Boxing

Errol Spence tells TMZ Sports he's ready to take Floyd Mayweather's place as the #1 star in boxing -- saying, "I'm next up to be a superstar icon."

Spence is 24-0 and headlining a massive PPV fight against 39-0 Mikey Garcia on Saturday for the IBF World Welterweight title ... the fight should be one of the best fights of the year.

In fact, Garia told TMZ Sports he believes it's gonna be an all-time classic.

But, Spence says it's not just a fight for him -- it's an opportunity to become one of the highest paid athletes on the planet ... just like Floyd, who changed the game when it comes to how fighters get paid.

"I feel like Floyd opened the door and I'm gonna kick it down," Spence says.

In fact, Spence says he'll probably steal a page from Floyd's playbook and fight Manny Pacquiao -- right after he defeats Garcia.

Spence praised Manny as a "blood and guts" fighter -- and says he believes Manny wants the fight too ... which is why he'll be ringside at the Garcia fight in Dallas this weekend.

After Manny, Spence says he's got his sights set on Terence Crawford -- who's also undefeated with a 34-0 record.

Look, if Errol wants to be known as TBE ... he's gotta get through the best in the world and he knows it.

As for Floyd, Errol says Mayweather will sometimes dish out advice when they hang out -- but mostly he likes to show off his fancy cars.

Hey, can't give away all your secrets ... right?

Out of Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury ... who does all-time heavyweight great Lennox Lewis think would've given him the absolute TOUGHEST fight?

Answer ... the 6'9" herky-jerky boxer-puncher that rose from the dead to get a draw with Wilder last year ... Tyson Fury.

We talked to the 3x heavyweight champ who ruled the division for a decade -- who's calling the Errol Spence-Mikey Garcia mega fight on Saturday -- and he told us why he thinks his fellow countryman would cause him the biggest problems.

"I think Tyson Fury would've given me some trouble because he's so big. He's a bit lanky."

That's sayin' a lot ... Lewis was an absolute beast in the ring -- compiling a 41-2-1 record with 32 knockouts -- including wins over boxing legends like Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.

So, does Lennox think that Fury could actually beat him???

HELL NO.

Floyd Mayweather is finding new ways to get at Conor McGregor -- this time, he's mocking the UFC star's Miami meltdown by BEGGING paparazzi to shoot him in Beverly Hills.

Remember, McGregor was arrested this week for taking a fan's phone and smashing it because he didn't want to be shot on the way out of the Fontainebleau hotel Monday morning.

Enter Mayweather -- wearing a super bright yellow sweatshirt so everyone could see him -- instructing the photogs to "Shoot me, man! Shoot greatness!"

Floyd knew exactly what he was doing ... and so did everyone in his massive entourage -- just look at the smirks while Mayweather puts on his show in the middle of the most famous part of L.A.

Meanwhile, Conor is still in Florida where he's facing criminal charges for the cell phone incident.

Conor recently tweeted about wanting a rematch with Floyd after getting beat up in their boxing match back in 2017.

Conor says he realizes what he did wrong in that fight and believes he can make the adjustments to give Floyd his first loss.

Conor McGregor duped the dude whose phone he allegedly snatched and smashed in order to get to the goods ... so claims the guy who lost his phone.

TMZ Sports spoke with Ahmed Abdirzak, a UK resident, who tells us he was vacationing in Miami before Monday's scuffle with the former UFC champ.

Ahmed says he spotted Conor on their way out of the club as he waited for the valet to bring his ride around. Once he saw Conor, Ahmed tells us he pulled out his phone to snap a pic -- and then says Conor actually approached him and appeared to be offering a handshake.

Once he had a hold of his hand, Ahmed says Conor pulled him in and grabbed the phone out of his hand ... allegedly proceeding to stomp on it while his bodyguards blocked off Ahmed. Ahmed asked for the phone back, but to no avail.

He says Conor put it in his pocket, laughed and hopped into a waiting vehicle. Ahmed's pissed about his phone, 'cause he says there's precious content on there for him that he'll never get back.

As you know, Conor was arrested and booked for robbery/strong-arm and criminal mischief, and made bail Monday night. He was calm and collected as he made his way past cameras and into his ride.

Conor McGregor went right back to business after getting released from jail Monday night ... hitting the streets of Miami for a late-night run!!!

As we previously reported ... the UFC superstar was arrested after he allegedly smashed a fan's phone for trying to take a pic of him outside the Fontainebleau hotel early Monday morning in South Beach.

He was booked for robbery/strong-arm and criminal mischief over $1,000 -- the price of the fan's phone -- and was released a few hours later, around 8 PM PT.

Now we know exactly what Conor did after getting out of the slammer ... 'cause we've obtained video of The Notorious going on a shirtless jog shortly after he posted his $12,500 bond.

Yeah, Conor (seemingly) ain't worried ... and maybe for good reason. He was initially charged with a felony after the NYC bus incident with Khabib -- but struck a deal and only ended up with 5 days of community service and an anger management course.

Conor's attorneys released a statement on Monday ... saying, "Last evening Conor McGregor was involved a minor altercation over a cell phone that resulted in a call to law enforcement.

Mike Tyson says he loved Michael Jackson ... but there's no way in hell he would've let his kids hang with MJ unattended.

The legendary boxer joined Michael Rapaport on his "I AM RAPAPORT" podcast (coming to Luminary this spring) ... where he was asked about the explosive "Leaving Neverland" documentary.

Of course, Wade Robson and James Safechuck -- the two centerpieces of the HBO special -- accused Jackson of sexually abusing them as children.

Tyson -- who was friends with Jackson and even visited him at Neverland several times -- says he believes a lot of the blame falls on the parents of the kids.

"The parents have to be responsible for that sh*t. I just thought the fact that these kids, Michael is telling them, 'if anyone knows about this we're both gonna go to prison forever.' It was just ... really horrible."

"I have an 8-year-old kid. I wouldn't let Michael hang out with my kid. I wouldn't let my kid go over Michael's house. I love Michael. Ya know what I mean. Michael has a reputation of this."

Tyson says "whatever happened when [Robson and Safechuck] was kids is wrong" ... but did critique the men for participating in the documentary.

"What you're doing now is even wrong. Coming out saying this stuff. It comes across that these are guys just out to get some money."

8:00 PM PT -- Conor posted bail and strolled out of the Miami-Dade County Jail a little while ago. He was totally reserved as someone escorted him to a waiting SUV.

No billionaire strut tonight.

5:16 PM PT -- Conor's attorneys just released a statement on the arrest.

"Last evening Conor McGregor was involved a minor altercation over a cell phone that resulted in a call to law enforcement. Mr. McGregor appreciates the response of law enforcement and pledges his full cooperation."

Conor McGregor has been arrested again ... this time for allegedly smashing the phone of a fan outside the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, at around 5 AM Monday, the owner of the phone was walking out of the hotel at the same time as Conor and as the fan attempted to take a photo, Conor slapped the victim's phone out of his hand, causing it to fall to the ground. McGregor then allegedly stomped on the phone several times, damaging it.

According to cops, McGregor then picked up the phone and walked away with it.

It appears the incident was captured on surveillance video.

He's been booked for robbery/strong-arm and criminal mischief over $1,000. He is currently being held on $12,500 bail.

It's unclear why Conor was outside the hotel at 5 AM, but it seems he and the fan were leaving LIV nightclub, which is inside the hotel. LIV closes at 5 AM.

It appears Conor went back to the Miami home where he was staying. The alleged victim subsequently filed a police report. Cops went to Conor's home and arrested him just before 6 PM ET.

He's been in South Florida over the last few days with his girlfriend, Dee Devlin, and their son, Conor Jr., along with other family members. Conor and his family were in Miami to celebrate his mother's birthday. He had rented out the Versace Mansion for the blowout.

The timing of the new arrest is interesting ... TMZ Sports broke the story Conor just completed his sentence in the dolly attack case. He completed 5 days of community service at churches in Brooklyn as well as completing an anger management class.

If Conor is convicted in the phone smashing case, the Florida can take Conor's previous transgressions into consideration during sentencing.

2:58 PM PT -- The Harris County Coroner's Office just listed Foreman's death as "asphyxia by hanging."

George Foreman's daughter, Freeda Foreman, died of an apparent suicide -- and based on the evidence surrounding her demise ... it appears she hanged herself.

A spokesperson for the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office in Texas -- the same county where Freeda was found dead over the weekend -- tells TMZ ... early indications are that Freeda's cause of death was an apparent suicide.

A final determination on the cause of death will be made by a coroner, but law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation tell us that Freeda appears to have died by asphyxiation. Seeing how no foul play is suspected, all signs point to a hanging.

Unlike her father, Freeda had a short-lived boxing career ... having appeared in only 6 bouts and winning 5 of them. She retired with a 5-1 record after her first loss in 2001. George reportedly paid her to quit boxing 'cause he wasn't happy about her being in the ring.

Freeda is survived by her husband, two daughters, 3 grandchildren and 11 siblings.

She was 42 years old. RIP

This should silence the Conor McGregor haters riding him for taking L after L ... 'cause he just won, arguably, his toughest fight yet -- a crying kid in the freakin' Everglades!

Conor and his GF, Dee Devlin, took Conor Jr. out for a swamp tour Saturday on those cool airboats. Probably seemed like a great idea for a family outing, but looks like the 1-year-old tyke wasn't having it.

Conor's kid burst into tears over something -- alligator, hunger or the blazing heat and humidity -- but rather than pack it in for the day, the Notorious One sprung into daddy mode.

Little sunscreen, pat on the head from Dad and Junior was good to go.

It's another 'W' for Conor, fresh off clearing up his criminal case in NYC. TMZ Sports broke the story ... Conor completed his community service by doing manual labor at 2 Brooklyn churches. Maybe he learned a little patience too.

In any event, McGregor's in a great mood. He joked he was "hunting gators today" before heading out on the bayou ... and got in a sparring session with his kid.

Adrien Broner is FINALLY paying off his $1 MILLION jewelry debt ... agreeing to give it all back in 3 installments -- TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... the boxing star was hit with a lawsuit last year after he allegedly stiffed a jeweler out of more than $1 MILLION in fine jewels.

Pristine Jewelers NY said Broner promised to pay for multiple items which totaled $1.252 Mil ... but his checks never cleared -- and then he refused to follow through on a payment plan.

But, according to legal docs filed this week ... Broner has finally reached a settlement with the company -- and has agreed to pay off his debt.

Per the details of the agreement ... Broner made his first payment on March 4 and will pay $500,000 by Dec. 31, 2019, and then the final $500,000 no later than 6 months after that.

It's interesting ... according to docs -- Broner struck the agreement with the jeweler on Feb. 15 -- just a couple weeks after he reportedly earned a $2.5 MILLION check from scrapping with Manny Pacquiao.

Unclear who Adrien will fight next ... but if he's looking to cash in on an exhibition match -- we know there's a boxing analyst out there that'd be a PERFECT fit.

George Foreman's daughter, Freeda -- who followed in her dad's footsteps and became a professional boxer -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Freeda's body was found in her home near Houston, Texas by a family member. Cops are awaiting a report from the coroner's office on the cause of death, but we're told no foul play is suspected.

Freeda began boxing professionally as a middleweight in 2000 and won her first 5 fights before losing her sixth bout in 2001. She retired after the loss with a pro record of 5-1 with 3 KOs to focus on being a mother and other projects, including boxing promotion.

Her parents also didn't enjoy her being in the ring ... so George reportedly paid her to quit.

Freeda was born in Texas and is one of George's 5 daughters. He also has 5 sons, all named George, and Freeda's middle name is George as well.

She appeared in a couple documentaries about her dad, and had a guest role on a 2003 episode of "King of the Hill."

Freeda wrote on her Twitter bio ... "Aside from my love of family, being a good mother, wife, and friend, I aspire to make a positive difference in our American Criminal Justice System."

She's survived by her husband, 2 daughters, 3 grandchildren, her parents and 11 siblings.

Freeda was 42.

Conor McGregor has a pretty powerful supporter -- with Chuck Liddell telling TMZ Sports the Irishman is right ... his fight with Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone should be promoted as the MAIN event.

Remember, Cowboy told ESPN this week ... fight negotiations broke down because Conor refuses to be billed as a co-main event.

The issue is that neither Conor nor Cowboy currently hold a title -- so they would share the main event billing with whatever title fight would take place on the same card.

Cowboy claims Conor ain't down with that -- and won't share top billing with anyone else. So, for now, the fight doesn't seem to be happening.

Enter, UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell ... who tells us he REALLY wants to see that fight because Conor and Cowboy are two of his all-time favorites and the bout would be awesome!!!

"I'm excited for that fight," Chuck told us on the way out of 1OAK in L.A. ... "I hope it happens."

As for the main event issue, Chuck says ... "It's a main event fight for sure. No matter what."

"Come on, Conor McGregor and Cowboy?! Two of my favorite fighters! I love watching those guys fight."

Chuck thinks Conor is ultimately using the main event issue as a way to negotiate more money because he's a smart businessman ... and believes the two sides WILL come to an agreement.

Floyd Mayweather has 8 more years to beat the hell out of Conor McGregor, that's according to boxing champ Shawn Porter who says Floyd is so much better than Conor, he could beat him at 50!!!

McGregor let it slip on Twitter that he might be interested in running it back with Floyd and making another $100 mil.

Thing is, that fight was 2 years ago ... and Floyd is now 42 ... so if they were to do it again, is Money too old? When we saw Shawn Porter out in L.A., we had to ask him.

"Mayweather will own the sport of boxing against Conor McGregor any day of the week for the next 5-10 years at least. When he's 50 he could still do it."

Porter was full of shade for Conor, saying that he needs to keep his mind off the ring and on the Octagon because he's not exactly setting the world on fire in there these days.

"McGregor should stay the course he's on in the Octagon and try to make that happen. I don't even pay attention to that too much, but I know he's been struggling there as well."

The guy who hit boxing legend Bernard Hopkins so hard he literally knocked him out of the ring says he rewatches the highlight KO to get him fired up to fight!!!

TMZ Sports talked to Joe Smith Jr. -- a 29-year-old fighter with 24 wins and only 2 losses -- about his iconic, devastating knockout of Hopkins back in December 2016.

In the 8th round, Smith Jr. hit B-Hop with a flurry of punches that lifted B-Hop off the ring canvas and sent him flying through the ropes and onto The Forum floor ... never to fight again.

Smith Jr. -- who's fighting undefeated boxer Dmitry Bivol this Saturday on DAZN -- says he ALWAYS watches highlights of the knockout to get PUMPED before fighting.

"I like watching it before my fights," JS tell us, "It gets me pumped up. it gets me motivated. I tell myself, I need another one of these every time I step in the ring."

We also talked to Bivol -- considered one of boxing's biggest rising stars -- about who he wants after Smith Jr.

Hint, he's Mexican and has red hair.

Floyd Mayweather says his fans "shouldn't worry" about guys like Conor McGregor and Canelo Alvarez angling for a rematch ... telling TMZ Sports he's already proved he can beat ANYONE.

"Nobody can beat me! Y'all already know that," the boxing legend told us Wednesday night on his way out of TAO in Los Angeles.

"Everybody wants a rematch with me."

He's right ... earlier this week, Conor was breaking down his 2017 fight with Floyd and suggested the two will run it back in the near future saying, "A rematch will be interesting no doubt."

So, we asked Floyd how he felt about Conor's prediction -- and it wasn't exactly met with the same enthusiasm.

"Don't worry about that," Floyd told us ... while directing us to point the camera on his $18 MILLION diamond watch.

So, we switched the topic to Oscar De La Hoya -- who says a rematch with Canelo would be a $1.5 BILLION fight ... and again, Floyd didn't really seem to be interested.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah ... everybody's saying something. I don't worry about that. I already made over a billion! You already know that!"

He added, "I'm not worried about all that my man. Floyd is undefeated. Nobody can beat me. You already know that, man!"

Of course, Canelo and Floyd initially fought in 2013 -- with Floyd dominating the then-23-year-old rising star. Floyd got a $41 million guarantee for that fight, which was a record payday at the time.

Both Oscar and Canelo are now making a renewed push for a rematch ... for obvious reasons.

As for Floyd's $18 MILLION timepiece, he calls it "the one and only" ... and he bought it in 2018.

Want details? It was made by Jacob & Co. back in 2015, it features 239 emerald-cut baguette diamond stones, each weighing up to 3 carats.

Good times!

Conor McGregor wants another crack at Floyd Mayweather -- saying bluntly, "A rematch will be interesting no doubt."

The Irish superstar spent his Tuesday night breaking down some of his greatest fights -- and when the topic turned to his 2017 boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, Conor believes he has what it takes to win if they run it back.

Check out Conor's comments while criticizing specific punch exchange from the fight:

"I spoiled it with the rush right hook here. The angle was made. He was in the dirt. I just had to set correctly into my feet and fire. Rushing the right hook I lost balance on my back hand. Great boxing fight! A rematch will be interesting no doubt."

Conor reportedly made around $100 MILLION for the fight -- which he lost via TKO in the 10th round. Floyd Mayweather claims he made north of $300 MILLION.

McGregor is obviously down to do it again -- but are the viewers?

Conor seems to have a ton of options -- including a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov or a 3rd fight with Nate Diaz.

The interesting thing ... Conor says fighting is now his 3RD highest source of income -- suggesting he's making more money through his Proper 12 whiskey line and another business venture.