Interview

Stunning model Ivana Knoll says she's been getting a ton of business offers after being dubbed the "World Cup's Hottest Fan" ... but there's one venture she's never going to explore -- OnlyFans.

The Croatian supporter joined Michael Babcock and Lucas Widman at the TMZ office to talk about her chaotic rise in fame ... and Ivana says her inbox has been flooded with potential money-making opportunities -- but she's picky about who she works with.

"I usually don't take everything that they offer me, because I like to work with brands who I like, and not many of them, because I like to present what I really like, not just what is paid to me."

"If I don't smoke, I cannot promote cigarettes."

Ivana says during the World Cup, she received about 10 calls a day and 20 emails from agencies trying to get her on OF ... but makes it clear no dollar amount would get her to do adult content.

"I was like, 'I don't know why they cannot accept that I don't want to open one,'" she added.

"I don't judge, I'm just not that kind of person. It's not for me. I tried to explain that it's not about money always, I care about reputation."

Ivana says despite the immediate money she'd make on the subscription-based platform, it would also hurt her chances with other brand deals in the future ... and that's a risk she's not willing to take.

"My message to Jake Paul is good luck and I hope you've trained and I hope you got an ambulance on speed dial because you're gonna need it."

That's Tommy Fury with a very ominous warning for The Problem Child ... just 3 weeks before their highly anticipated February 26th boxing match in Saudi Arabia.

Of course, the men have been scheduled to fight two other times (more on that later) ... and the bad blood is so real, 23-year-old Fury says he's never wanted anything as badly as he wants a win over 26-year-old Paul.

"This is all that's been in my mind for the past two and a half, three years because I'm a professional, legitimate fighter, and my name has been lingering with Jake Paul for quite some time now and Jake Paul is not on my level," Tommy told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

"Jake Paul is not even considered a legitimate fighter and to have my name dragged through the mud with his, I want to prove a point."

Fury continued ... "In three weeks, I get my chance. I don't wanna take it both hands, I wanna school this man. I'm gonna take him to the trenches and he will be drowned. There's no way he can last eight rounds in the ring with me."

Tommy says he's going to put Jake down, and he's going to do it early.

"I see me putting him away early, the way I'm punching in the gym, what I'm doing to people in the gym," Fury said, adding, "There's no way. When the shots land, he will be going down. He will not get up."

Babcock asked Tommy what he'd say to all the people who believe he will find a way out of the fight with Jake.

"I say to those people they need to wake up. Don't worry. I'll be in Saudi Arabia ready for February 26th. I'm ready to go now. I can't wait to get on this plane and get over there."

"I'm gonna hurt this man seriously come February 26th and if he banking on me for not showing, well if that's where he getting his confidence from, then he needs to think again 'cause I'll be there and I'll be right in his face come fight night."

We also talked to former UFC star turned BKFC boxer, "Platinum" Mike Perry ... who Paul has tapped as the replacement fighter, should Tommy fail to make it to fight night.

It wasn't Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or even LeBron James ... no, the toughest person Gary Payton said he ever had to guard was none other than John Stockton.

The NBA Hall of Famer made the shocking revelation in a chat about hoops with TMZ Sports ... saying the former Utah Jazz point guard was just that damn good.

"I think the hardest person I ever had to guard was John Stockton because of the way he would do 94 feet and go everywhere," he said. "That's my opinion."

'Stock', a 10-time All-Star who played 19 seasons in the NBA, was 6-foot-1, but 'The Glove' told us John's ability to utilize all the space on the court offensively made him a super difficult cover.

And, when Payton said he compared it to the trouble he had with MJ, LeBron and Kobe ... Stockton was just harder to deal with.

As for basketball's G.O.A.T. debate ... Payton weighed in on that too, telling us that while he believes LBJ is the better basketball player, Jordan was the better closer.

"I think LeBron was a better all-around player because he can pass the ball and rebound," Payton said. "I think Michael was a better killer. He'll go after you. He'll take a shot whenever he needed to and make it and do it. He was more of a killer."

Deion Branch got a little taste of what being a college head coach would feel like when he was thrust into the interim role at Louisville in December ... and now, he tells TMZ Sports he could see himself handling the role full-time one day.

The former NFL receiver had to step in at the 2022 Fenway Bowl on Dec. 17 after then Cardinals HC Scott Satterfield bolted for Cincinnati -- and Branch shined as fill-in head man, leading his alma mater to a 24-7 victory.

Branch -- who had been UL's Director of Player Development last season before taking the interim gig -- called it all a "great experience" ... and one he could see himself doing every day somewhere down the line.

"I loved it," Branch said. "I loved every second of it."

The 43-year-old said seeing some of his former peers -- including Deion Sanders -- succeeding in the coaching world has given him a bit of an itch to score a job going forward too.

Kevin Hart is coming in hot with guests for Season 2 of “Heart To Hart” ... 'cause he's got Jay-Z opening up about milestone moments in his legendary career, and what it takes to get a guest verse outta him these days.

Following up on his Pete Davidson convo, Kev chatted with Jay about his 2003 rap retirement which ended with the “Kingdom Come” album, and its “Lost Ones” track that made him and his best friend Ty Ty face the nature of death.

Hov admitted he’s been downshifting musically since releasing his last album in 2017, but still does his share of blockbuster guest features along the way ... like he did for Pusha T’s “Neck & Wrist” and DJ Khaled’s “I Got The Keys.”

Despite being rap’s first billionaire, Hov says he never charges for verses, nor chases down artists to be a part of their project, because that wouldn’t be very 🐐-like, now would it?

He also revealed he declines more requests than he approves, usually due to timing, scheduling or just not liking the track altogether.

Although Jay didn’t name names, we know 2 Chainz felt that defeat when prepping his 2020 album “So Help Me God." Tity Boi didn't get a response for a song tailor-made for Hov and gave up on being part of Jay's discography altogether.

A zoom celebration of Black History Month was interrupted by some racists who hurled the n-word for all to hear, but, as host Aldis Hodge said, were too cowardly to show their faces.

"Straight Outta Compton" star Aldis, along with Reginald Johnson and Malyia McNaughton, were on the call when an uninvited guest blurted out, "Aldis Hodge, my n*****. I heard you're like a famous actor, my guy."

Aldis and company kept their cool as they tried to boot the disembodied racist from the room.

Malyia then resumes the conversation, talking about the importance of Black History Month, when another voice chimes in, "When's white history month?"

At that point, the co-hosts decided to address the haters. After another uninvited guest hurls the n-word, Aldis lowers the boom, saying, "If you're brave enough to speak to me in such a callous way, I would love to see your face so we can speak face to face."

Of course, the invitation is not accepted, and Aldis labels the racists "cowards."

Just call Rob Gronkowski the pancake man ... 'cause he's flipping AGAIN on retirement talk -- this time saying he's "not totally done" with football after all!!!

The NFL's greatest-ever tight end has been in a tug-o-war almost since the day he quit the NFL in 2019 ... going back and forth on whether or not he's officially done.

The latest? Gronk told Andy Cohen this week on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" that a reunion with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay ain't totally out of the question.

"I'm feeling good right now," the Patriots legend said. "I'm happy where I'm at. You just never know, man. You just never know. You never know. I'm not totally done."

Gronk says the only thing that's holding him back is a passion for the game ... adding, "I like to stay in shape, but I've gotta get that feeling back."

Rob retired in March 2019 ... and has said injuries -- including roughly 20 concussions -- played a big role in him calling it a career at the age of 29.

The rumors of a return haven't stopped, though ... with Gronk playing a big role in the whispers -- flipping publicly between "I'm done" and "You never know" often.

As for those close to him ... TMZ Sports spoke with Gronk's brother, Chris, just a few weeks ago, and he said he'd be surprised to see the tight end come back.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. just got REAL candid about his relationship with his wife -- admitting they were crashing and burning in a big way ... until they started going to couples therapy.

"Every day was like grinding gears,” Earnhardt said about his relationship with Amy Reimann ... "Just a lot of tension and disagreement and misunderstanding."

Dale and Amy started dating back in 2009 -- and got married in 2016 -- but it wasn't always sunshine and rainbows.

"There were great times -- and then there were days when we would both sort of withdraw and get frustrated with each other and not communicate and hold grudges and, 'I'm gonna show you!'”

Dale fought back tears as he opened up on "In Depth with Graham Bensinger" -- explaining how things finally turned around when they sought professional help from a woman named Jane.

"Jane was the reason why we were married. Jane is the reason why we're having a family. And, Jane is the reason why every day is way better."

The couple just welcomed their first child -- a baby girl named Isla Rose -- back in May ... and Dale says even though they still get regular checkups with their therapist -- they're a very happy family now.

Ariana Grande broke down crying as she opened up about the impact the Manchester Arena bombing has had on her life ... and TMZ has the emotional interview.

Ariana was on Ebro's show on Beats 1 Radio Friday when he asked about her track "Get Well Soon" from her "Sweetener" album, and the importance of it to her in relation to last year's terror attack.

The singer's instantly overcome with emotion, but manages to get into how she -- and so many others -- have internal issues we're all dealing with ... and the song is meant to give everyone a hug.

But, she admits she's been deeply affected by the traumatic incident in Manchester, saying ... "It's like people are permanently affected by this s**t and it’s just like, perspective. It changes everything, changes your life quite a bit."

Ariana says she tries not to give into fear for her fans, but the truth is ... she's scared. She says she feels it when she travels and hates the extra security measures she has to take to feel safe, but that's the way it has to be now.

22 people were killed in the Manchester bombing. Less than a month later, Ariana was joined by stars like Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Liam Gallagher to put on the One Love concert in Manchester to honor the victims.

Hugh Jackman is up for a 'Golden Globes' Best Actor award, but he hasn't created a space for the statue on his mantle ... 'cause he thinks someone else is gonna win.

We got the dapper actor in Hollywood outside Avalon Friday night, as he left a big awards shindig. He's up for Best Actor for a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy ... for his performance in "The Greatest Showman."

Brody Jenner seems happy for Kim, Khloe and Kylie -- who are all expecting -- but it also seems he's estranged from them.

We got the perennially handsome Jenner at LAX Friday, and he spilled some tea about the famous trio, 2 of whom are his step sisters. Brody says he hasn't spoken to any of them since TMZ announced their pregnancies.

Sugar Ray Leonard seemed genuinely shocked that Floyd Mayweather told the world he will party every night from now through next Saturday, when he faces off with Conor McGregor.

The former champ seemed almost in disbelief that Floyd would do such a thing, although there's a good argument Floyd's saying it just to promote his Vegas gentleman's club, Girl Collection.

Big Sean's an open (comic) book ... when it comes to his infatuation with superheroes.

The rapper was leaving Craig's in Weho Saturday night with his gf, singer Jhene Aiko, when we asked if he's into the Comic-Con scene. His answer was an enthusiastic yes.

Sean says he's into "Star Wars," both the DC and Marvel Universes ... and was once so star-struck by Stan Lee that he almost caused a traffic accident to meet him.

Akon's got some advice for anyone Jay-Z puts on blast -- just let it go.

We got the singer at LAX Friday and asked him about Jay firing off at people like Kanye and Eric Benet on his new album, "4:44" ... he thinks it's so rare that anyone getting heat should just take it -- or it could get worse for them.

Wiz Khalifa was in a charitable mood with the paps Friday night ... handing out free weed to his target demo.

We got Wiz leaving Catch in WeHo ... with a bag of his own "good s***" you can buy in stores now -- because he can't give all of his KK away.

Terrence Howard is fessing up to wife-beating allegations that cost him two of his marriages ... sort of.

Howard makes the admissions in Rolling Stone, saying in both instances he was provoked, kinda playing the victim card.

Howard was arrested in 2001 for hitting his first wife. He says, "She was talking to me real strong, and I lost my mind and slapped her in front of the kids. Her lawyer said it was a closed fist, but even slapping her was wrong."

As for his second marriage to Michelle Ghent, Howard explains, "She was trying to Mace me and you can't see anything so all you can do is try to bat somebody away, and I think that something caught her. But I wasn't trying to hit her."

Howard also deflects a 2005 incident at a restaurant where a woman claimed he hit her, but he says it was self-defense.

He lays a lot on the table.