Boxing

There's a fight of the century over the fight of the century ... with two major sporting events vying for the T-Mobile Arena on August 26th.

In one corner ... Mayweather vs. McGregor. When the fight was announced, Dana White and Floyd Mayweather stated it will take place at the Vegas venue.

Problem is ... Ice Cube's BIG3 basketball league already booked the location for the league championship game on the same night.

Our BIG3 sources tell us they have no plans to move -- they still have the venue booked and expect to play there on August 26th. The league even tweeted about it on Friday evening and T-Mobile has game tickets for sale on its site.

Sources connected to May-Mac tell us there are plans in motion to move BIG3 to the nearby MGM Grand Garden Arena ... it's just a matter of time before that becomes official.

Andre Ward says Sergey Kovalev needs to be punished for his racist antics on social media, and tells TMZ Sports he's gonna do it with his fists when the two men meet on June 17.

Kovalev's been getting heat for a meme he posted to his social media recently, one that depicts a fake convo between him and Ward, where Andre repeatedly uses both the N- and F- words.

Sergey has since deleted the video meme, but the backlash was swift from those who said that making it sound as if Ward -- a devout Christian -- dropped nonstop n-bombs was racist.

BTW ... it's not the first time the Russian fighter has been accused of racism, but he has said in the past that cultural misunderstandings were to blame for the controversies.

Ward ain't buying it, and told us there was NO DOUBT the post was racist, and he's gonna make Kovalev pay for it.

"He's culturally sound enough to know some of the things he's been doing are racially motivated. It's more motivation, definitely more motivation," Ward says ... adding, "He needs to be silenced."

** HERE'S KOVALEV'S VIDEO -- WARNING: CONTAINS OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE**

If Conor McGregor doesn't put Mayweather on his ass in the first SIX rounds, he's dead in the water ... so says Dominick Cruz.

The UFC star/analyst says he's been racking his brain over the fight -- and says Conor has a real shot ... but he better act fast. The clock is his enemy.

No matter the outcome, Cruz says McGregor is doing MMA (and its fighters) a big favor.

Andre Ward is fired up his good friend, Kevin Durant, will be ringside for his rematch with Sergey Kovalev ... telling TMZ Sports the NBA Finals MVP has been pushing him to dominate.

Ward says he and KD are so close, they were texting back and forth during the NBA Finals -- sending pump-up messages to each other for their respective battles.

Ward says he's not only inspired by his fellow Roc Nation athlete, but his presence alone at the fight will force him to up his game -- admitting he fights better in front of big celebrities.

Kovalev has some famous friends too -- telling TMZ Sports some of the most famous Russian athletes on the planet will be in Vegas to support him ... but they gotta pay for their own damn tickets.

With just 10 weeks to go, Floyd Mayweather is rapidly booking the undercard for the Mayweather vs. McGregor superfight ... and he's already got one boxer locked in, TMZ Sports has learned.

We've confirmed super middleweight rising star J'Leon Love will fight on August 26 -- Floyd is still trying to lock in his opponent.

Love is a member of Floyd's TMT boxing team. He's got a 23-1-1 record. Love also happens to be one of Floyd's good friends. And he dated Blac Chyna back in 2015 (though they never consummated their relationship).

We broke the story ... as part of the negotiations with the UFC, Dana White agreed to let Mayweather book the entire undercard.

Boxing superstar Amir Khan says he easily could've destroyed all 3 men who got aggressive with him during a road rage incident in the U.K. on Friday ... but quickly realized he had way too much to lose.

Khan tells TMZ Sports ... three hecklers "tried to attack me" while he was driving around in Greater Manchester, England. Cops responded to the scene. No one was arrested.

"I was raging, I was really angry," Khan admits ... but says "I don't want to throw punches because I can definitely hurt someone quite badly."

"My hands are weapons. They're weapons."

Khan also says his religion played a huge role in his decision to walk away.

"It's the month of Ramadan ... It's a holy month. I'm a Muslim."

Former IBO welterweight champion Chris van Heerden knows firsthand what it's like to BOX Conor McGregor -- and tells TMZ Sports the guy is gonna get ROCKED by Floyd Mayweather.

The 29-year-old professional fighter stepped in the ring with Conor in May 2016 to spar for a few rounds -- and dominated the UFC star.

And to rub salt in the wound, van Heerden says he was out of shape and had just gotten back from vacation when around the time of the sesh ... and still "landed at will" on McGregor.

We asked straight-up if Conor has the knockout power to beat Floyd, van Heerden's response -- "No."

But just because he doesn't believe on Conor doesn't mean he won't get into business with him -- Chris says he wants to fight on the Mayweather v. McGregor undercard ... and he even names his opponent, Lamont Peterson.

Fun fact -- that's 'Purge' star Frank Grillo sitting next to Chris. Turns out, the actor also helps manage and train the fighter. Cool, right?

Nate Diaz says he's not waiting around to fight Conor McGregor for a 3rd time -- but he's not exactly closing the door on it either.

With McGregor tied up with Floyd for the next two months, many are wondering if the Irish superstar will ever return to MMA ... and who he'll fight if he gets back in the Octagon.

So, when we saw Nate out in L.A. Wednesday night, we had to ask if he's down to complete their trilogy.

"We'll see," Diaz told us ... "I've got a lot of stuff going on."

Obviously, a McGregor vs. Diaz rematch would be huge -- the first two fights were epic. Plus, Nate would undoubtedly get a massive paycheck.

Dana White has said he's reached out to both Nate and his brother Nick to book fights -- and neither guy will sign a contract. White says he's not sure either guy will ever fight in the UFC again.

But if the price is right ....

Floyd Mayweather stepped out in Hollywood Wednesday night ... as the RICHEST ATHLETE TO EVER WALK THE EARTH!

Hours after the big McGregor vs. Mayweather announcement, Floyd hit up the "All Eyez On Me" movie premiere in Westwood lookin' like a million bucks (times 300).

Mayweather spoke with our friend, Robert Littal at BSO, during the premiere -- and had a message for Conor and his fans.

Floyd has said he expects to make between $200 and $300 million for the McGregor fight -- though he hasn't confirmed the terms of the deal yet.

We spoke with Dana White who says Conor should rake in around $100 mil.

Popcorn on Floyd, right?!

Sylvester Stallone says he's Team McGregor all the way -- telling TMZ Sports he believes Conor has a real shot against Floyd Mayweather.

"Then again, I live my life in fantasy," Stallone joked.

Sly is a huge boxing fan -- but he's also one of the celebrity minority owners of the UFC. So, he's kinda got a dog in this fight ... the underdog.

"I always have the underdog."

Conor and Floyd are set to fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas on August 26 -- but Stallone says he's already made up his mind about going to the fight.

Conor McGregor ain't the only one hoping to last 12 rounds in Vegas ... 2 of Nevada's most famous brothels are already prepping for the onslaught of horny people lookin' for legal action while in town for the big fight.

Both the world famous BunnyRanch and Sheri's Ranch launched super fight packages minutes after Conor and Floyd Mayweather made the fight official.

Sheri's is offering the ultimate VIP(enis) package ... for a mere $100K, john's will get 2 tickets to the fight along with some pre-fight action with all 24 girls on staff.

The BunnyRanch has deals too ... owner Dennis Hof says he's running a 2-for-1 special -- 2 girls for the price of 1.

Remember, prostitution is legal in the state of Nevada ... but only in regulated brothels.

The road leading up to the Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor super fight has been filled with expletives, public insults and name calling ... and it's all been documented on TMZ Sports.

Now that it's official and we get to see these two face-off in August, check out the best highlights of the many, MANY times Notorious and Money have barked at each other leading up to the fight.

August 26 can't come soon enough.

2:46 PM PT -- TMZ Sports spoke with Dana White who says the fight will be a 12 round boxing match. Both guys will use 10 ounce gloves. They will fight at 154 pounds.

The fight will take place at the T-Mobile Arena. Ticket prices have not been set yet.

There WILL be an undercard -- it will be boxing and Mayweather Promotions will handle the matchmaking.

We asked Dana if there was a possibility Roy Jones Jr. will fight Anderson Silva -- he told us, "I highly doubt it."

Both Floyd and Conor will be tested by USADA for performance enhancing drugs.

Dana says he expects Conor to make around $100 million for the fight but wouldn't break down the financials.

Dana says he spoke with Conor Wednesday morning -- he's VERY excited. Conor also believes with all his heart he will knock Mayweather out.

IT'S HAPPENING!!!

Floyd Mayweather has signed his deal and will box Conor McGregor on August 26.

Dana White was leading the negotiations for the UFC -- and had vowed to strike a deal with Floyd's camp. Now, the two sides have reached an agreement, as first reported by Yahoo Sports.

Conor and Floyd will square off in Vegas.

Conor posted about the fight on Instagram -- saying, "The fight is on." He replaced Floyd's pic with a shot of Floyd Sr.

Conor has said he expects to make more than $100 MILLION from the fight. Floyd has said he wanted double or triple that. No word on the exact details.

The last time we spoke with Floyd, he laid out exactly why he thinks Conor has a real shot to beat him.

The kickboxer who knocked his opponent OUT COLD while the guy's back was turned says he's been getting death threats over the brutal hit ... but he's adamant it was a fair shot.

We spoke with Murthel Groenhart about the backlash he's gotten following his Glory 42 beat down on Harut Grigorian ... and the Predator says some people are so pissed, they've threatened to kill him.

Roy Jones Jr. says Oscar De La Hoya is kinda right ... the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight could seriously damage boxing -- if Conor wins.

Long story short, Roy says the only way Conor wins this fight is if he gets "lucky" -- otherwise, Mayweather should beat that ass.

But Roy says he fully supports the bout -- because it's entertaining and that's what the people want.

Chad Johnson needs to learn who to pick a fight with -- and it's clearly not his 12-year-old track star daughter Cha'iel ... 'cause here's video of the tyke straight putting hands on her old man.

Chad and Cha'iel train together a lot -- like we said she's a lightning fast track prodigy -- and this time they took it to the ring to get a little boxing cardio in.

Bad move, Chad ... check out the video of the younger Johnson stalking her pop like a kid who's been denied their allowance, cutting off the ring and dishing out punishment like a pint-sized GGG.