021-22 could very well be the last time we see Lou Will on the court.

Of course, Williams has dropped music in the past -- he even has a tribute track to the late Kobe Bryant -- but 2KBABY says there's much more on the way ... and he knows that because he's on the tracks!!!

"Shoutout Lou Williams, though," the "Luigi" rapper told us in L.A. this week. "That's my n****, bro. Me and Lou, we locked into the studio when I was in Atlanta."

"Me and Lou got some tracks."

Okay, so they have some songs together ... but is the 3-time 6th Man of the Year any good?!? 2KBABY says hell yeah -- "Lou can spit!!!"

Ron Artest III just revealed to TMZ Sports that he had a pair of Kobe Bryant game-worn kicks ... and instead of keeping them safe and sound, he used 'em to play ball.

... and, completely destroyed them!!!

The 22-year-old hooper -- and son of ex-NBA's Ron Artest aka Metta Sandiford-Artest -- says he's a huge Bryant fan and even mimics his moves on the court.

And, you would think, with his dad being Bryant's former teammate, that he got exclusive workouts with the late Hall of Famer -- but that's not the case.

"I seen Kobe a lot like in the practice facilities and the games," the 6-foot-7 forward tells us, "but I was always scared to go up and talk to him. So, I never really went to talk to him."

Artest did get something else, though ... a pair of Kobe's game-worn sneakers that he ended up destroying playing basketball!

Here's what happened ... "One time after a game, I was sitting outside of the locker room and he walked in. A security guard came out and gave me the shoes he just wore."

"As soon as I got those shoes, the next day I went to the court and started playing with them and just tore 'em up."

Artest added, "Instead of trying to hold on to them, I was like nah, I'm playing in it."

"Game-worn shoes. I felt like 'Like Mike' -- the movie. I played in 'em and tore 'em up."

Hopefully, when the free agent from Cal State Univ. signs to a team, he won't ruin any more Kobe's -- or any sneakers for that matter.

Canelo Alvarez says this fight is different than his previous 59 ... 'cause he's got legit bad blood with Caleb Plant, and he tells TMZ Sports he's gunning to really hurt his undefeated opponent.

We talked to the 31-year-old top pound-for-pound fighter in the world just days before his fight against the 29-year-old, 21-0 boxer ... and asked him if he had anger or animosity towards Plant after the men got into it at a recent media event.

“Yes, for sure it's more personal for me. But, I'm gonna use that in my favor. I'm gonna put all my skills, my experience to win this fight in a good way.”

We asked ... do you want to hurt him more after what went down?

"Yes, I'm gonna enjoy that,” Canelo responded.

We also asked how Alvarez predicted the fight would turn out.

"What I see is that it's gonna be difficult the first few rounds, then I'm gonna start doing my fight like always."

In case you missed it, Canelo and Caleb literally came to blows at a Beverly Hills promotional event in September ... with Alvarez opening up a substantial cut on Plants' face.

So yeah, the beef's real for Alvarez.

We also talked to Plant ... and we asked him a similar question.

Caleb tried to downplay the incident ... but eventually admitted he might want to put Canelo down just a bit more after the scrap in L.A.

Shawn Rhoden, bodybuilding star and former Mr. Olympia champion, has died at the age of 46 years old following a reported fatal heart attack.

Rhoden was one of the biggest stars in the bodybuilding world, winning the Olympia in 2018 -- the Super Bowl of bodybuilding competitions -- defeating 7x Olympia champ, the legendary Phil Heath, who'd won 7 straight years.

Shawn was 43 years old at the time, making him the oldest to ever win the prestigious title.

According to Generation Iron, Rhoden suffered a heart attack that sadly took his life.

Shawn first got into bodybuilding as an amateur in the early 90s ... where he competed on and off over the years. In 2010 Rhoden turned pro, finishing in a respectable 11th place at his first Mr. Olympia.

Rhoden returned the following year, making a huge jump, finishing 3rd ... before ultimately winning outright in 2018.

The bodybuilder wasn't without controversy ... in 2019, he was accused of sexually assaulting a female bodybuilder in Utah in 2018. Rhoden was never convicted of a crime associated with the alleged incident.

Rhoden last posted on social media 3 days ago, writing what now seems like an eerie caption ... "Brick by brick and patience it will take. See you on the other side."

The fitness world has also flooded social media with an outpouring of love for the late bodybuilder.

Legendary bodybuilder Rich Gaspari wrote ... "I am shocked to hear of the passing of Mr. Olympia @flexatronrhoden It's very sad to hear of his passing. He had always been a gentleman towards me. Shawn had one of the most aesthetic physiques in bodybuilding. My condolences to his family. #rip #ripbrother"

YouTube star Bradley Martyn added ... "Such a kind soul. Rest In Peace."

Dana White believes Kamaru Usman will cement himself as the greatest welterweight of all time ... with one more win over Colby Covington.

TMZ Sports talked to the UFC honcho just days before UFC 268 ... headlined by Usman vs. Covington, a rematch of their incredible 2019 scrap -- a fight Kamaru won via 5th round knockout.

"Usman is in a place right now where he's the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. He's arguably right now the greatest welterweight of all time. He's already lapping guys, he's coming back and fighting guys for a second time," White said of Usman's legacy.

A few of the career attributes Dana listed ... undefeated in the UFC (14-0), won The Ultimate Fighter, longest win streak in welterweight history, least time on the bottom in UFC history, highest takedown defense in UFC history, to name a few.

And, Dana believes Usman could actually go down as the greatest MMA fighter ever.

"Colby Covington is a badass. He's very, very good. And, Usman beating him again will probably solidify him as the greatest welterweight ever, and yes, creeping up on G.O.A.T. status."

But, in order to do that, Kamaru must first beat Colby, the #1 contender, at UFC 268 Saturday night.

Baron Davis seems to believe the troubling allegations against Robert Sarver are true ... 'cause the ex-NBA star tells TMZ Sports he thinks the Suns owner "is a piece of s***."

The former Golden State Warriors guard said he sat next to the 60-year-old at some point during the NBA lockout in 2011 ... and he clearly got a bad vibe from the dude.

"Are you surprised?" Davis said out at LAX on Friday of the racist and misogynistic accusations against Sarver. "God damn, man. Look at that motherf***er."

Sarver has been accused of using the N-word on multiple occasions over the course of his 17 years with the Suns, according to ESPN, and he was also allegedly sexist with employees and others as well.

Sarver has vehemently denied most of the claims against him ... though he did admit to using the N-word one time "many years ago."

When we asked Davis about it all on Friday -- you can see in the clip, the former hooper really despises the guy.

"I don't care about that man," said Davis, who didn't want to go into detail about his interactions with Sarver. "He's a piece of s***."

Davis certainly seems like he wants to say more ... but tells us he's keeping it for his "Who Got Game" podcast.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Kamaru Usman is the boxing match combat sports fans will NOT be seeing ... 'cause the world's top pound for pound pugilist tells TMZ Sports he just ain't interested in the fight.

"I don't see. It doesn't make sense for me. I want to make history in boxing, and I don't see anything right there," Canelo says.

Of course, 34-year-old Usman made news this week when he said he was interested in boxing 31-year-old Alvarez down the line ... something his manager Ali Abdelaziz has previously told us. Kamaru also talked to Joe Rogan about the possible fight last year.

"I think that's something that [would be] the biggest ever in history," Usman said of a fight with Canelo at UFC 268 media day.

"That's what I'm looking to do. That's something that scares me. That's something that gets me up in the morning. That's something that I might risk leaving my daughter for another 12 weeks for."

FYI, both men will be in action this Saturday night. Usman is rematching Colby Covington at UFC 268 (there first fight was legendary) ... and Alvarez is fighting undefeated boxer Caleb Plant. Alvarez and Plant literally came to blows at a media event a few weeks ago.

Now, this isn't Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather ... in that there isn't any trash talk or bad blood between the two top fighters.

In fact, the Nigerian Nightmare was very complimentary of the Mexican champ.

"He's a master of his craft," Usman said.

"[Canelo's] used to these boxers. He's used to the boxing speed and the boxing movements and things like that. We're different. Sometimes different can be good. What's wrong with giving him a different look? Of course, it's a tall tree to climb, but we saw what happened the last time I was the underdog."

As for the legacy that Alvarez is building ... we asked him if he believed he could do enough to one day go down as the greatest boxer of all-time.

"I don't know, we'll see. We'll look at my number, and we'll see."