Boxing

Former boxing Jermain Taylor was arrested and hauled to jail Wednesday morning ... and it all stems from an incident where he allegedly KO'd and threatened to kill his GF.

Back in August, Taylor was arrested in Arkansas for allegedly knocking a woman unconscious ... and holding a knife to her throat.

At the time, he was booked into the county jail ... but released on $15k bond.

Now prosecutors are moving forward with the case ... indicting the former middleweight champ on felony aggravated assault, felony terroristic threats and misdemeanor domestic battery.

The indictment triggered an arrest warrant ... so cops went and picked up Taylor.

JT's currently in the Pulaski County jail.

FYI -- this ain't the first time Taylor's been in trouble with the law ... he's previously been arrested for allegedly shooting his own cousin, allegedly making terroristic threats and firing a handgun at an MLK Jr. parade, and allegedly brutally beating a fellow patient at a rehab facility.

Taylor is set to appear before a judge Thursday morning.

10:13 AM PT -- Taylor has been released from county jail on $10K bail.

It was just a matter of time but 50 Cent is now mocking Floyd Mayweather for pulling out of the New Year's Eve fight with Tenshin Nasukawa he had just announced on Sunday.

"Ok cool they tricked him," 50 said ... "Was trying to kick him in the head and sh*t. He fell for it because its time to get some money."

Remember, Floyd pulled out on Wednesday, saying he never agreed to an official bout -- just a 3 round exhibition -- and only participated in the press conference because he didn't want to "create a disturbance."

But, 50 implied that Floyd only took the fight because he ain't as wealthy as he leads on -- saying, "The money low."

50 then mocked Floyd for the way the head of "The Money Team" handled this deal from the beginning.

"The biggest fighter in the world don't announce a fight with out a contract. He did a press conference ... now he saying there was no deal. LOL."

50 has since deleted the IG post ... but he's just saying what everyone else is thinking -- how does the most powerful athlete on the planet get duped in such a massive and embarrassing way??

The whole thing is weird.

Mike Tyson tells TMZ Sports he's rooting for another Floyd Mayweather comeback fight -- as long as it ain't in the Octagon!

After that whole Japan fight debacle, Floyd insists he's retired (again) ... but Iron Mike says he hopes he reconsiders because he likes watching Mayweather fight ... as a boxer.

Also worth noting ... Mike Tyson is stoned to the bejeezus in this clip.

How do we know? 'Cause Mike's out promoting his new Tyson Ranch weed brand -- and his business partner, BigMike, told us they just lit up.

In fact, Mike recently smoked out Conor McGregor -- and got the UFC star's marijuana seal of approval.

"Hey, McGregor's a good guy," Mike said ... "He liked our kush. I'm very grateful for that."

Mike's marijuana ranch is huge -- 400 acres right in the Coachella Valley in Southern California ... and Tyson tells us his goal is to take over the whole THC industry.

12:24 PM PT -- Floyd had already made up his mind to back out of the fight by Tuesday night -- because he was telling people at an L.A. nightclub that it was off.

In fact, Floyd's friend Michael Blackson -- the famous comedian -- came on "TMZ Live" on Wednesday and told us when he saw Floyd at Murano Nightclub, the boxer made it clear it wasn't happening.

Floyd Mayweather is making it clear his massive New Year's Eve fight with Tenshin Nasukawa is off -- and claims it's because he was misled by fight promoters.

It's strange considering the press conference Floyd participated in on Sunday night -- promoting the fight at RIZIN 14 in Japan -- but alas, here we are.

In short, Floyd claims he only ever agreed to fight Tenshin in a private, closed door, 3-round exhibition fight "for a small group of wealthy spectators for a very large fee."

But, when he got to the press conference (weird that he would even agree to do a press conference for a small private event) the RIZIN promoters told the media it would be a globally televised superfight.

Floyd says he went along with the press conference because he was blindsided and didn't want to "create a disturbance."

During the press conference, Floyd was PRAISING the fight promoters and said the goal was to create a longterm relationship with RIZIN to promote more fights together in the future.

Whatever the case, seems the fight's off for good. Here's Floyd's statement in its entirety.

"Now that I am back on U.S. soil after a long and disappointing trip to Tokyo, I now have the time to address you, my fans and the media in regards to the upcoming event on December 31st that was recently announced."

"First and foremost, I want it to be clear that I, Floyd Mayweather, never agreed to an official bout with Tenshin Nasukawa. In fact (with all due respect) I have never heard of him until this recent trip to Japan. Ultimately, I was asked to participate in a 9 minute exhibition of 3 rounds with an opponent selected by the 'Rizen Fighting Federation.'"

"What I was originally informed of by Brent Johnson of 'One Entertainment' was that this was to be an exhibition put on for a small group of wealthy spectators for a very large fee. This exhibition was previously arranged as a "Special Bout" purely for entertainment purposes with no intentions of being represented as an official fight card nor televised worldwide."

"Once I arrived to the press conference, my team and I were completely derailed by the new direction this event was going and we should have put a stop to it immediately."

"I want to sincerely apologize to my fans for the very misleading information that was announced during this press conference and I can assure you that I too was completely blindsided by the arrangements that were being made without my consent nor approval."

"For the sake of the several fans and attendees that flew in from all parts of the world to attend this past press conference, I was hesitant to create a huge disturbance by combating what was being said and for that I am truly sorry."

"I am a retired boxer that earns an unprecedented amount of money, globally, for appearances, speaking engagements and occasional small exhibitions."

Florian Munteanu -- the guy who plays Ivan Drago's son in "Creed 2" -- says training for the flick got him in the best shape of his life ... and he's got the abs to prove it.

First off, count the abs ... 8.

Ridiculous.

A few other things -- Florian talks about the movie plot without spoiling it noting there won't be a Vladimir Putin look-alike character in this movie to replace the Mikhail Gorbachev spoof in "Rocky IV."

"We didn't aim for that," Florian said while strolling through Reagan National Airport with the film's director, Steven Caple Jr.

"It's about family and loyalty, a lot of father/son relationships going on on the Creed side ... but no political issues."

28-year-old Florian -- a pro boxer who hails from Romania -- also says he hopes this movie propels him into being a Hollywood star ... but it's up to the audience to decide if he's good enough.

"The audience have to decide if they like my performance or not but I'm pretty happy with it."

Neither Drita D'Avanzo nor Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander will get to be in the ring with Farrah Abraham for a celebrity boxing match ... but that didn't stop the duo from laying a serious smackdown on the ex-"Teen Mom" star.

We spoke to Drita ... who says Farrah backed out of a charity boxing match at the last minute because she was straight-up scared. As you know ... Farrah quit claiming she got screwed out of her deal.

Alas, that won't be the case ... and the ex-"Mob Wives" star thinks it was less about her (remember, there's no love lost between them) and more about Hoopz' skills in the ring.

Hoopz is also trashing Farrah after she threw in the towel ... saying this is typical Farrah crying wolf. Hoopz even has a word to describe her behavior ... making it crystal clear how she feels about Farrah.

UFC star Israel Adesanya says Floyd Mayweather needs to "grow some f*cking cajones" and make his upcoming fight MMA-style ... otherwise, Israel ain't gonna watch it.

"What's all this, 'Yeah, man, we gonna f*cking fight! What's up! Oh, but, nah, um, you can't touch -- no legs, no knees, no grappling,'" Israel tells TMZ Sports.

"I mean, what the f*ck are we doing?!"

Of course ... Floyd just announced he's gonna fight 20-year-old kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Toyko on NYE -- but no word yet on whether it will be boxing rules or a legit MMA bout.

Israel -- fresh off his dominating performance at UFC 230 -- says there better be knees, feet and legs involved ... 'cause he says he's tired of hearing Floyd talk without backing it up with a REAL fight.

As for Floyd's chances in a scrap like that ... Israel says he'd actually give Mayweather a shot -- especially if the legendary boxer was willing to take some time off to train for it.

"Take a chance! He could take a year off and just learn grappling. Learn wrestling ... but f*cking stay in your little bubble then if you want to be that bitch."

As for all the talk about what an MMA loss would do to Floyd's legacy ... Israel says Money needs to read up on James Toney's fight career to see why that's really not an issue.

Heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder says you're only as good as your last fight ... and that's why Floyd Mayweather could ruin his ENTIRE LEGACY if he gets blasted in his upcoming fight.

Floyd is putting his 50-0 record on the line when he faces off against undefeated 20-year-old kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Toyko on New Year's Eve in what could be an MMA rules fight (they're still working it out).

Wilder says Mayweather is putting more than his perfect record on the line because if he looks bad, his entire untouchable career could be tainted forever.

"People only remember the last thing you done. Just imagine me, I've knocked out 39 guys this is gonna be my 40th one. Let's just say this is my last fight ever, and I just go the rounds or I lose, they won't fully remember all my knockouts. That's why in boxing we must retire at the right time when we're on top."

It's an interesting point, and while other huge fighters like Muhammad Ali have looked bad in their final fights and it HASN'T affected their legacy ... that was before social media.

Former pro boxer Mario Oscar Melo -- who fought Michael Moorer for the WBO light heavyweight title in 1990 -- died Sunday after choking on dough during a croissant-eating contest in Argentina.

**WARNING -- THE VIDEO IS DISTURBING**

Video shows several men violently trying to dislodge the croissant from Melo's throat while on stage at the event in Buenos Aires, but to no avail. Melo was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

Melo was 56.

Reports say Melo was on his 3rd croissant when he started to choke. The pasty is known locally as a medialuna.

While eating competitions are popular around the world, the Major League Eating organization (which oversees huge events like Nathan's Famous 4th of July hot dog contest) always requires paramedics to be on hand in case a situation like this happens.

According to local reports, there was a firefighter and a doctor in the crowd who raced up and tried to help -- but it does not appear there was a dedicated, trained medical staff at the event.

Melo was 21-9 as a pro fighter, with the Moorer fight being his most famous bout -- though he lost in the 1st round.

Floyd Mayweather's first order of business after announcing his big fight in Japan?? Well, he ain't sprinting to the gym just yet ... he had to check in on his L.A. Clippers first.

As we previously reported ... Floyd is going up against undefeated 20-year-old kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa at RIZIN 14 on Dec. 31 in what might be an MMA match (the 2 sides are still deciding on the rules).

After the surprise press conference in Japan on Sunday night, the 41-year-old returned to the States on Monday in time to catch the tip off in his usual courtside seats at Staples Center.

Floyd is famous for staying in fight shape -- even when he's not fighting -- so, it's not like 1 day off will really matter.

Then again, Mayweather claims Tenshin is super fast and motivated -- so taking the fight lightly could be a mistake.

That said, critics like 50 Cent say this Tenshin guy is like fighting an Uber driver -- so, Floyd could stuff his face with hot dogs and popcorn and still light him up.

Farrah Abraham pulled no punches trash talking the celebrity boxing promoters she says did her dirty ... claiming they bullied her outta an anti-bullying event. Oh, the irony.

We got Farrah Monday night in WeHo outside of Catch restaurant and asked about her doomed fight against Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander. You'll recall Farrah pulled the plug claiming promoters screwed her by not providing her with hotel rooms, plane tickets and fight tix.

The ex-'Teen Mom' turned her guns on event organizers, including promoter Damon Feldman. Farrah says she's turning her attention to her new show.

Deontay Wilder learned how to floss from the creator of the dance himself in the middle of an airport this weekend ... and TMZ Sports has the amazing video.

The 6'7" Wilder and the Backpack Kid randomly ran into each other at LAX ... and, of course, a floss lesson went down.

Deontay was surprisingly terrible at it ... but tells us he might find a way to work it into one of his next fights with a little more practice.

As for BPK ... he got shown a couple moves from Wilder too -- but says he hopes The Bronze Bomber can perfect the floss and turn it into his new post-knockout routine.

The feud between 50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather is still going -- Fiddy just CLOWNED the boxer's newly announced fight, saying his opponent is more "Uber driver" than contender.

As we previously reported ... Mayweather just signed a deal to fight on New Year's Eve in Japan against an undefeated 20-year-old kickboxer, Tenshin Nasukawa.

Unclear whether the bout will be a boxing match or full-on MMA ... but, either way, 50 says it's a joke.

"Champ fighting a Uber driver before the IRS embarrass him again. Pay preview my ass, we watching this on YouTube."

50 didn't stop there ... sayin' Floyd shoulda taken on Gennady Golovkin -- writing, "What happen to GGG, couldn't find his phone number. get the f**k outta here wit this sh*t."

50 added, "Champ done turned into a circus act ... at least Canelo fighting killers."

Fitty and Floyd have been beefing on social media for months ... with Mayweather recently saying a rift between the rapper and Floyd's manager, Al Haymon, is where the tiff all started.

Anthony Joshua clearly ain't sweating about whether his superfight with Deontay Wilder will ever go down ... 'cause it's kinda hard to perspire waist-deep in the Atlantic!!!!

The unified heavyweight champ hit Miami Beach on Sunday ... showing there's not a care in his rock-hard body right now about a possible AJ-Wilder tilt.

Joshua bro'd down with some buds ... splashed around in the water ... and toweled off on the sand -- all while everyone still wonders if he'll ever scrap with The Bronze Bomber.

Reports say it'll get locked in for next April ... but nobody's agreed to anything -- with Wilder shelving the talks so he can focus on his big fight with Tyson Fury on Dec. 1.

Farrah Abraham will NOT strap on boxing gloves after all, and another reality TV star will be her replacement in the upcoming celebrity boxing match ... TMZ has learned.

Our sources say the ex-'Teen Mom' star stood her ground with the promoter, saying she'd been screwed out of freebies, and refused to show up to Saturday night's bout. So, we're told the fight organizer, Samantha Goldberg, decided to pull the plug ... and immediately signed "Mob Wives" star Natalie DiDonato to replace Farrah.

So, the new main event is Natalie taking on Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander on Nov. 10 in Atlantic City. Another 'Mob' star, Drita D'Avanzo, will be the referee. Bias??

TMZ broke the story, Farrah felt she had an agreement the promoter, Damon Feldman, would hook her up with free fight tickets, hotel rooms and flights for her friends and family. But, Feldman insisted he'd hooked up Farrah and her daughter -- first-class, no less -- and she was just making outlandish demands at the last minute.

Ray J understands better than anyone why Farrah Abraham's refusing to fight in a celebrity boxing match ... 'cause promoters can't keep their word in the money department.

We're told Ray J was all set to referee Farrah's fight with Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander, slated for November 10 in Atlantic City. Ray's team initially wanted $50k plus travel costs and security but the promoter, Damon Feldman, didn't have the cash, so Ray agreed to do it for $25k.

Problem is ... a few weeks ago Feldman and fight investor Samantha Goldberg came back to Ray and asked if he'd ref for less dough 'cause the event wasn't selling. Ray's manager, David Weintraub, wasn't having it ... saying no dice and pulling out of the event altogether.

Sounds like this was the beginning of the end. As we reported ... Farrah, also repped by Weintraub, pulled the plug on the event because she says the same promoter screwed her on the deal.