Boxing

The Terence Crawford/Errol Spence fight Saturday night was incredible, but the bonus at the top had fans going insane ... Crawford's hype man for the walkout was Eminem!!!

Crawford and Em appeared in a cloud of smoke as the rapper besieged the crowd to make some noise for the next welterweight champion of the world. Turns out he was right.

The two walked next to each other as "Lose Yourself" blared through the arena, and fans ate it up.

Eminem gave his stamp of approval after the fight, tweeting, “This is 2 crazy.!!! You r 1 of my favorite boxers rn!”

Crawford willed it to happen, posting a vid expressing his wish the dude from Detroit would accompany him into the ring.

Mike Tyson might not know who will win the Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford fight, but he is sure of one thing ... it's definitely ending in a knockout.

TMZ Sports got Iron Mike's prediction on the massive match just before the two star boxers officially square off Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas ... and he seemed to kind of like Bud to win it.

Then again, he wasn't super confident about it all ... telling us a recent talk he had with Spence was changing his mind a bit.

He did, however, have one guarantee about the tilt ... and that's that it ain't going all 12 rounds.

"After seeing them both fight, I know it's not going to last," the boxing legend said. "I think it's going to end in a knockout."

Whatever Adrien Broner did in Las Vegas, he's in DEEP trouble with his girlfriend now ... 'cause he's sharing his most sincere apologies with TMZ Sports -- saying, "None of these bitches got nothin' on you."

We caught up with AB following Thursday's press conference for the Errol Spence and Terence Crawford fight ... and while he's hyped up for the epic showdown, there was something else eating him up inside.

"I got into it with my girl," he told us before issuing a direct mea culpa to his lady. "I wanna say Trea'Jure, I love you, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I love you."

We did some digging on the drama ... and it seems like AB might be referring to an interview he did earlier in the day, when he repeatedly asked a female reporter for her number.

Trea'Jure appeared to respond on Instagram ... saying, "Lmao [I don't care] about that damn interview! Adrien is single ok. That's what he's supposed to do tf"

"I hope he gets plenty numbers I'm rooting for him."

The whole "single" thing might be news to AB ... 'cause in his apology, he made sure Trea'Jure knew he was a faithful, one-woman man.

"None of these bitches got nothin' on you," AB said. "I'ma just be out here jackin' my d***."

Boxing star Jermell Charlo is REALLY confident his guy Errol Spence Jr. will handle business and remain undefeated on Saturday ... telling TMZ Sports he's putting a $25,000 bet on The Big Fish to beat Terence Crawford.

After years of back and forth, Spence and Crawford are FINALLY slated to throw hands in the ring at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday ... and it's clear Charlo -- who trains at the same gym as Errol -- has no doubt in his mind who will have their hand raised at the end of the epic matchup.

In fact, we asked Jermell if he's trying to make some money off the fight in case he's right ... and he told us, "Absolutely!!"

"A solid $25,000. That's my guy, I really don't like to go too crazy on betting and stuff, but $25,000 and have fun, you know what I'm saying? Enjoy my night in Vegas and get back home to my family and kids and keep training. I'm on my grind."

We also spoke with former boxer Shawn Porter -- who fought both Bud AND Errol during his career ... and he weighed in on what he's calling "The Super Bowl of Boxing."

"Errol has magnificent technique and Terence is extremely precise -- you're talking about elite versus elite," he told us in Vegas. "Whichever one get there first."

Errol Spence and Terence Crawford have a lot more than their undefeated records and four shiny belts on the line in Vegas Saturday night ... both superstars agree, the winner is the best boxer of this generation!

TMZ Sports is on the ground in Sin City ... and we talked to both fighters just days before the biggest clash of their professional lives.

"I can't wait to show everybody why I am not the best 147-pounder in the world, but the best fighter, period," 33-year-old Spence said.

If you're a boxing fan you can hardly wait. It's the scrap you've wanted for years, but believed would never actually happen -- two undefeated greats, champions -- battling in front of the world ... 28-0 (22 KO) Spence vs. 39-0 (30 KO) Crawford.

But, it is going down ... and it's only a day away.

"It took a while for me and Terence to happen, but it's happening at a great moment right now," Spence told us.

"We're fighting for all the marbles. He's undefeated, I'm undefeated. I think it's gonna be a great fight, a great showing, and we're definitely gonna give the people their money's worth on Showtime Pay-Per-View."

Crawford also believes the winner will rightfully lay claim to being called the best active boxer alive.

"I wouldn't say the greatest fighter of all-time, I would just say the greatest fighter of this era," Bud told us.

As for the motivation to take such a risky fight ... both men acknowledge they're going home with a big ol' check, but it's not all about the money. Not even close.

"I'm more motivated about beating him because it's a huge rivalry between us. Everybody always attaches our two names together for probably about 6 or 7 years now," Errol told us.

"It's more of a competition factor more than anything. I want to defeat him. I find gratification in defeating him more than anything else."

Despite being at the center of the storm, the magnitude of the fight isn't lost on Terence, either.

"I definitely believe [it's the biggest fight in a long time]. This is the fight that everybody been wanting. You have the two of the greatest fighters of this era going head to head with each other, and it's gonna be a great night of boxing Saturday night."

As if the main event wasn't enough, the card also features several other kickass fights, including the great Nonito Donaire -- a future Hall of Famer -- taking on Mexican contender Alexandro Santiago for the WBC Bantamweight World Championship. Isaac Cruz is also fighting undefeated Giovanni Cabrera.

Forget money, Jake Paul paid his personal barber with something far more special this week -- gifting his go-to guy a brand new Rolex for keeping his hair on point ahead of his big boxing match against Nate Diaz!!

The Problem Child flew in JB Always Fresh -- a famous hair stylist/businessman in his own right -- from Canada to Puerto Rico to get a fresh cut before heading to Dallas for fight week ... and made sure to thank the "best barber in the world" for his service.

"He's a young hustler," Paul said. "I love and respect young hustlers."

In a clip of the gift presentation that Paul posted on his social media page ... you can see the boxer revealed the classic Oyster Perpetual Rolex -- which comes with at least a $5,000 price tag -- and JB refused to believe it, thinking the whole thing was a skit.

"I'm being serious," Paul said. "It's a nice little Rolex. I'm being deadass."

"I'm being for real. It's yours, bro."

JB -- real name Jamiel Bustos -- was emotional over the gesture ... thanking his client for going above and beyond for him.

"Yo, oh my God. You don't know how much this actually really means to me bro," JB said. "I've met over like a thousand millionaires in my whole lifetime, I've met a bunch of other influencers, creators ... dude, this is like some real, genuine stuff."

Ben Askren just showed he's dead serious about coming out of retirement to square off with his nemesis, Jorge Masvidal ... revealing he's been keeping in incredible shape despite being years removed from the UFC Octagon.

The former fighting star -- who's been retired from MMA since 2019 -- took to Twitter to show off his shirtless bod ... and to tell Masvidal he's now really ready for another scrap.

"I've kept in great shape during retirement," he said. "I have zero desire to fight anyone except that loser Jorge."

The two initially fought in the UFC way back in 2019 after months of trash talk -- and it was one of the most memorable bouts ever ... as Masvidal ended things in just five seconds with a flying knee to the face.

The two, though, have still traded verbal barbs nonetheless ever since ... with Masvidal telling TMZ Sports last week he'd definitely be down to run things back.

Seems Askren's all in too ... adding in an earlier tweet on Tuesday that he wants it to be an MMA fight -- not boxing.

In fact, he showed off an apparent text message exchange with Dana White ... where he asked the UFC honcho to put it all on for them.

The man who stabbed Tyson Fury's cousin to death last year has been found guilty of murder by a jury following a three-week trial.

After three and a half hours of deliberation on Friday, the jury announced their verdict, finding 22-year-old Liam O'Pray guilty of the killing of 31-year-old Rico Burton, Tyson's cousin, and wounding with intent.

As we previously reported, Burton was stabbed in the left side of his neck with a 7-inch blade after a fight at a popular bar in Altrincham, Cheshire last August.

The fatal stab wound caused major blood loss, as it severed the major carotid artery in his neck.

O'Pray was also found guilty of injuring an 18-year-old, Harvey Reilly, in the same incident.

According to The Sun, witnesses said O'Pray was drinking and acting "very erratic" prior to the brawl with Burton and his friends around 3 AM.

Fury was devastated over his cousin's tragic death and called for the UK government to hand down harsher punishment for knife crimes.

"My cousin was murdered last night, stabbed in the neck," the heavyweight boxer said on IG last August.

"This is becoming ridiculous idiots carry knives. This needs to stop 🛑 Asap, uk 🇬🇧 government needs to bring higher sentencing for knife crime, its a pandemic & you dont know how bad it is until its 1 of your own!"

"Life is very precious & it can be taken away very quick enjoy every moment🙏RIP RICO BURTON 🙏 may the lord god grant you a good place in heaven. see you soon 🔜🙏"

Boxer Daniella Hemsley -- who went viral for exposing her boobs in the ring after her win over the weekend -- is setting the record straight about her future in the sport ... saying she's NOT banned from competing, she's just taking a break to recover from her injuries.

The OnlyFans model bared it all in excitement after defeating Ms. Danielka at the Kingpyn Boxing semifinals on Saturday ... lifting up her sports bra to flash the crowd.

Kingpyn released a statement on the incident ... apologizing to anyone offended and saying Hemsley "will not be appearing in the Final event and has decided to take some time away from boxing."

Many translated this to Hemsley being BANNED from the promotion ... but she claims that's not the case at all, addressing the whole situation in a YouTube video.

"I am NOT banned from Kingpyn, guys," Hemsley said. "I have simply decided to take a few weeks off from training to recover, to recover my body, and I plan on coming back fighting again in the winter."

Daniella -- who claims to have injured her thumb and elbow in the bout -- added she actually suffered a wardrobe malfunction during the flash ... as she initially had fire stickers covering her nipples to avoid nudity, but they came off during the fight due to sweat.

The stunt got mixed reviews ... as fans were pleasantly surprised on social media, but promoter Eddie Hearn hated it -- saying destroyed so much work that has been done to include women in the sport.

Oscar De La Hoya is weighing in on one of the best fights in years -- Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford -- a fight The Golden Boy agrees is as close to evenly matched as a fight could be ... but that doesn't mean the boxing legend doesn't have a prediction!

"I think it is a 50/50 fight," De La Hoya told us in NYC on Wednesday ... before giving us his pick.

"I like Crawford, I've always liked Crawford. I mean, I love Spence, but Crawford has more of the elusive style, more combinations. It's gonna be a good fight. If Spence wins, he's gonna knock out Crawford. If Crawford wins, it'll go to decision."

Vegas seems to agree with the boxing legend ... Crawford is a small favorite in the bout, heading into fight week around -160 (wager $160 to win $100).

Of course, it's the fight boxing fans have been talking about -- clamoring for -- for years ... and it's just a week and a half away, going down July 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Spence, 33, is undefeated with a record of 28-0 with 22 knockouts. He's the unified welterweight (147 lbs.) champion, holding the IBF, WBC, and WBA belts.

As for Crawford, he too has never lost ... and comes into the fight with a 39-0 record with 30 knockouts. "Bud" is also a champ, holding the WBO welterweight belt. He's been champion in three different weight classes.

There's more with ODLH. We also talked to the boxing Hall of Famer about the Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou "money grab" boxing match, scheduled for October.

Jake Paul says he's a completely different fighter after experiencing the first loss of his boxing career ... and that could be bad news for Nate Diaz, 'cause The Problem Child tells TMZ Sports he's going to put his opponent on the canvas.

Jake and Nate are meeting in the ring for their highly anticipated fight in Dallas on August 5 ... and it's clear his defeat at the hands of Tommy Fury has him laser-focused on winning again.

"Man, I have the biggest chip on my shoulder, the biggest chip on both shoulders," Jake told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show. "Coming back with vengeance, refilled with that hunger that I had in the beginning of the sport to prove to people what I was capable of."

"The lion lost. I've retreated back into the jungle, I took notes of everything, I got better, I trained, and now this lion is going to come out and maul this dude. And he's gonna have to pay -- he's gonna have to pay for all this hard work, all this sacrifice I've made in this camp."

Jake added he's "100%" going to knock Diaz out ... but has no prediction on when it'll happen, 'cause he doesn't want to add any more pressure while he's in the ring.

Nate has only fallen twice via TKOs in his 20-year pro fighting career ...  one being a doctor's stoppage (vs. Jorge Masvidal), and the other coming against Josh Thomson in 2013, when the ref called the fight after a flurry of strikes.

Gervonta Davis is a free man once again ... he's just been released from jail, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

A Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services spokesperson said the star boxer got out of the Baltimore detention center Friday afternoon.

In celebration of the occasion, the 29-year-old took to his Twitter account to post a saluting emoji.

Davis had been behind bars due to his alleged role in a 2020 hit-and-run car crash ... where he was accused of running a red light and slamming into a Toyota, before fleeing the scene.

Davis reached a plea deal with prosecutors in the case back in February -- and was sentenced to 90 days of house arrest. But, on June 1, a judge ruled he had violated the conditions of his sentencing after officials said he moved two times without proper permission. He was then ordered to spend the remainder of his home detention in jail.

Boxing star Devin Haney was arrested on Thursday morning following a night out in Hollywood ... after cops say they found a semi-automatic handgun in his car during a routine traffic stop.

The 30-0 fighter -- who's coming off a huge win over Vasiliy Lomachenko -- was out at Catch L.A. on Wednesday ... when just minutes after he left the hotspot around midnight, law enforcement tells TMZ Sports cops pulled over his ride due to an unsafe lane change and a failure to use turn signal.

According to authorities, Haney was not driving ... but the person who was told officers during the stop there was a firearm inside of the ride.

Cops say they then got Haney and his security out of the car ... and when they searched the vehicle, they say they found a semi-automatic handgun under the driver's seat.

Law enforcement tells us ... no one took ownership of the gun -- and since the car was registered to Haney, he was arrested and booked for felony possession of a concealed weapon.

Jail records show he was released at 8:12 AM Thursday on $35,000 bail. He's due in court for a hearing on the matter next month.

Haney has become one of the biggest stars in boxing ... after recording impressive wins in the last couple years over Loma, George Kambosos Jr., Joseph Diaz Jr. and Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Forget Stipe Miocic ... Jon Jones apparently found a new rival at an ESPYs after-party Wednesday night -- 7-foot-4 Purdue hoops star Zach Edey!!!

The guys hit up The Pendry West Hollywood for the Talent Resources Sports bash in Los Angeles following the awards show ... and for some reason, Edey decided to test his reach against the UFC's best heavyweight.

The two traded a few jabs while cameras snapped away -- but don't worry, it was all completely in jest ... Edey's definitely too smart for that!!!

Following their impromptu shadowboxing session ... the fighter and the hooper posed for pics together -- and then partied the night away at an event that was packed full of celebs.

Damar Hamlin, Jamal Murray and Braxton Berrios were all there ... as were ESPN personalities Chris Berman and Hannah Storm.

They all had a lot to celebrate too ... as the ESPYs were a huge hit.

Jake Paul is a Sports Illustrated cover athlete -- the Problem Child just added to his growing list of accomplishments ... landing the big spotlight for the outlet's "Power List" issue.

S.I. published its submissions for the "50 most influential figures in sports" on Thursday ... where it highlights the biggest athletes, dealmakers, executives, icons and leaders and influencers over the past year.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer is front and center for the issue ... showing him throwing a punch in an underwater photoshoot.

It's a huge honor for Paul, who turned social media boxing into a multi-million dollar business ... even starting his own Most Valuable Promotions company.

Paul's also brought a bunch of new fans to the sport of boxing ... selling a ton of Pay-Per-Views for his fights against Tommy Fury, Tyron Woodley, Ben Askren and more.

We spoke with Jake about landing the cover ... and he said it's a "surreal" experience.

"It doesn't make any sense, but I've worked my ass off to get to this position, and I couldn't have done it without my supporters from back in the Vine days, from my Disney Channel fans, my YouTube fans," Paul told TMZ Sports.

"I really owe it all to them and their support of me through each lane and each vertical of my life as I've gotten older."

"Through all the negative, through all the hate, through all the things and the people trying to tear us down -- we've risen to the occasion and we've overcome it every single time," he added.

"And that, to me, is what means the most and this feels like a staple, monumental moment in my career and to be even considered for it is a humbling thing and I can't believe it's my life."

Nicki Minaj's bite just might be as big as her bark on rap tracks -- judging from the hands she's throwing with her sparring partner/husband Kenneth Petty!

"The Pinkprint" rapper shared video evidence of her skills Wednesday, showing off her jab-cross combos and footwork, which all looked pretty convincing.

Nicki never flinched and maintained solid boxing form throughout ... and even finished with a roundhouse kick for good measure.

Y'know what they say about a family that fights together ... don't mess with them!!!

Nicki's workout music was an unreleased collab with JT, and you can hear both dissing rival females who don't stack up to their flyness.

The City Girls rapper was also in the building with Nicki, but didn't break a sweat outside the studio.

Nicki's cooldown wasn't anything to scoff at either ... she backed that thang up on Kenneth and called him Big Daddy!!!