Boxing

Floyd Mayweather says DRUGS are to blame for Oscar De La Hoya's recent attack on the boxer -- claiming Oscar must be screwed up in the head for picking such a public fight.

Mayweather appeared on DJ Whoo Kid's "The Whoolywood Shuffle" show and addressed De La Hoya's scathing letter to Floyd ... in which Oscar called him boring and said boxing is better off without him.

"I’m just saying the reason why he’s probably going after me it could be because of the drugs ... because of the jealously."

De La Hoya famously completed a stint in rehab in 2013 for drug and alcohol abuse -- and has admitted a problem with cocaine in the past.

But Mayweather clearly feels the drugs took a toll on Oscar -- insinuating that it messed with his brain so much, he clearly doesn't realize what he's doing.

Oscar De La Hoya says his strongly worded attack on Floyd Mayweather is NOT a publicity stunt to get Floyd in the ring ... saying he's NOT planning on a rematch because he's too old.

De La Hoya appeared on "TMZ Sports" on FS1 on Tuesday -- and we asked if he's afraid of meeting Floyd in the streets after blasting the guy as boring and saying boxing is better off without him.

The Golden Boy says he WOULD be down to scrap with Floyd ... if there was a way to turn back the clock -- but says for all intents and purposes, his fighting days are over.

We also asked Oscar about his $100,000 bet with Jay Z over the Canelo Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto fight this weekend ... and De La Hoya made it clear, he wants Hova's money bad ... for a really good cause.

Sure, he wants to take him for $100,000 ... but Oscar De La Hoya says Jay Z is GREAT for the sport of boxing ... unlike Floyd Mayweather.

The Golden Boy just ripped Floyd in a "farewell letter" in Playboy ... claiming the sport will be BETTER without him in it.

But when we saw Oscar at LAX moments ago, he had a completely different opinion about Jay Z -- who's been loading up his Roc Nation Sports roster with big name boxers.

"He's great," Oscar said of Jay Z ... "He's a breath of fresh air."

Oscar and Jay also have a $100k bet (for charity) on the Canelo Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto fight -- since Oscar reps Canelo and Jay reps Cotto.

Boxer Yusaf Mack KO'd the closet last night ... celebrating his new status as an openly gay man at one of the most famous night spots in West Hollywood.

Yusaf had a "coming out party" at Rage nightclub in Weho on Sunday night ... a longtime landmark on the L.A. gay scene. It was a helluva leap for Mack, who just revealed his sexual orientation last week.

Days ago he alleged he'd been drugged and forced to participate in a gay porno movie, but a lot has changed. We got Yusaf outside Rage, and we gotta say ... he looks really happy.

Former heavyweight contender Clifford "The Black Rhino" Etienne has found something new to live for while serving his 105 year prison sentence ... his love of painting.

Etienne made the big time when he fought Mike Tyson back in '03 ... but saw his life spiral downward after that ... and is currently serving time in Louisiana for armed robbery, kidnapping, and attempted murder of a police officer.

We spoke to Lynn O'Shea -- who handles Etienne's business affairs -- and she tells us he began painting while inside ... and that his passion for the craft may have saved his life.

"He's amazing. He took painting serious inside and after he earned trustee status he was actually able to become the warden's artist and sleep in his paint room. That kept him away from all the drama in gen pop."

O'Shea tells us that Clifford's paintings sell "very well" and his work has been displayed at several high profile spots around south Louisiana ... including one of the last places you'd expect.

"The city of New Orleans bought one that hangs in a district police department, if you can believe that."

Unfortunately, Etienne's had a rough go of it as of late ... he was transferred to a new prison after he was nearly killed in an attack in his paint room ... and O'Shea says it's taken a toll on him.

"Things slowed down after the attack. He used to make all his own canvas and stuff to paint on ... but now he's locked down. I'm hoping some friends from his past life as a boxer can help him out."

Here's Jay Z checking on one of his biggest investments -- boxer Miguel Cotto -- making sure he's ready to rumble when he steps into the ring with Canelo Alvarez next month.

Jay stopped by Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles -- where trainer Freddy Roach also trains Manny Pacquiao -- and watched as the Roc Nation Sports boxer prepped for his Nov. 21 title fight.

As our friends at BSO pointed out, it's a huge fight for Jay Z -- who reportedly inked Cotto to a $55 MILLION contract back in March.

"If Cotto wins, it is on to bigger and better things (more money for Hov)," BSO says ... "If he loses, then back to the drawing board."

Pretty cool moment from Floyd Mayweather ... when he hooked up Leah Still with an autographed pair of boxing gloves to help her KNOCK OUT cancer!!

The backstory is interesting ... Leah's dad Devon Still says he's been advising his daughter to approach the cancer fight like Mayweather approaches his opponents in the ring.

"When she was diagnosed with cancer I told her she had to win every round (like boxers- mayweather to be exact) of chemo/treatment and she would win the fight against cancer."'

When Mayweather's camp got word -- he wanted to help ... and according to Devon, "He surprised Leah with an autographed glove for winning her fight and he threw in another glove for me to auction off at my first annual Still Strong Foundation Gala!"

Nice work, Floyd

It's official ... boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. is now a full Russian citizen -- with a passport to prove it.

Roy had personally asked Vladimir Putin to get him citizenship back in August so he could do more business in Russia ... business that includes boxing and promoting other fights.

Putin obliged ... and on Tuesday, Jones Jr. got his passport -- which he flaunted around Moscow while draped in a Russian flag. He thanks Putin for making it happen.

But Jones says he still bleeds red, white and blue and hopes the move will unite his two favorite countries -- "I'm happy to bring the U.S. and Russia together in the ring."

In the market for an authentic X-ray of Muhammad Ali's broken jaw??? Well, too bad ... 'cause it just sold at one of the coolest charity auctions we've ever seen.

It's a pretty cool piece of memorabilia -- taken right after Ken Norton busted his face during their big fight in 1973 ... a fight Ali actually lost.

Ali signed the X-ray, "To Carol & Russ From Muhammad Ali, 1973" ... and it ended up in the private collection of "Simpsons" creator Sam Simon, a HUUUUGE boxing fan.

Simon's massive collection was auctioned off to raise money for his charity organization -- along with a TON of other cool stuff -- with the X-ray raking in a cool $1,500! No word on the I.D. of the buyer.

All of the proceeds from the auction -- which raised more than $250k -- supports both animal welfare programs and poverty alleviation and disaster relief organizations.

Good news: Boxing champ Adrien Broner scored a sweet cameo on "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta."

Bad News: You won't actually see it because Broner angrily stormed off set before cameras even starting rolling.

Boxing star Antonio Tarver says he "vehemently refutes" reports that he failed a drug test before his August fight with Steve Cunningham ... saying, "I am 100% innocent."

Tarver is responding to an article on SI.com -- which says he tested positive for synthetic testosterone, which is considered a banned substance.

But Tarver says he "categorically denies taking any banned substance before his fight with Cunningham."

"I have no idea how my urine sample tested positive because I didn't take anything illegal," Tarver said.

"Either the test was contaminated, or mixed-up with another sample. We believe in the process and I will fully comply. Further analysis will prove I'm 100% innocent because I've done nothing wrong."

Boxing superstar Amir Khan has a pretty insulting message for Floyd Mayweather -- Cluck. Cluck. Cluck.

The 28-year-old champ is seriously pissed off at Floyd -- and Manny Pacquiao -- calling them both out for refusing to fight him in the ring ... and comparing Mayweather to poultry in the process.

"I wanted the Floyd Mayweather fight," Khan told Boxing News ... "Floyd in a way he chickened out, he didn’t give me the fight. Three years he was saying he was going to give me the fight, then he didn’t give me the fight."

When the Mayweather fight fell through, Khan turned his attention to Pacquiao -- but that deal fell apart earlier this month, with Khan claiming Pacman was dragging his feet.

Shannon Briggs is taking some time off from terrorizing Wladimir Klitschko ... to create a new video game he says will feature one of the most famous voices in hip-hop ... DJ Khaled!!!

TMZ Sports spoke with Shannon (always fun) who told us he was banging around in a south Florida gym with Khaled recently when he spit an idea at him ... to play the part of announcer in his new game "Let's Go Champ Boxing."

Briggs says the world famous DJ jumped at the opportunity -- and the two men are hashing out the details as we speak ... as well as working in the gym to give Khaled that championship body.

No word on when the game will be out ... but Shannon says he's got four more video games ... and get this ... a grill of his own in the works.

So, maybe he'll forget about you Wlad ... wait, not a chance.

Boxing superstar Gennady Golovkin says he's ready, willing and able to fight Floyd Mayweather once he disposes of David Lemieux next weekend ... telling TMZ Sports, "I'm ready."

Triple G was in L.A. training for his big October 17th fight -- when he told us he's still focused on taking down Lemieux ... but it's clear he's itching for his shot to beat the crap out of Money May.

What's interesting ... we asked if Gennady would settle for a bout with Manny Pacquiao if Floyd chickens out -- but Triple G shot that down saying, "Manny's too small."

Boxing was very, VERY good to Shane Mosley -- 'cause the guy has roughly $10 MILLION in the bank, which is awesome ... but nowhere NEAR the kind of money Floyd Mayweather rakes in.

Mosley had to declare his income and expenses to the court as part of his divorce from Jin Mosley ... and in the court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, Shane states he's got $14.6 MILLION in total assets and $4.8 mil in debts.

Overall, he's in pretty good shape ... with a net worth of $9.7 million.

So, what does he spent his money on?

-- $4,899-per-month on clothes (gotta stay fly)
-- $11,600-per-month on entertainment, gifts and vacation (gotta do cool stuff)
-- $4,736 on restaurants (gotta eat)

But get this ... despite all the cash -- Mosley says he owns an economical and environmentally friendly Chevy Volt (though he also has a Bentley).

Justin Bieber made a French Polynesian paradise that much better for a group of well-to-do vacationers ... by giving an impromptu performance during karaoke night.

Biebs has been vacationing in Bora Bora with Floyd Mayweather -- while Money celebrates new found retirement.

We're told the two stopped by their hotel's bar during karaoke night on Saturday ... when Justin decided to treat everyone to -- of course -- his own song, "What Do You Mean," before getting on piano and playing "Let It Be."

The 25 in attendance weren't exactly JB's target demo ... but enough Tahitian Sunrise cocktails can turn anybody into a fan.