Boxing

Here's video of one of the stars of HBO's "Ballers" being fed to the wolves by Jay Glazer ... and in this case the wolf is one of the best boxers in the world Ava Knight, who pounded the poor guy silly.

The poor guy is Carl McDowell, he plays TTD on "Ballers," and from everything we've heard (and of course, we hear a lot) he's a pretty solid dude that everybody likes.

So why Glazer decided to unleash Knight on him at his Unbreakable Gym is beyond us, but Jay did, and we're now doing the same thing you are, watching the video, and being happy it's not us.

In case you were wondering, Ava is a WBC World female Flyweight champ who just joined Floyd Mayweather's Money Team, so basically, she's a killer.

We gotta say, Carl took the shots pretty well -- at first -- then Jay had to intervene and do what Duke should've done in "Rocky IV" ... THROW THE DAMN TOWEL.

Hope you're okay Carl ... shame on you Jay (not really, it was hilarious).

UFC rising star "Platinum" Mike Perry is making a HARD push to step in and fight Robbie Lawler next month ... telling Dana White, "It's my time, bro!"

Perry is coming off a VERY impressive victory over "Cowboy" Alex Oliveira on April 27 -- and says he's already looking for another high-profile fight!!!

And, now with Tyron Woodley pulling out of his June 29 scrap with Lawler -- Perry says he's ready, willing and able to replace T-Wood at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

"Yo Dana, everybody wants to see me beat up Robbie Lawler," Perry tells TMZ Sports ... "Let's go, man!"

Perry knows Lawler will get to sign off on his opponent -- and says, "I wouldn't blame him for not accepting because I'm gonna whoop everybody's ass! It's my f*cking time!"

Perry says he respects Lawler -- but vows to put a serious hurtin' on the guy ... saying, "It will hurt my hands if he takes it. He'll be having headaches for weeks after the fight!"

He's even got a message for Robbie -- "If you wanna give the fans something fun to watch, that's you and me bro!"

Deontay Wilder says Anthony Joshua is straight-up DELUSIONAL if he thinks he holds the cards when it comes to negotiating their long-awaited super fight ... saying AJ is now a "desperate" man.

Wilder couldn't wait to fire back at Joshua after the British heavyweight told TMZ Sports that Wilder should "come see me" about putting a fight contract together.

"WE DID THAT 5 TIMES," Wilder told us ... "And, they denied me! So, I don't want to hear him talking about 'coming to see me' because we came and saw you, ya'll still ran!!!"

In other words, Wilder says he went to Joshua multiple times with various fight offers -- including a $50 MILLION upfront check if AJ would agree to throw down. But, Wilder says his offers were rejected every time.

Now, Wilder says Joshua is desperately seeking a high-profile opponent -- and has "nowhere to go" -- essentially claiming Joshua has lost all negotiating power.

"Now you want me to come and see you? Nah. Now it's on our terms. We'll come and see you when we WANT to come and see you," Wilder says.

Wilder says he's sick of being the one who always has to make concessions -- and says it's Joshua who should be BEGGING him for the privilege of fighting him.

Meanwhile, Wilder says he's got his sights set on Dominic Breazeale -- they're fighting on Saturday, May 18 at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn ... and Deontay says it's personal.

Back in Feb. 2017 -- the two got into a major brawl at an Alabama hotel after fighting on the same card earlier that night.

Wilder says he felt incredibly disrespected by Dominic -- and vows to make him pay for the incident when they step in the ring.

"When you make it personal for me, now I really want to hurt you," Wilder said.

NBA legend Paul Pierce is being sued over an altercation with a security guard in the stands at the Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The man behind the suit is Christopher Mostello -- who was working security at the T-Mobile Arena on Oct. 6, 2018, for UFC 229 when he got called over by a supervisor to respond to an incident involving Pierce.

Mostello claims he rushed over and was told Pierce had gotten aggressive and physical with the security supervisor -- a woman -- because she had asked for his ticket before allowing him back to his seat.

Mostello claims he was told Pierce grabbed the woman by the arms and pushed her to the side -- so he stepped in front of Paul to try and stop him.

But, Mostello claims Paul didn't stop -- instead Paul screamed "F*ck you" and accused Mostello of being a racist.

Footage of the altercation was captured by other fans in the stands and posted on TMZ Sports -- where you can clearly hear Pierce call the man a racist.

Mostello claims he's NOT a racist -- and he only engaged Pierce in the capacity of doing his job.

Now, Mostello claims his reputation has taken a serious hit and he's been subjected to public embarrassment, harassment and ridicule.

In the suit, filed by attorney Jesse Sbaih, Mostello accuses Pierce of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He's demanding more than $15,000 in damages plus attorney's fees and other costs.

Heavyweight boxer Kubrat Pulev -- who kissed a female reporter without consent -- has been ordered to complete a sexual harassment course in order to be licensed to fight in California again.

Pulev appeared in front of the California State Athletic Commission on Tuesday to address the March 23 incident when he kissed reporter Jenny Sushe during a post-fight interview.

Sushe claimed she did NOT give permission for Pulev to kiss her -- and hired attorney Gloria Allred to go after the 38-year-old fighter.

CSAC had suspended Pulev indefinitely following the incident -- but when the boxer faced the Commission in person on Tuesday, they agreed to reinstate him on July 22 if he completes a sexual harassment training course.

Pulev must also pay a $2,500 fine within 6 months from the incident -- and if he commits any similar offenses in the future, he could face a lifetime ban in California.

During the hearing, the CSAC commissioner lectured Pulev about the incident -- telling him he needs to understand why his actions are unacceptable and dangerous.

Pulev said he understood and wants to get back to work fighting as soon as possible.

Pulev is 27-1 as a pro -- with his only loss coming at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko.

This is amazing!!

Deontay Wilder has a massive fight this weekend ... but that didn't stop the heavyweight champ from hittin' up an NYC elementary school and delivering a rousing pump-up speech to the kids.

It all went down Monday afternoon at P.S. 288 -- a school for Pre-K to 8th graders -- in Brooklyn ... and the message was inspirational and heartfelt.

"I'm here to say I was just like you young guys, just in a different state, in a different city, different environment. Every time I woke, there was negativity," Wilder told the kids at the event put on by the "Game of Life" program, which focuses on helping children stay out of trouble.

"But, with you guys, you guys are powerful. Your words are powerful. The things you speak, the things you think. Your surroundings that you surround yourself around every day is powerful. And, I want you guys to know that."

Deontay continued ... "It took me 11 years to get here. Many people died near me. Many people labeled me as statistics to society ... 'You ain't gonna do nothing, you're bad.'"

The message is clear ... believe in yourself, follow your dreams ... and don't stop until you get where you wanna go.

Wilder ended the epic speech with a chant -- "Believe it, speak it!"

Michael B. Jordan doesn't want Conor McGregor's people to call his people about a role in 'Creed 3' ... because it seems like MBJ ain't at all interested in sharing the screen with the Irish mega-star.

We got Mike out in NYC -- wearing a Game Of Thrones style shoulder sheath with an umbrella in it (pulled it off too) -- and asked him if he'd be into the idea of Conor popping up in the next flick.

"Eh, I don't know about that man."

Now we should say ... Adonis Creed (Michael's character) fights at heavyweight, and Conor is like 155 pounds, so without a hell of a weight cut, we're now sure how the two would fight.

Still though, interesting that MBJ didn't even sound excited at all to share the screen in any way with Conor ... is the shine coming off the Irishman's star?

BTW ... we also asked about Deontay Wilder's chances of popping up in the movie ... something that two other stars of the flick have already said they're down for ... and Michael seemed more receptive.

Legendary boxing judge and HBO's longtime unofficial scorer Harold Lederman has died after battling with cancer.

Lederman passed away Saturday at a hospice care center in New York ... according to his daughter, Julie, and confirmed by HBO. Boxing promoter and former HBO exec Lou DiBella says Harold had fighting cancer for a while -- it's unclear which type.

A fixture of professional boxing, Lederman got his start judging matches back in 1967, but stopped in 1999 -- when he judged his final bout alongside his daughter. He covered more than 100 world title fights, including some legendary ones like Muhammad Ali-Ken Norton, Evander Holyfield-Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Marvin Hagler-Mustafa Hamsho and lots and lots of others.

When he became part of the HBO family in '86, he quickly became known for breaking down his unofficial score cards ... offering viewers an insight into how a judge picks apart a bout.

HBO Sports' executive VP, Peter Nelson, issued a statement on Harold's passing, saying ... "Harold Lederman had a lifelong love affair with the sport of boxing. Over the past 50 years he was universally respected and celebrated by the many people who make the sport what it is. Harold was happiest when seated ringside, studying the action and scoring the fight."

Harold was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2016 after storied career. He's survived by his wife, and his two daughters.

Terence Crawford has a 100% chance of losing to Errol Spence when they finally fight ... this according to boxing superstar Jermell Charlo, who says Crawford has ZERO SHOT.

"I definitely believe Terence Crawford stands zero chance against Errol Spence. Zero. Zero."

That's what Crawford said when we got him out the Conga Room in L.A. this week, basically disrespecting the hell out of the undefeated Crawford, but telling us he has his reasons.

"Errol is the bigger, monster fighter."

Crawford vs. Spence is one of the biggest fights in boxing (if it could get made) and although it's known that Charlo and Spence are cool, it's still kinda surprising to hear him go this hard.

Even the Avengers were given a 1 in 14 million chance to beat Thanos ... and he had all 6 Infinity Stones.

Anthony Joshua is turning up the heat on Deontay Wilder -- telling TMZ Sports he wants a crack at the Bronze Bomber ASAP ... and inviting the boxing superstar to "come see me."

Joshua and Wilder have been trading verbal jabs for years but have never been able to come to terms on a fight contract. A Joshua vs. Wilder matchup could be one of the biggest fights in PPV history.

Anthony invited us onto his tricked out sprinter van in NYC moments ago ... and walked us through his fight plans -- including some tough talk for Deontay.

Long story short ... Joshua says he wants to unify the heavyweight titles -- and since Wilder is the reigning WBC heavyweight champ, he wants to fight Deontay as soon as possible to get that belt.

"If he's ready and wants to prove he's the best in the world, [Wilder] can come see me," Joshua says.

Wilder is slated to fight Dominic Breazeale on May 18 -- and if he gets through D.B., he's got options ... including a rematch with Tyson Fury.

As for Joshua, he'll be fighting 29-year-old Andy Ruiz on June 1 -- after his original opponent, Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller, tested positive for a bunch of banned substances.

But, Joshua says he ain't holding a grudge -- he hopes Miller can turn his life around and get right.

In the meantime, Joshua says he ain't taking Ruiz lightly -- despite the fact most people don't know who he is.

Conor McGregor spent his Monday training his ass off in his MMA gym in Ireland -- and sources connected to the UFC star tell us he's "ready to fight right now."

Conor had a sparring session with Hans Molenkamp -- who created the MMA equipment company, Triumph, and runs the Monster Energy combat program. He's also a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu who trains with some of the best fighters in the world.

Hans and Conor have been tight for years -- so, when Hans touched down in Ireland, Conor invited him to Straight Blast Gym for a workout.

Our sources at the gym tell us ... Conor looked sharp in sparring sessions -- even cracking Hans in the face with that legendary left (you can see it in the video).

We're told Conor is training like he's getting ready for a fight -- and he's been talking about how badly he wants the rematch with Khabib.

One source extremely close to McGregor put it this way -- "He's ready to fight now. He's in training. Everything needs to line up correctly ... opponent, place and of course, money."

Conor was called out this weekend by UFC legend Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone -- McGregor has yet to respond.

Great news for UFC star Brian Ortega ... the 27-year-old says he's been medically cleared to return to the Octagon -- and he's got his sights set on a rematch with Max Holloway.

Ortega suffered a broken nose and a broken thumb after his Dec. 8 bloodbath with Max at UFC 231 ... a fight Brian ultimately lost when the doctor stopped it at the end of the 4th round.

Brian fought his ass off -- and later said he was "willing to die" in the Octagon.

After the fight, Ortega underwent surgery -- which was successful -- and now the featherweight star tells us he's looking to book a fight as early as July.

Unclear who the opponent will be -- but Ortega says the ultimate goal is to earn another crack at Holloway, an opponent he has tremendous respect for.

Ortega says he's replayed the Holloway fight in his head -- and knows he can win the second time around.

Deontay Wilder has yet another ally in his goal to star in "Creed 3," because another huge star in the franchise is totally down with, actually advocating for, Wilder to hit the big screen in the next flick.

Wilder told us some time ago that one of his main career goals was to get into acting, with his dream role being playing the son of Mr. T's Clubber Lang in the next 'Creed' movie.

We actually talked to Sylvester Stallone about it, and Sly was MORE THAN DOWN, saying he thinks Wilder could actually nail the role if given the chance.

Fast forward to now, and we spoke with Wood Harris, the man who plays Duke's son (Apollo and Rocky's trainer from the old movies) and he says the best plot for "Creed 3" is the Clubber Lang son angle ... but you need Wilder.

"Adonis needs to fight Deontay Wilder, Mr. T's son."

Guys, this could happen. Stallone has a long history of putting real boxers in these movies, from Tommy Morrison to Antonio Tarver, to Florian “Big Nasty” Munteanu, who played Drago's kid in the last movie.

If the whole "basketball God" thing never happened for LeBron James, he could've earned his way as a real-deal professional boxer ... and if you don't believe it, just ask Canelo Alvarez!!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the boxing superstar about partnering with King James for a docuseries leading up to his big fight with Daniel Jacobs ... and he says it's an incredible honor to work together.

So, how would Bron have fared if he took his talents to the ring instead of the court?

"He has the height, the body, the physique. But, an athlete of this level -- like ourselves -- I think we can do other sports fairly well."

Just for fun, here's the tale of the tape pitting LeBron James against heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder ...

We also had to flip the question on Canelo to ask what sport he'd like to dominate if he didn't become a boxer ... and you'll want to hear what he says!!!

As for the fight with Jacobs on DAZN this weekend, Canelo says he's feeling good leading up to the huge event on Saturday.

Oscar De La Hoya says there's a new (kinda) young fighter he wants to add to his Golden Boy Promotions stable ... Kevin Hart ... and make no mistake about it, Oscar is being 100% real.

Kevin recently took up boxing, and actually stepped into the ring for a LIVE SPARRING session against pro poker player Antonio Esfandiari and held his own in a close loss.

We talked to Oscar who's promoting the HUGE Canelo Alvarez vs. Danny Jacobs fight going down on DAZN this weekend who says Kevin needs to stop giving his fists away for free.

"If he wants a promoter, Kevin, give me a call. I can put you on the big stage here in Vegas live on DAZN."

If you think Oscar's just playing, you're wrong. His eyes LIT UP at the thought of working with Hart, and he gave us a blueprint to how KH's boxing career would look if he hooked up with Golden Boy.

"I can get him a few fights, 4 rounders, 6 rounders, build him up to the championship level."

Kevin has said he wants a rematch against Esfandiari before he does anything else, and you guessed it, Oscar's down to promote that too.

"I have the perfect location. We can do it at the Staples Center, headlined by Kevin Hart, live on DAZN, make a lot of money. I could make up a championship belt that would fit around his waist. Come on, Kevin, let's do it."

A routine jewelry shopping spree turned into high drama for Floyd Mayweather on Thursday -- when things got heated with a store owner over a VERY expensive stone and cops were called, TMZ Sports has learned.

We're told Floyd was shopping at the Diamond Club fine jewelry shop inside the Seybold Building when Mayweather zeroed in a stone.

Our sources tell us ... a verbal altercation broke out between Mayweather and the shop owner -- and things got so intense, someone inside the shop called police.

By the time cops arrived, we're told Mayweather had already left the shop.

We reached out to Mayweather and the shop owner -- but everyone is being VERY tight-lipped about the situation.

We also contacted Miami PD -- and a rep would only confirm that cops responded to the shop regarding an issue involving a "high profile celebrity" ... but wouldn't get into specifics.

Unclear if cops are investigating or if the matter is considered closed.

Remember, Mayweather spends MILLIONS of dollars at jewelry stores all over the world -- so you'd think Floyd showing up at your shop would be like hitting the lottery.

But, that's clearly not what happened here.