TMZ Sports - Page 28

Boxer Otto Wallin spent 12 rounds in the squared circle with Tyson Fury ... and given that experience, the Swedish boxer believes Francis Ngannou has virtually no chance of beating the Gypsy King!

TMZ Sports talked to 32-year-old Wallin after the Fury vs. Ngannou bout was announced on Tuesday ... where we got Otto's thoughts on the matchup.

"Tyson is the best heavyweight fighter in the world in boxing. Ngannou might be the best at MMA at heavyweight. So this fight is gonna be at boxing so you obviously gotta favor Fury a lot. [Tyson's] fighting someone that's making his pro debut as a boxer really. It's a whole different sport, and as difficult as it'll be for Fury to go over to MMA, it's gonna be the same for Ngannou. So of course Fury's gonna be a big favorite."

Because Fury has an immense skill advantage in the boxing ring, Wallin believes Ngannou must use his strength to make the fight as ugly as possible.

"[Francis] can't box him really. He needs to really make it a fight. A dogfight. Take it to Fury. Rough him up," Otto told us.

"He's gotta go in there and use what he has. He's a strong guy, so try to push Fury around, and try to land punches that he can, cause he can't be there in a boxing match. He can't just stand a long distance and try to box 'cause then he's gonna be picked apart."

And, Wallin knows what he's talking about.

Remember, Tyson and Otto fought at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in September 2019 ... where Fury won by unanimous decision. But, that doesn't begin to tell the story of the fight ... which certainly could've been stopped because of an awful gash on TF's head.

His cut man did an amazing job managing the cut, and Tyson ended up winning a close fight. In fact, it's the last Fury bout that went to the judges. Since Otto, the Gypsy King has stopped heavyweight stars Deontay Wilder (twice) and Dillian Whyte (Derek Chisora, too).

As for his prediction, Wallin sees a knockout on the horizon.

Will his prediction ring true?

Donald Trump is one of the most polarizing people ever, but that wasn't the case at UFC 290 ... the former president received heaps of love from the packed crowd in Las Vegas, including celebs and fighters!

The 45th President of the United States was captured on video walking into T-Mobile Arena flanked by longtime friend, UFC president Dana White, escorted by a gang of Secret Service Agents ... where Trump received a raucous ovation.

After enough handshakes to put a campaign event to shame (including dapping up Raiders star Maxx Crosby), Trump and White made their way to their seats, Octagon-side.

The card featured a ton of great fights ... and a bunch of the athletes showed Trump love after their scraps, including Bo Nickal, who beat Val Woodburn by 1st round knockout.

After the KO, Bo climbed the Octagon fence and had a brief chat with DT.

Jalin Turner's corner also had a conversation with Donald ... with one of the lightweight contender's coaches asking him, "Mr. Trump, are you winning again? Are you winning again? Yes! Please! We need it!"

In between the fights, Trump also found time to hang with Israel Adesanya, "Suga" Sean O'Malley and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.

Barry Bonds is patiently waiting for Cooperstown to unlock its doors and finally let him in ... saying he personally feels like he belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame, as he was never convicted of using steroids.

The home run king made a rare statement on his H.O.F. snub with the "Hollywood Swingin'" podcast this week ... saying he is bothered by the fact his own sport continues to hold a grudge when the court of law has vindicated him.

Of course, BB is widely considered one of, if not the greatest, athletes to ever step foot in the batter's box ... but his legacy was tarnished by allegations of using performance-enhancing drugs.

But, Barry says records are records, and MLB already punishes players when they break rules ... so he's upset that the baseball hall has decided to "double punish" people who have made mistakes at some point in their careers.

Bonds was convicted of obstruction of justice back in 2011 over his alleged use of PEDs ... but ultimately, the case was dropped.

Barry believes the sentence overturn should justify his place in the Hall ... and the media does not hold the higher ground when it comes to determining who should be regarded as the greats.

Barry -- who hit 762 home runs during his career -- was an MVP before anyone ever accused him of using 'roids ... and many believe he belongs in the Hall despite the scandal.

Eerie police body cam footage has emerged from the response to the home of NASCAR superstar Jimmie Johnson's in-laws ... revealing his mother-in-law shot herself just as officers arrived.

In the video, obtained by TMZ, officers approach the home of Dr. Jack Janway and his wife, Terry Janway. Cops observe Jack through a window, deceased from a gunshot wound and covered with a blanket. They open the front door, announce their presence and another gunshot is heard from inside the home.

Cops say that shot was from Terry, who died by suicide. Her body was discovered on the couch. Terry also shot and killed their grandson, Dalton, whose body was found under a blanket in one of the home's bedrooms.

TMZ broke the story ... officers from the Muskogee Police Department in Oklahoma raced to the home June 26 after a female called to report someone with a gun.

Jimmie and his wife, Chandra, have yet to make a public statement about the tragic incident ... but Jimmie was scheduled to race in a NASCAR Cup event in Chicago just days later. He withdrew from the event.

Mark Zuckerberg is clearly taking his potential fight with Elon Musk seriously ... he revealed Tuesday he's already getting in training sessions with some of the UFC's biggest stars -- and he's looking damn good while doing it!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... both Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanvski flew to Zuck's crib in Northern California following Saturday night's UFC 290 showcase in Vegas -- and almost immediately, they got to work with the Meta honcho on the mats to prep him for a possible tilt with Musk.

The three obviously worked out for a while -- 'cause check out the photos, they were drenched in sweat.

What's even more notable about the pics, though, is Zuckerberg's physique -- the dude is jacked!!

The 39-year-old flexed some big pecs, chiseled arms, and a six-pack in the images. He also added in a comment on the pics, "It's an honor to train with you guys!"

Adesanya, meanwhile, was impressed with the billionaire's work ... saying in his own comment on the photos, "No fugazi with Mark 🦈 This is Serious Business‼️"

Zuckerberg and Musk have not yet committed to a fight ... but both seem dead serious about getting after each other in a cage later this year.

Naomi Osaka and Cordae's little bundle of joy is here -- the "Gifted" rapper announced at a recent show the tennis superstar gave birth to their first child!!

The talented MC shared the big news at his gig in Calgary ... telling the crowd he's officially a proud papa.

Remember, Osaka announced she was expecting a kid with Cordae by sharing a sonogram on Instagram in January ... and the two hosted a lavish pink-themed baby shower just last month.

The couple has yet to address the birth on their social media accounts .... but according to People, the baby girl arrived in Los Angeles, and "they are doing well."

Of course, Osaka has been away from the tennis court since her announcement ...  but continued to train during her pregnancy as she vowed to make it to the 2024 Australian Open.

"I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future," Osaka said at the time. "One thing I'm looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, 'that's my mom,' haha."

Alvin Kamara has cut a deal with prosecutors in his Las Vegas assault case, TMZ Sports has learned ... and the whole episode could now be put behind the New Orleans Saints star in just a matter of weeks.

According to court documents filed in Nevada on Tuesday, Kamara has agreed to enter a no-contest plea to a lesser charge of misdemeanor breach of peace in the case.

Kamara agreed that as punishment, he'll perform 30 hours of community service, pay a $500 fine, and shell out $105,196.17 to Darnell Greene -- the man who claimed the NFL running back beat the hell out of him during an incident a The Cromwell Hotel and Casino in February 2022.

According to the docs ... prosecutors accepted Kamara's stipulations -- and in exchange, they said they'd drop the charges of felony battery and misdemeanor conspiracy to commit battery that they had initially hit him with following the incident.

The agreement has yet to be signed off by a judge -- though that is expected to happen at a hearing later this month.

In addition, Kamara also closed out his civil case with Greene on Wednesday -- according to Greene's attorney, Tony Buzbee.

In a social media post, Buzbee said the two sides "settled on confidential terms" -- while adding that Kamara signed a public mea culpa as part of the settlement that read, "Please accept my sincere apologies for the events of February 5, 2022 in Las Vegas."

Greene had initially accused Kamara of getting violent with him at an elevator near Drai's at around 6:30 AM. Greene said the altercation all started because Kamara wouldn't let him on the lift ... adding that he suffered serious facial injuries in the confrontation. He sued, and sought $10 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

Larsa Pippen says she was not a fan of Michael Jordan's recent comments on her relationship with His Airness' son ... saying they were flat-out embarrassing and traumatizing.

Scottie Pippen's ex got real about the situation on the newest episode of her and Marcus Jordan's "Separation Anxiety" podcast ... saying that when MJ claimed last week that he didn't approve of her romance with his son -- it really, really bothered her.

While Marcus said he believed it was all blurted out in jest -- in fact, he suggested his dad may have been a little tipsy off tequila when he fired off the remarks -- she said she wasn't laughing at all.

"I didn't think it was funny," she said. "There's nothing funny about it."

"I was kind of embarrassed," she added.

Larsa explained that most of her issues with the comments stemmed from previous conversations she's had with Marcus and his family.

She said she had been ensured over and over again that there were no problems amongst the Jordans about their relationship -- and it had all led to her ultimately telling media members that Michael was OK with everything.

"I was like traumatized," she said. "I'm like, 'Oh, my God. What are we going to do?' People think I lied."

Marcus, though, said Michael reached out multiple times after he made the remarks and insisted he was OK with the couple. Marcus added that he believed MJ didn't outright say that last week because he didn't want it to fuel any speculation that the two were only dating in order to stick it to Scottie -- his former Bulls teammate who he's since had big beef with.

But Larsa said on the pod it's all water under the bridge at this point ... telling their audience she and Marcus have talked it out -- and they're moving forward united.

"I feel good right now," she said. "I feel like we talked it through."

Britney Spears is telling her story in her own words -- and this time it's not going to come via a social media rant -- she's finished her book, and it's due out this fall.

Britney's memoir, titled "The Woman In Me," is set to be released Oct 24 ... and she's already taking pre-orders for the highly-anticipated tell-all.

The book is being published by Simon & Schuster's Gallery Books, which is hailing Britney's memoir as "a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope."

The cover features a black and white photograph of a topless Britney ... folding her arms to cover her breasts.

We've also learned Britney's memoir was the reason she was in Las Vegas earlier this month ... she went to Sin City to celebrate finishing the project, but it all got derailed by the Victor Wembanyama slapping incident.

Nonetheless, she still stuck around for dinner at Catch to enjoy her latest accomplishment ... as much as she could.

Le'Veon Bell is having painful flashbacks about being swindled by Moneybagg Yo and DaBaby's artist Stunna 4 Vegas ... after he claims he paid them cold hard cash for some BS bars.

The NFL free agent made the unsolicited revelations on social media while recalling several high-profile rapper collabs ... and singled out Moneybagg and Stunna for not giving their all on the tracks and just maybe not respecting his talent!!!

LB says platinum-selling producer Tay Keith held up his end of the bargain on the Moneybagg track, but Mr. Wockesha didn't deliver and Bell thinks he and Stunna used him as a cash grab.

Drake, SZA, and Rihanna are the only artists LB says he'll let get away with sending over a lame feature without any rebuttal ... but he did go out of his way to salute both Lil Durk, Snoop Dogg, and the late Lil Keed for being stand-up guys in the studio with him.

LB says he's been holding on to the Snoop track since his early years playing with Pittsburgh after he had to choose a career, but hopes to bring it to life one day.

If things don't work out with Zion Williamson, Moriah Mills will have plenty of other options ... so says the XXX model herself, who tells TMZ Sports basketball players are hitting her up after going public about her alleged relationship with the Pelicans star.

MM has made headlines for some bombshell allegations recently ... claiming she was intimate with the former #1 overall pick while he's expecting a baby with another woman.

We spoke with Mills out in Beverly Hills on Monday ... and she says despite the backlash she's been getting from Zion's die-hard supporters, the hoops community has shown a lot of interest in the weeks following the scandal.

In fact, Mills says going viral with her allegations has resulted in a ton of inquiries for basketball-themed adult content ... as well as some DMs from other pros.

As for her public threats to release a sex tape with Zion, Moriah tells us she hasn't heard a peep from the star's legal team ... and she's confident he'd never actually follow through with a lawsuit.

Mills even says through the public ambush, the two are on "chill" terms ... but when we asked about her own alleged pregnancy, she played coy.

Francis Ngannou once stared down Tyson Fury and told him he was going to "find out who the baddest mother f***er on the planet is" ... now, the answer may be closer than ever, 'cause the men are boxing in just over 100 days!

The fight, literally the biggest crossover in recent memory, is set to go down on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ... under conventional boxing rules, with three judges scoring the bout.

"Both fighters however are promising to meet in the middle of the ring, go to war and win by knockout in devastating fashion,” a release announcing the fight read.

Of course, 36-year-old Ngannou split with the UFC last year, and hasn't fought since January 2022, when he beat title contender Ciryl Gane. Francis signed a deal with PFL a few months ago which allowed him to take other lucrative fights ... like this one.

As for 34-year-old Fury, he's without question the greatest heavyweight fighter in the world and one of the best to ever step foot in a ring.

It's unclear if Fury's belts will be on the line vs. Ngannou.

The men, although mostly friendly with one another, have been going back and forth for years ... but it was just recently that the fight was agreed upon.

Odds have already opened for the fight, and as you'd expect, Fury is a sizeable favorite at -500 (risk $500 to win $100).

Joseline Hernandez still hadn't cooled down when cops arrived after her epic beatdown of Big Lex ... and body cameras captured her violent, profanity-laced rage from start to finish.

The "Love & Hip Hop" alum was met by several Sunrise PD officers last month in South Florida -- and this new footage, obtained by TMZ, shows her immediately launching, physically and verbally, at law enforcement.

Right off the bat, she shouts she doesn't want any white men touching her, and things quickly ramp up from there.

Joseline chucks her phone at a guy trying to calm her down -- who seems to be the same person heard calling Lex a "dumb ass bitch" during the initial confrontation. Cops step in, but she shoves one of them ... resulting in multiple officers taking her to the ground.

Throughout the struggle to take her into custody, you can hear Joseline shouting homophobic and racial slurs at the cops after getting cuffed. She even appears to resist while they walk her out, which is when officers pick up her legs to carry her out.

Joseline's intense arrest followed her violent altercation with Lex.

As we reported, the 2 women went at it after Floyd Mayweather and John Gotti III's exhibition fight -- Joseline drew a massive crowd backstage as she put Lex in a headlock.

Big Lex ended up calling the cops, hoping to get Joseline arrested ... which is what eventually happened -- but not before another huge blowup.

Kim Zolciak has a new lease on life (and love) -- which she seems to be signaling to the world with a sneak peek at her rockin' mom bod.

The 'RHOA' star posted some footage Monday night on her Instagram where she's whipping her hair around after a salon visit and looks very happy with the results ... as she thanked the owners of the joint.

Of course, the obvious image here that stands out -- besides her golden locks -- is her cleavage, because she posted the vid wearing just her bra, and Kim's cups runneth over.

Thirst traps from 'Housewives' are nothing new, but the timing of this one is interesting. Obviously, Kim just patched things up with her husband, Kroy Biermann, and called off their divorce ... which had gotten very ugly very quickly.

If this were a week ago, everyone would assume Kim did it to get under Kroy's skin -- but now that they're mending fences ... we're guessing she's just feeling good, and wanting to show she's looking good too.

It's a vibe.

Like we reported, Kim and Kroy are working through their issues the old-fashioned way -- just talking every day, without any 3rd party help.

A fun day at the ballpark turned into a nightmare for one Home Run Derby volunteer on Monday night ... because as he was trying to help shag balls at the MLB's pre-All-Star Game event, he got drilled in the face by a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. line drive.

The scary incident happened during the final round of the showcase at T-Mobile Park in Seattle ... when Guerrero Jr. was trying to put up a big HR total to beat out Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena for the event's trophy.

The Toronto Blue Jays star came up hacking ... clearing the wall with one swing -- but on his next attempt, he got a little on top of the ball ... and smoked a 115 MPH frozen rope to left field.

One of the many younger aids who the league brought in to help corral baseballs attempted to catch it on the fly -- but it missed his glove, and hit him right in the forehead.

Immediately, the guy crumpled to the ground in pain.

One of the many spectators in the crowd told TMZ Sports ... trainers raced to tend to the young man, wrapping his head in a bandage before giving him what appeared to be an ice pack.

Further details regarding the status of the injured volunteer are unclear, however ... we've reached out to MLB officials for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Magic Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson are tight both by land and sea  ... they ventured off their mega-yacht to grab some authentic Italian grub -- authentic 'cause they're in Italy!

The basketball legend and his famous guest jumped off their yacht for Sardinia, lunching at the Cala di Volpe Hotel.

As we reported, Magic's annual summer trip has been goin' down for nearly a decade, and this year's yacht is truly spectacular -- "Phoenix2," a 296-foot ship that rents out for $1.2 mil a week!

The yacht has everything ... an outdoor theater, swimming pool, gym, and multiple jacuzzis.