Boxing

"You don't respect it, you will get collected." 

That's Bone Collector -- the street ball legend who put Floyd Mayweather on his back Monday -- telling TMZ Sports he still can't really believe he crossed up The Best Ever!

"Floyd Mayweather is the richest ankle I've ever collected," Bone tells us. 

Of course, Bone's highlight at the $50k Charity Challenge celebrity basketball game has gone super viral ... everyone's praising the only pro athlete to ever drop Mayweather in any sport, EVER!

So, how did Floyd react after the embarrassing fall? Bone says the guy acted like a true pro -- he got up and continued to ball out. 

"He came back and played hard," Bone says ... "After that it was more of a mutual respect thing."

Bone says he kinda feels bad for Floyd because the two are good friends and he didn't want to humiliate the guy ... but on the other hand he's LOVING all of the praise he's getting!

In fact, Bone says everyone from Snoop to Nate Robinson to Rob Gronkowski dog-piled on him after the move in one of the coolest moments of his life. 

For the first time in his career, Floyd Mayweather got PUT ON HIS BACK during a major sports event -- and the whole thing was caught on camera!!

The 42-year-old superstar was ballin' out at the $50k Charity Challenge celeb hoops game at UCLA on Monday night where Floyd was trying to play some defense on streetball legend Bone Collector. 

... but things didn't go Floyd's way -- because BC crossed Floyd over so hard, the boxer lost his footing and went tumbling to the ground. 

The crowd went crazy as Bone hit his shot -- and all Floyd could do was smile as he picked himself up. 

When asked why he would even try to cover Bone Collector, Floyd told fans and teammates he simply wanted the challenge ... gotta respect that. 

The event was all for a good cause -- raising money for Teen Cancer America. Huge stars like Rob Gronkowski, Snoop Dogg, Kyle Kuzma, Michael Blackson, Terrell Owens, Pacman Jones and Brian Quick were also in attendance. 

He got the G.O.A.T. rings ... now Antonio Brown is paying homage to the Greatest of All Time, Muhammad Ali, with an iced-out butterfly and bee chain worth $250k!!

TMZ Sports has learned -- the NFL superstar wanted to honor the legend and his AB nickname at the same time ... getting an insane bee with butterfly wings -- and his #84 jersey number on it.

We're told Brown went to his go-to guy, Gabriel the Jeweler, for the job ... hooking him up with the piece made with a combo of pear and baguette-shaped VVS and brilliant-cut diamonds, totaling 65 carats on the cuban chain and 50 carats on the pendent.

Of course ... Gabriel is the guy behind AB's G.O.A.T rings he copped earlier this year (along with pretty much all of Brown's bling) ... and has also worked with other superstars like Amari Cooper, Odell Beckham and Jalen Ramsey.

We're told this newest piece is valued at a QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS ... but don't worry, AB's in the middle of a 3-year, $50 million contract.

UFC champ Amanda Nunes won't have to look far for her bucket list fight -- she can find her opponent in the comfort of her own home ... 'cause she wants to scrap with her FIANCEE!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the MMA power couple leading up to Nunes' fight with Holly Holm at UFC 239 next week ... and her fiancee, Nina Ansaroff, says she's 100% down to fight her boo.

"We already talked about it," Nina says. "After she gets the belt, I'm gonna get my belt at [115 pounds], and then we're gonna do a super-fight at 125 ... we're so down. We really would try to kill each other."

"Why not? Bring the money home in the same household."

Even being in a lighter weight class, the women know each other's weaknesses, considering they've been training together for years.

As for Nunes ...  She's totally on board too, saying "My last fight is gonna be against Nina and then I'm gonna retire."

FYI -- the couple has been together for years and got engaged back in August 2018 ... and Nina says their relationship is rock solid, so there won't be any hard feelings after the fight.

"Afterwards it would be like, 'that was awesome.'"

"I definitely want that fight" ... that's what Francis Ngannou told TMZ Sports when asked if he's down for a superfight with Jon Jones.

Ngannou-Jones is a dream matchup ... but things heated up this week when Jon stopped by the TMZ office, and talked about the possibility of fighting Francis.

"There's a lot of fights at the heavyweight division that are always gonna be extremely appealing. Cain Velasquez, Francis Ngannou," Jones told us.

"That's a scary dude. But, that's why I'm in it. For it to be hard. I'm aware that the greater the challenge, that's what makes it great. The hard is what makes it great."

So, Jon's down ... question is, is Francis willing to put his body on the line against arguably the baddest dude on planet Earth?

We have our answer ... and it's a big hell yes.

"Personally, I mean, it would be a good fight, first of all for the fans, for me, yes," Ngannou told us.

"Even though Jon Jones is a light heavyweight, this guy has made his legacy, dominating the whole division. He's a big dude. I met him once, we almost, we are the same height, we are almost the same thing. I might just have a few pounds on him. That would be a legit fight."

Before a fight with Jones or anyone else (D.C., Stipe), Ngannou's facing badass former heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos at UFC on ESPN 3 this Saturday -- so he's got his hands full.

But, it's very clear that Francis -- who says he ALWAYS gets asked by MMA fans about fighting Jones -- is down to make this fight happen.

UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman says he's SHOCKED Colby Covington agreed to take a fight with Robbie Lawler in August instead of waiting for a title shot ... saying, "This kid f*cks it up again!"

Usman -- who's recovering from double hernia surgery -- tells TMZ Sports he was REALLY hoping his first title defense would be against Covington ... a guy he HATES with a raging passion.

So, when Colby agreed this week to fight Lawler -- Kamaru says he was massively disappointed.

"I said from the start this was gonna be his fight to mess up," Usman says ... suggesting Covington took the fight for a quick paycheck to pay off gambling debts.

"Those gambling debts might have caught up to him!"

Usman says his fingers are crossed hoping Dana White gives him the Covington fight at some point because "there's no one right now I would love to punch more or hurt more than him."

Of course, Usman and Covington have been beefing for months -- and almost threw down for real in a Vegas casino back in March.

Meanwhile, Usman says he's recovering well after surgery and plans on fighting again in November -- and if he doesn't get Colby ... he'd love a crack at Ben Askren.

Remember, Ben mercilessly mocked Usman by calling him "Marty from Nebraska" leading up to Kamaru's title fight with Tyron Woodley.

Usman says it's time for a little payback.

Wladimir Klitschko and his family were SAVED by emergency responders in Spain on Monday -- after the luxury yacht they were traveling on, caught fire at sea!!

The rescue was all captured on video ... as firefighters and other emergency workers rushed to the boat off the coast of Mallorca around 2 AM and sprayed fire-suppressing foam on the boat.

"The boat was on fire, we're hanging out outside," the former boxing champ says on the dramatic video ... "We're in the sea getting rescued from the Mallorcan/Spanish fire department."

The yacht crew had already controlled the fire by the time rescuers showed up -- so responders mostly did some thorough inspection, made sure the fire was out ... and then towed the ship to port.

But, during the tow, smoke began to billow out of the engine room -- so the rest of the crew was evacuated to a rescue ship.

After the incident, 43-year-old Klitschko tweeted about the rescue ... saying, "Be careful what you wish for: fate took my wish for "some #adrenalin" a bit too literally and our boat-trip Sunday night ended up in our boat #igniting and family & friends being evacuated by coast guard and fire rescue-team."

"No worries: we are all fine!"

How's this for confidence ... Keith Thurman is so certain he's gonna knock out Manny Pacquiao in the 1st or 2nd round, he's putting $10,000 up so he can cash that extra check!!!

Keith and Manny are squaring off at the MGM Grand on July 20 -- in a fight Thurman thinks he'll EASILY win.

"I'm younger. I'm gonna let my hands go in a way that Adrian Broner didn't," Thurman tells TMZ Sports ... "I'm gonna make it a fight!"

Remember, Broner LOST via unanimous decision when he fought Pacman back in January -- Keith says Broner simply didn't come with any offense that night.

As for the bet, Keith says he's already 100% certain he'll get the W ... but wants to put some added pressure on himself to close the show early.

"That's motivation! I can't go 3 minutes going 'tap, tap, tap' when I got $10k on the round!"

The Justin Bieber vs. Tom Cruise hype train has left the station ... with UFC honcho Dana White saying the celebrity superfight would probably be the biggest Pay-Per-View event in combat sports history!!!

TMZ Sports broke the story ... White said he is seriously interested in putting together the Bieber vs. Cruise fight ... after hearing from two "serious people" with connections to the stars that they'd be down to scrap.

And, we're also told Bieber's rep, Scooter Braun, spoke with William Morris Endeavor co-owner Ari Emanuel and Dana White on a secret phone call and said Bieber is "100%" down with it.

So, when White was leaving Craig's in West Hollywood on Sunday night, he told TMZ Sports he thinks there's a real shot this fight goes down.

"Weirder things have happened, let's put it that way," White said.

"I think it would be the biggest purse ever and I think it would be the biggest Pay-Per-View ever too."

White says the situation is still developing and he hasn't heard anything official from Tom's camp yet -- but he's hopeful he'll have more info in the coming days.

Until then, White seems excited to make it happen ... though he's keeping it real when asked about the actual combat.

If Hollywood decided to green-light a movie about heavyweight boxing champ Andy Ruiz -- there's another huge star who's already making his pitch for the role ... Gabriel Iglesias!!!

The superstar comic is a big-time boxing fan -- and says he was STOKED when Ruiz put a beating on Anthony Joshua in the upset of the decade.

In fact, Ruiz says he REALLY wants to see Joshua sign on for the rematch so Ruiz can prove to the world it wasn't a fluke, and he's the real deal.

"It wasn't a lucky punch," Fluffy says ... "He got dealt with that night!"

Ruiz's story is pretty amazing ... he was a massive underdog who took the fight on short notice and put on the performance of his life to upset the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world.

Iglesias says he'd LOVE to play Ruiz on the big screen ... but he knows he'd have to drop a few lbs before getting in front of the camera.

"Every actor says they gotta gain weight ... I gotta lose weight to play Ruiz!"

Fake Ivan Drago tried to pick a fight with Justin Bieber in front of Craig's last night -- showing up to the restaurant in FULL BOXING GEAR ... and we got the whole thing on video!!!

The wannabe Russian was SERIOUS about trying to fight Justin -- he's the same guy who showed up to Logan Paul's home a few weeks ago to challenge the YouTube star to a fight.

Remember, Logan actually AGREED and the two threw down right in Paul's back yard.

The fake-Drago is an aspiring social media star ... but it's clear he'll do ANYTHING for clout.

So with Justin trying to get an MMA fight with Tom Cruise. the imposter-Ivan planned to call out Bieber first at Craig's where he waited for JB at the front door, pounding his chest and talking trash.

Bieber blew him off ... so, he stuck around for a few hours waiting for a second crack at the pop star -- but that didn't pan out either.

Bieber clearly knows his worth (and his weight class) ... he could make MILLIONS if the Tom Cruise fight comes to fruition -- so why give out hands for free on the street?!

As for doppelganger-Drago ... he'll continue to seek out other famous people to fight.

We hear Mike Tyson's in town!!!

Conor McGregor is helping his boy Artem Lobov beat the hell outta Paulie Malignaggi... by hooking his friend up with a scouting report on how to kick the boxers ass.

Lobov and Malignaggi are fighting Saturday night at Bare Knuckle FC 6 in Florida ... and the lead up to the fight has included spitting, slapping and death threats.

They HATE each other.

Malignaggi -- a former 2 weight class world champ -- is the betting favorite, and most pick him to win the fight ... but Artem has at least 1 advantage.

The Notorious.

Remember, Paulie was Conor's sparring partner back in '17 while he prepped for his Floyd Mayweather fight ... and there was big beef between the 2 guys when Conor released footage of the men sparring.

Malignaggi said the footage was edited to make him look bad, and Conor said he knocked PM around ... but 1 thing's for sure -- the bad blood is genuine.

Fast-forward to now ... Artem tells us he consulted with his good friend and strategized on just how to pick apart Paulie.

"We broke down the whole spar, so I know everything. I know his weaknesses, and I know his strengths. I was getting ready for the best version of Paulie, even though I knew a fat mess is gonna show up."

What's Artem's message for the man who promised to put him in a body bag?

"This whole thing started from what? It all started from Paulie getting his ass whooped, and then crying like a little bitch."

Justin Bieber wants to fight Tom Cruise in the Octagon, and we know this because of a secret phone call laying the groundwork for what could be the biggest fight in UFC history.

As you know, Justin tweeted earlier this month that he would like to take Tom on MMA style. We were initially told it was a joke and that Justin -- who never met Tom -- revered him. That's all true, but turns out there was truth behind the tweet.

We've learned last Friday, Ari Emanuel, the co-CEO of the William Morris Endeavor agency that owns UFC -- called Justin's manager, Scooter Braun, and then conferenced in Dana White. Ari said this would be an epic fight that needed to happen, and Dana chimed in that he was "100%" down with it.

We're told Scooter then made it clear ... Justin would absolutely fight if Tom wanted to do it.

And, there's more. During the call, Ari said he strongly believed the 56-year-old actor would agree to enter the Octagon and take on the 25-year-old singer.

Dana White told TMZ Sports earlier this week the fight's a no brainer ... the easiest event he's ever promoted in his career.

Heavyweight boxer Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller says the failed drug test that forced him out of his fight against Anthony Joshua cost him around $30 MILLION!!!!

... and yeah, he still thinks about it all the time!!

Remember, Miller was the guy ORIGINALLY slated to fight AJ on June 1 at Madison Square Garden -- but when "Big Baby" failed the test, Joshua's people signed Andy Ruiz as a last-minute replacement.

And, we all know what happened next -- Ruiz beat the dog snot out of Joshua ... and now Andy is trying to lock up a $50 million rematch deal.

So, when "Big Baby" joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) -- we asked if he ever thinks to himself, "That shoulda been me!"

"It was gonna be a massacre," Miller says ... "But, sometimes God has plans for you."

Miller ain't mad at Ruiz -- in fact, it's the opposite -- the two have been good friends for years and Miller says he couldn't be happier for the boxer.

But, when we asked how much cash he thinks the drug test ultimately cost him, Miller dropped some REALLY BIG numbers ... and explained, "You know how many cheeseburgers that is just now!?!!

Don't worry, Miller says he's getting his career back on track and plans on fighting later this year as soon as his suspension is up.

UFC legend Daniel Cormier says he's tired of people thinking combat sports is a beauty contest, saying both him and Andy Ruiz Jr. prove the fact that FAT GUYS CAN FIGHT!!!

Ruiz set the Keto diet back 10 years when he knocked out Anthony Joshua a couple weeks ago ... making blubbery brawlers all over the world believe in the power of the ponch.

We talked to Cormier and he told our guy it's about damn time, saying fighting is less about looks and more about ability.

"All that physical sh*t don't mean nothing. Go be a bodybuilder if you think that your physique is what's gonna determine a fight."

As far as Ruiz, Cormier says anyone paying attention could see Andy was more than capable of beating Joshua, but they all got fooled by the fat.

"That dude's an athlete. Look at his Instagram, look at his work ethic. His feet are very quick, his hands are very quick, and he's got a killer's mentality."

D.C. left all you dieting jerks with one last message ... and he delivered it with passion.

Michael Pena has played everyone from Cesar Chavez to Luis in "Ant-Man" ... but the one role you WON'T see him in is heavyweight boxing champ, Andy Ruiz.

... and why?

"Because I'd have to gain a lot of weight, my wife would kill me!"

Don't get it twisted, Pena has a ton of respect for Ruiz and thinks he has a great story to tell ... but Ruiz is 270 lbs -- and Pena is wayyyyy smaller.

Of course, Ruiz shot to superstardom by knocking out undefeated heavyweight superstar Anthony Joshua -- despite being a HEAVY betting underdog.

What's interesting ... Pena -- who's been in a TON of movies -- says he doesn't think Ruiz's story is ready for the big screen yet because he'd like to see the guy win a few more fights first.

So, who SHOULD play the new champ?