Boxing

Jon Jones has some serious love for Floyd Mayweather -- and it seems it's just a matter of time before the UFC superstar joins The Money Team.

Remember, Floyd shouted Jones out last year -- saying TMT always had his back, even when others gave Jones the cold shoulder following his legal troubles. Mayweather told TMZ Sports he planned on talking with Jones about joining the squad.

So, when we saw Jon after the UFC 214 media event on Wednesday, we asked if there had been any movement.

"Floyd Mayweather's a guy I respect dearly," Jones said ... "He's a magnificent promoter and fighter."

"I would love to do something with Mayweather in the future."

One of Floyd Mayweather's TMT members tells TMZ Sports ... he's courting Nate Diaz to walk out with Floyd for the McGregor fight -- and says there's a REAL chance it will happen.

The man with the plan is "Love & Hip Hop" star, Jason Lee -- who's so close with Floyd, he was part of the boxer's entourage during the McGregor news conference in London.

Lee also happens to be from Stockton, CA -- home of Nate Diaz -- and says he's making a serious run to get Nate to be a special TMT VIP for the fight ... to essentially troll Conor.

Rising boxing phenom Gervonta Davis has a brand new training partner ... Drake!

The 22-year-old -- who's fighting in the co-main event at Mayweather, McGregor -- hit a 6-mile run with the 6 God in Houston over the weekend.

Not only did Drake keep up ... but he also provided the soundtrack for the run. Despite the fact it sounds like it could be new music from Drake, we're told it's NOT the rapper.

(Sounds just like him though!)

Oscar De La Hoya says the only way Conor McGregor can beat Floyd Mayweather is with a flying kick to the head ... 'cause there's absolutely ZERO chance he'll out-box the Money Man.

ODLH says he "wishes" McGregor was on Mayweather's level, but he's simply not -- and tells TMZ Sports if he couldn't beat Floyd during his own boxing heyday, McGregor has no real shot.

That said, Oscar does dish out some advice for Conor on how to fight Floyd ... but he doubts it's gonna help.

FYI, Floyd and Oscar fought back in 2007 -- Mayweather won by split decision.

Ex-boxing champ Jermain Taylor was arrested for allegedly biting and threatening to kill his girlfriend during an argument Tuesday morning ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Maumelle PD in Arkansas were called to Taylor's home around 2:40 AM for a domestic disturbance when Taylor's girlfriend, Ashley White, told cops that he bit her several times and broke her cell phone during an argument.

The GF claims Taylor bit her on the face and left arm while trying to escape the residence ... and says she had to pepper spray him before fleeing the home.

Taylor allegedly chased White out of the house and down the street while threatening to kill her. Once the girlfriend returned to the home, cops arrived on the scene.

Police say Taylor smelled of intoxicants at the time of his arrest.

Taylor's been charged with felony terroristic threatening and 2 misdemeanors -- battery and interference with emergency communication.

It's worth noting ... Taylor is currently on probation stemming from several incidents over the past few years, so there's a chance he'll end up behind bars again.

You thought the last Mayweather, McGregor news conference was nuts?! Wait'll you see what happened outside!

As Mayweather's Rolls-Royce was leaving the SSE Arena in London on Friday, dozens of McGregor fans swarmed Floyd's ride ... flipping him off and shouting insults at the car.

Security tried like hell to keep the hooligans away ... literally ripping people from the car ... but during the process, one guy appeared to get rocked by the front of the Rolls.

You can't actually see the collision -- but you can hear it -- and you can see the security guy go flying down the street. He appears to be okay.

Floyd Mayweather says he ain't buyin' the rumors that Conor McGregor got knocked out during a sparring session ... essentially saying he won't believe it until he sees video.

The rumors were perpetuated this week by boxer Jessie Vargas -- who says he heard from a trustworthy source that McGregor got put on the mat with 14 ounce gloves.

He says the boxing world is a small world and everyone knows everything about what's going on.

But Mayweather says he needs proof or it doesn't matter -- telling FightHype.com, "If I ain't seen no footage, I don't believe it."

If he can't avenge his (BS) loss to Jeff Horn, Manny Pacquiao needs to retire IMMEDIATELY ... and that's not us saying it, it's his hall of fame trainer Freddy Roach who says Pacman "got old overnight."

We got Freddie leaving Craig's and asked him the big question everyone wants to know after Manny's shocking loss to Horn earlier this month ... a fight most viewers felt was a bogus decision.

What now?

According to Roach ... Pacman only has two options -- avenge the loss, or hang up the gloves.

"Fight a rematch with Horn, otherwise retire. Fighters get old overnight, he did okay in the fight, but just okay, and just okay isn't good enough."

An LGBT group is firing back at Floyd Mayweather for using a homophobic slur at Friday's press conference in London ... saying his reason behind using the word is complete B.S.

Floyd ripped into Conor McGregor at the final stop on the superfight's world tour ... calling him a string of names, including a gay slur.

Hudson Taylor, executive director of Athlete Ally -- an org. that promotes LGBT acceptance in sports -- took notice and denounced Floyd's actions, telling TMZ Sports: "Athlete Ally strongly condemns the homophobic slur used by Floyd Mayweather."

"The response given by Mayweather's representative is equally troubling. If Mayweather truly has the utmost respect for the LGBT community, he wouldn't resort to using slurs that perpetuate anti-LGBT stigma and hate."

Taylor goes on to address McGregor's alleged involvement, saying, "Resorting to homophobic and racial epithets is shameful no matter how or why one uses them."

Mayweather's rep says, "The reason Floyd called Conor the F word is because Conor called Floyd a monkey. Floyd has nothing against gays or lesbians at all ... Floyd has them on his staff. Floyd has nothing but the utmost respect for gays and lesbians."

We're told the monkey comment allegedly happened off mic when Conor was storming around the stage and hyping up the crowd.

Floyd Mayweather crossed the line -- much like Conor McGregor did -- by calling him a "fa***t" during their London news conference.

The fighters were in the middle of wrapping up their world tour to promote their upcoming boxing match, and when Floyd grabbed the mic he started ripping into Conor ... calling him a string of names, including the homophobic slur.

Conor didn't react, but the crowd certainly did ... and it wasn't good.

Remember, a few days ago ... Conor told Floyd ... "Dance for me, boy!" He was, rightfully, taken to task for spewing a racist term to an African-American man.

Looks like it's Floyd's turn to feel the heat.

Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather finally met in the boxing ring Friday ... but instead of throwing punches, the 2 fighters traded ferocious insults.

SSE Arena in London was packed for the 4th and final stop on the super fight world tour ... and Conor fans ruthlessly booed Mayweather as he tried to get his verbal jabs out.

Conor rubbed Floyd's "peanut head" and made fun of his "brittle hands" ... while Floyd dropped a homophobic slur and referred to Dana White as Conor's pimp.

Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson says Conor McGregor needs to think about a career change if he beats Floyd Mayweather ... telling TMZ Sports the boxing money is too good to stay in the Octagon.

We got Johnson out in L.A. and asked him who he was rolling with in the super fight ... and if he ever thinks we'll see Conor back in the UFC.

DJ said he's got Conor by knockout, and once that happens McGregor should focus on fighting the winner of the GGG/Canelo fight, and not ever grace the Octagon again.

Johnson's logic? $100 million payday Conor's getting in the ring ain't happening in the UFC, so why go back?

Anyone who doesn't think Conor McGregor can beat Floyd Mayweather is full of BS ... and that's coming from FLOYD'S CAMP ... specifically, the CEO of his promotion company, Leonard Ellerbe.

Ellerbe is the CEO of Mayweather Promotions -- the guy who makes all the business moves -- and when we got him at the Brooklyn presser he said something no one seems to believe ... Conor can win.

"I've been saying this all along, all this disrespecting these fighters and saying this guy doesn't have a chance. That's some bulls**t."

He didn't leave it there either, telling us he's not the only guy in the Mayweather camp that isn't on board with the "Conor has no shot" line of thinking.

"I'm not buying it, and Floyd Mayweather's not buying it either. He (Conor) has tremendous punching power and when he touches guys they go down."

Floyd Mayweather says he's got some huge surprises in store for the McGregor fight -- including a possible appearance by President Barack Obama.

Conor McGregor says there’s no way he can be racist … 'cause he’s half black -- from the waist down.

McGregor went crazy at the fight event in Brooklyn Thursday night … saying he loves black people, especially black women and busted several crotch thrusts to prove it.

Before that, he blasted Floyd Mayweather's pal 50 Cent saying they are both broke bitches who pretend to have money.

In fact, he gave Floyd a copy of Jay-Z’s new 4:44 album … and told him to study it to learn how to build a real empire.

He then claimed his coat was made of real polar bears — ‘cause he’s so damn cold.

Madness in Times Square ... where hundreds of people swarmed Floyd Mayweather as he was walking out of a bank -- and the video is pretty nuts.

Floyd was flanked by his massive TMT bodyguards as he left Chase Bank -- where he either deposited his $100 million check ... or withdrew some cash for the big media event in Brooklyn Thursday night.

(Remember, Conor mocked him for only having $5,000 in his backpack on Wednesday).

Either way, the scene was chaotic -- everyone tried to get a shot on their phones -- but Floyd ultimately made it to his ride without incident.

Not everyone got out clean though ... cops were on the street firing off tickets for illegally parked cars that appeared to be a part of the TMT entourage.

Good thing Floyd's rich.