TMZ Sports - Page 50

MLB superstar Miguel Cabrera says his family has been targeted in Venezuela -- and he's been forced to pay protection bribes to keep them safe.

It's unclear exactly why Cabrera believes his family is in danger -- possibly because he's worth a fortune. Cabrera signed a $248 MILLION contract extension in 2014.

In a series of videos posted to social media, Cabrera says Venezuela can be a very dangerous place if you cross the wrong people ... and he's frustrated.

Cabrera says he's a proud Venezuelan -- but the constant fear that someone will kidnap a family member is weighing on him. He admits to paying "vacunas" -- or protection money -- but doesn't say how much he's paid or to whom the money has gone.

Cabrera says he's suspicious of everyone from police officers to street thugs -- and doesn't know where the real danger lurks.

Boxer Jeff Horn says there's NO DOUBT in his mind he beat Manny Pacquiao -- telling TMZ Sports the WBO's rescoring of his July 2 fight proves he's the real-deal champ.

The Australian fighter just touched down in L.A. and told us he just found out the results of the WBO's review -- in which they had 5 independent judges from around the world rescore the fight without sound.

The judges scored the fight in favor of Horn -- and he told TMZ Sports the new information should silence his critics once and for all.

"There should be no argument," Horn said ... "It's exactly what I felt on the day and Pacquiao said the same thing after the fight that he thought he'd lost. So the decision stands."

Congrats, champ.

Antonio Brown's 29th birthday party was LIT -- with big stars, crazy jewelry ... and a seat at the dinner table for a $350,000 Rolls-Royce!!!

For real ... they drove the car INSIDE the Cipriani restaurant in Miami as a centerpiece for AB's big birthday shindig.

The Pittsburgh Steelers star flashed a sick new diamond watch while rubbing elbows with his celebrity friends like rapper Ace Hood, NBA star Hassan Whiteside and agent Drew Rosenhaus.

The biggest guest at the Haute Living event was the brand new Rolls-Royce Dawn Inspired By Fashion Edition ... a car that reportedly starts at $350k.

On top of that, A.B. was also given a $20,000 Shawn Kolodny painting of Muhammad Ali.

Happy birthday, indeed.

Valentina Shevchenko is callin' B.S. on the reason behind Amanda Nunes' UFC 213 title fight withdrawal ... telling TMZ Sports she's "not believing 100%" that Nunes pulled out over health issues.

We spoke with Bullet about Nunes pulling out due to chronic sinusitis ... and Shevchenko says she doesn't believe the excuse because Lioness seemed perfectly healthy the week leading up to the fight.

As for why Nunes would make up the claim, Shevchenko speculates the withdrawal happened because Nunes was "feeling (her) energy" and wanted to reschedule the fight to throw off her rhythm.

Demi Lovato says Conor McGregor is straight LOCO ... and his insanity is what gives him a legit shot to shock Floyd Mayweather.

"Conor's crazy! And sometimes you can't beat crazy," Demi told TMZ Sports outside Break Room 86 in L.A.'s K-Town while promoting her new single "Sorry Not Sorry."

Demi's a HUUUUGE fight fan -- she's been training at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Gym in L.A. with some of the top fighters in the world ... and Jay says she's no joke. We've seen video. He's right.

But when it comes to the Floyd, Conor thing -- Demi says she's siding with the Irishman ... explaining that a McGregor victory would be massive for the sport she loves.

The war over the T-Mobile Arena is over -- with the BIG3 basketball league striking a sweet deal to move to another venue so Mayweather and McGregor can square off there on August 26.

As we previously reported, Ice Cube's BIG3 league had previously booked T-Mobile for the league championship game months before the fight was announced.

Cube had said he was open to striking a deal to move -- and now, that is indeed what has happened ... BIG3 will now play its final game at the nearby MGM Grand Garden earlier in the day. The game will be aired live on FOX.

"We are grateful to MGM Resorts, Mayweather Promotions and UFC for presenting us with a generous offer that we could not refuse, ensuring that our fans will have the best experience possible at our Big3 Championship Finals at the MGM Grand Garden Arena,” says BIG3 co-founders Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz.

Dana White also issued a statement saying he appreciates the BIG3 for "their willingness to work together on bringing the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight to T-Mobile Arena."

Mr. 305 needs to loosen up a little bit, actually, probably a lot ...

Social media had all kinds of slander for Pitbull after he rocked this extra smedium baseball jersey and tiny pants at the MLB Home Run Derby in Miami Monday night, and it was hilarious.

Here's some of our favorites.

"Look I don't care If Trump didn't know, that Pitbull outfit happened on his watch."

"Who crushed the most balls at the Home Run Derby? RT for Pitbull's pants, Like for Aaron Judge"

"If I never have to see Pitbull in a baseball uniform ever again that would be great."

Hail to the chief ... Conor McGregor!?

During Conor's insanely expensive Rodeo Drive shopping spree in Bev Hills on Monday, we asked the Irish superstar if he would be inviting the President of Ireland to sit ringside at the Mayweather fight.

His response is classic ... "I am the President of Ireland. He's fighting that night!"

Conor is undoubtedly one of the most Irish men alive -- in fact, there was a movement to honor McGregor last year by putting his face on official Irish money.

TBE is firing back at reports he can't pay off his tax liability from that year and has asked Uncle Sam to cut him a break until after he gets his check from the McGregor fight.

FYI, 2015 is the year he fought Manny Pacquiao -- for which he reportedly hauled in roughly $220 million. He also made $32 mil for fighting Andre Berto later that year.

But late Monday night, Mayweather issued a statement essentially saying he's still super rich with no real tax issues.

"While everyone is counting my money and assuming the worst, these are the facts... Uncle Sam, received $26,000,000.00 from me in 2015! What else could they possibly want?"

"I'm sure I would have been notified much sooner if there were any real discrepancies right?"

"Bottom line, everybody just wants to be a part of the 'Money May' show, including the IRS! That's fine, you can crunch numbers all day but in the end, my empire is rock solid and intact! Now Calculate That!"

He also played Donald Trump's "fake news" card -- saying, "Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear, especially when it comes to media in this country."

The issue with Mayweather's check is this ... it doesn't seem remotely close to the federal tax rate obligation he would owe.

If he made $250 mil -- and let's generously say he wrote off $50 mil -- he still owes taxes on $200 mil. And the going federal tax rate for people with high income is 39.6%.

So, he would owe closer to $80 MILLION -- not $26 mil.

Floyd Mayweather is straight FIRE on rollerskates!!!

Seriously -- TBE took a break from his McGregor training camp to hit up the Crystal Palace Skating Center in Vegas over the weekend and DOMINATED everyone else on the floor!

We're talkin' criss crosses, heels, grapevines (we looked it up) -- he was carving through the normies like he was Brian Boitano on wheels!

Of course, the official media tour for the MayMac fight starts in just a few hours at Staples Center in L.A. -- that's when the REAL show begins ... and we're gonna be all over it.

Conor McGregor has landed in Bev Hills -- and he's spending crazy money and talking smack!!!

We got Conor in the middle of a super expensive shopping spree at Versace, Dolce, etc -- where he told TMZ Sports, "I'm on Rodeo Drive! I'm blowing f*cking loads of it!"

We also asked Conor about reports that his opponent Floyd Mayweather owes MILLIONS to the IRS for not paying off his 2015 income taxes ... a number that some estimate could be more than $100 mil.

"That's gotta sting," McGregor said ... "He shoulda paid his taxes and stayed retired and kept my name out of his mouth!"

He also told us he'll be way smarter with his money ... as he continued to drop thousands at some of the most expensive stores in the world.

Conor also had one last note about Floyd -- "He's f*cked now."

The UFC's most violent newcomer Justin Gaethje says he KNOWS a superfight with Conor McGregor is coming ... and tells TMZ Sports he'll beat the Irishman or die trying.

The undefeated Gaethje made a helluva statement in his UFC debut last week -- stopping Michael Johnson in one of the most brutal/awesome fights ever.

After the brawl, Gaethje called out Tony Ferguson -- and if he can get through Tony, it seems Conor McGregor could be waiting for him on the other side.

Gaethje told the guys on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs tonight on FS1) -- "That's what I'm here for ... don't worry guys, you'll get to see it."

You gotta listen to Gaethje explain his fight mentality -- dude's no joke.

TMZ Sports has obtained an audio recording of the alleged domestic dispute involving Alberto Del Rio and Paige -- in which an emotional Paige screams out, "Stay out of my life. Leave me the f*ck alone."

The person who recorded the audio -- a huge wrestling fan -- says she recognized the couple while they were arguing Sunday in the middle of Orlando International Airport in Florida.

The witness says she recorded the incident as evidence.

You can hear Alberto and Paige yelling -- clearly upset -- with Alberto saying, "Call the cops. Let's do it. Get the cops."

It sounds like he's talking to Paige ... who yells back, "Just stay out of my life. Leave me the f*ck alone. I’m trying to get away from you."

Moments later, Alberto says, "I'm pressing charges against you."

Witnesses tell TMZ Sports it was clear Alberto and Paige were arguing with each other and Paige stormed off at the end of the exchange.

We're told a police officer responded to the scene and spoke with Alberto -- though he was not arrested.

The twist ... Paige issued a statement on Twitter insisting both she and ADR called police on a 3rd party, a female fan, who she claims threw a drink on Alberto when he refused to take a picture with her.

We spoke with law enforcement -- but they made no reference to a 3rd party and told us they were investigating the matter as a domestic violence issue.

We made calls to reps for Alberto and Paige -- so far, no word back.

Memo to children ... if you're gonna pull a sick move on NBA superstar Boogie Cousins, don't expect him to take it easy on you after ... as a matter of fact, expect him to give you his Game 7 best.

That's exactly what happened to a little tyke who was messing around with Cousins at Crenshaw High School during Trinidad James and Big U's celebrity hoops game in L.A. this past weekend.

The little man gets his against the nearly 7-foot star early (although he can't finish his layup) but after that it's all Boogie, as he doles out a little tough love hoops style.

1:07 PM PT -- Alberto's fiancee, Paige, is denying Alberto got physical with her and says the whole situation involved a 3rd party ... a female bystander who tried to take a picture.

"WE got the cops involved," Paige tweeted ... explaining, "I'm crying cuz I found out bad fam news & a lady tries take a pic. She gets angry throws a drink on [Alberto Del Rio]"

Paige continued, "Please leave us alone. That's it."

Wrestling superstar Alberto Del Rio -- aka Alberto El Patron -- is being investigated for an alleged domestic violence incident at a Florida airport ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We're told the Orlando PD was contacted around 3 PM on Sunday after Alberto -- real name Jose Rodriguez -- allegedly roughed up a female companion.

We spoke with witnesses who tell us Alberto and the woman were arguing in the terminal and when things escalated, cops were called.

As one witness put it, "There was an altercation."

Our law enforcement sources tell us Alberto has NOT been arrested and no charges have been filed -- investigators are still gathering information.

Cops would not confirm the name of the alleged victim. However, Alberto has been in a real-life relationship with WWE superstar Paige for a while and witnesses say she was at the airport with Alberto that day.

We reached out to Alberto's camp for comment -- so far, no word back.

Chris Christie's first stint as a sports talk radio host was more like a boxing match -- trading blows with callers over BeachGate ... with one guy telling him to take his "fat ass" to a beach where ALL his constituents can sunbathe.

Christie was guest hosting/auditioning for Mike Francesa's legendary sports talk show on WFAN in New York -- and was mostly keeping the topics to sports ... until they opened it up to callers.

That's when Mike from Montclair (a regular caller on the show) blasted Christie for last week's NJ beach scandal ... when Chris took his family to a beach that was closed to the public amid a budget standoff.

"Hey Governor, the next time you want to sit on a beach that is closed to the entire world except you, you put your fat ass in a car and go to one that's open to all your constituents ... not just you and yours."

Christie fired back by calling the guy a communist ... and then hanging up on him.

By the way, the caller told the screener he wanted to talk about Aaron Judge. This was way more fun.