TMZ Sports - Page 50

Boxing stud Deontay Wilder -- the reigning WBC heavyweight champion -- says he's ready and willing to fight Shannon Briggs ... but says the guy needs to PROVE himself before he steps in the ring.

Wilder and Briggs -- a FORMER 2-time heavyweight champ -- went ballistic on each other during a boxing event in NYC on Friday. And now, Wilder says he's ready to back up his smack talk.

"If he wants to fight me, I'll fight. Enough talking," Wilder tells TMZ Sports ... "But he needs to get some fights under his belt first and get back into the top 15."

Briggs has been gunning for a fight with Wladimir Klitschko ... but now it seems he may have a new target.

While the rest of Hollywood was praising Bruce Jenner as a "hero" and "brave" for talking openly about his sexual identity, Kim Kardashian's ex-husband Kris Humphries took what appears to be a direct shot at Bruce and the family.

Right in the middle of the west coast airing of Bruce's interview with Diane Sawyer ... as Bruce was discussing how his decision to go public has impacted his family ... Kris went to Twitter and wrote:

"Man, I'm glad I got out when I did. #Gottadoyou."

Wanna see a couple of rich guys demonstrate their richness in ridiculous fashion?

Well, here's Diddy and Mark Wahlberg making a $250,000 bet on the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight ... like it ain't no thing.

Diddy's got Floyd. Mark's got PacMan.

The best part of the video is how casually these guys throw around their dough. In fact, the bet started at $100,000 ... but Mark wanted to know, "Why so little?"

For the record, the man who's wagering the MOST on the fight isn't even in the video ... it's 50 Cent -- who says he'll be plunking down $1.6 MILLION on Floyd.

Mark Wahlberg might've been a week early and minus a Floyd Mayweather ... but he still had the best seat in the house to watch Manny Pacquiao today ... dropping in on Pac Man's gym session.

Wahlberg brought his entourage (see what we did there) to Wild Card Boxing in Hollywood and got an up close and personal look at the Filipino slugger just days before the May 2nd mega fight.

Things had been really tight at Wild Card recently -- with Manny's trainer Freddy Roach restricting anyone who wasn't on the training staff from watching Pacquiao work ... including Dave Chappelle.

Guess Whalberg can keep a secret ... 'cause it was all smiles and handshakes today as Mark's crew got full access to watch the strategy that could finally put a blemish on Mayweather's record.

Dan Bilzerian is new face of NASCAR ... well, at least for one race ... 'cause the billionaire playboy's grill will be on the front hood of a car competing in Saturday's Sprint Cup Race ... TMZ Sports has learned.

So, how the hell did he make that happen? Dan's a huge poker player --and he recently beat the snot out of BK Racing owner Ron Devine.

But instead of forcing Ron to pay up in cash, Dan wanted to go all Ricky Bobby ... so he made a deal to get his mug plastered on one of Ron's NASCAR whips, which will be competing at Richmond International Speedway.

The final product is hilarious ... with Dan's giant bearded face right on the front of Matt DiBenedetto's #83 car. He also added a sticker of Dan's pet goat Zeus to the rear for good measure.

Baaaaaaad ass.

#GoatJoke

Things just went NUCLEAR between heavyweight boxing champ Deontay Wilder and former champ Shannon Briggs -- with the two TEARING INTO EACH OTHER in the middle of NYC.

The boxers were at the weigh in for the Wladimir Klitschko vs. Bryant Jennings fight when they started talkin' smack to each other.

Shannon called Deontay a phony champion ... "they GAVE you that belt." And Deontay essentially called Shannon a pathetic has-been.

The whole exchange was captured on video by ANOTHER boxing champ, Lennox Lewis -- who posted the footage on Twitter.

Briggs has been trying to lock up a fight with Klitschko ... but now, his focus may be changing.

Embattled NHL star Jarret Stoll is looking to get his chakra back in order after his Las Vegas drug arrest ... hitting a yoga studio today for a full mind and body workout.

Stoll returned to L.A. after being charged with possession of cocaine and molly last Friday -- after he was busted trying to bring the drugs into a Vegas pool party (allegedly).

On his way out of the yoga studio, Stoll told us he was doing well ... but didn't feel like talking about the fallout from the arrest ... or the current status of his relationship with Erin Andrews.

George Foreman says Floyd Mayweather is RIGHT ... telling TMZ Sports, "Pound for pound, Floyd is better than me and Muhammad Ali ever were."

Mayweather received tons of criticism this week after saying HE should be considered the greatest fighter of all time ... and now, it seems Foreman's backing him up in a major way.

"This is a better generation BY FAR," Foreman tells us ... "They're smarter, they're stronger, they're overall just better fighters."

Of course, Foreman is extremely qualified to weigh in on the subject, having fought Muhammad Ali in the famous, "Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974 ... in addition to his 80 other pro fights.

"We were good and we liked the attention that we got. But boxing is on a different level. This is an amazing generation."

As for the fight, Foreman says he's rooting for Mayweather -- and believes he's the better fighter -- but says he thinks Manny will ultimately win the fight.

WNBA superstar Brittney Griner won ANOTHER big award Thursday ... "Mugshot of the Day" ... a title bestowed upon her by the people at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

As we previously reported, Griner and her fiancee Glory Johnson were each arrested on Wednesday for domestic violence after an argument at their Arizona home turned violent.

The M.C.S.O. posted their mugshots on their official website -- as it does with EVERY mugshot -- where they ask users to vote for their favorite mugshot of the day.

On Thursday, Brittney won by a landslide.

More progress in what was one of the most bitter breakups EVER -- with ex-NBA star Daniel "Booby" Gibson saying he still loves his estranged R&B star wife Keyshia Cole.

Don't forget, these two went to WAR with each other -- trading nasty insults in public ... until they hashed out a truce in the last few weeks.

And good news -- seems like things are still POSITIVE ... with Gibson telling TMZ Sports he'll ALWAYS love Keyshia ... and is dedicated to being a good father to their son.

There's more ... Gibson also praises Cole's parenting skills, which again, is huge progress.

Former NFL superstar Brian Urlacher clearly believes Roger Goodell treats the New England Patriots like they're above the law ... and Deflategate is the definitive proof.

Urlacher was hanging with Jay Glazer at their Unbreakable Performance Center in West Hollywood ... when we asked how he felt about President Obama joking about the scandal yesterday.

That's when the former Chicago Bears star attacked the issue with biting sarcasm.

"That didn't happen right? I thought it went away. No one ever got fined for it right? I haven't heard anything since the Super Bowl."

Urlacher proceeded to explain how the Falcons and the Browns got in trouble for far less serious infractions ... yet the Patriots have yet to face ANY consequences for the alleged cheating scheme.

Sorry ladies, Rob Gronkowski is officially taken ... dating a super hot former New England Patriots cheerleader ... multiple sources close to Gronk confirm to TMZ Sports.

The object of Gronk's affection is Camille Kostek -- who was on the cheerleading squad in 2013 and 2014 ... before switching careers and becoming a TV reporter.

There have been multiple sightings of the couple out and about recently -- but now, our Gronk sources say it's official ... they're dating and they're not trying to hide anything.

Congrats!!

MTV star Charlamagne Tha God has a message for Cavs star Iman Shumpert ... back away from the mic slowly ... telling TMZ Sports he's heard Shumpert's new rap song, and it's totally garbage.

You might remember ... the last time Iman stepped in the studio it was to record a diss track aimed at the radio host, who Shumpert labeled as a hater for blasting his rap skills on "The Breakfast Club."

Shumpert's latest track -- a motivational song dedicated to the Cavaliers' playoff run called "The Offs" -- dropped yesterday and Charlamagne says although Shumpert's changed teams, his rap skills haven't changed at all.

"It's garbage. He needs to focus on his defense and not his rapping."

It gets worse ... Charlamagne says he questions Shumpert's focus -- and wants to know why he's making terrible rap songs when Cleveland is still 10 wins away from a championship.

"LeBron doesn't even tweet in the playoffs, and he's making rap songs!? The best motivation he could provide for his team is getting in the gym."

Ouch.

Mark Wahlberg always has time to help a brother out -- whether it's Tom Brady, or the homeless guy who gets caught in a swarm of photogs -- and his generosity was on full display in Bev Hills.

After Mark and his entourage had lunch at E. Baldi on Thursday ... he was making his way to his ride when he handed a C-note to a guy in a wheelchair without missing a beat or making a big deal about it.

It's as smooth and solid a move as we've ever seen a celeb make.

Bonus: Mark sounds off about the QB of his beloved Patriots skipping the team's White House trip. His take -- heartwarming ... and a little cocky.

Wicked awesome.

Lance Armstrong has a very powerful ally ... perhaps the GREATEST ATHLETE, ever ... Bo Jackson ... who tells TMZ Sports he still believes the disgraced cyclist is a good guy.

We spoke with Jackson ... who tells us he's been friends with Lance for years -- and despite his misdeeds, Bo is convinced he's a good person.

"Lance isn't perfect," Bo says ... "Nobody is perfect. The only perfect man was nailed to the cross."

That's why Bo says he wasn't surprised when Lance agreed to ride in his annual Bo Bikes Bama charity event on May 2nd ... telling us, "This man is doing something out of the goodness of his heart."

"Lance is the godfather of cycling in my book. If he wants to ride in my charity ride, I'm not going to say no. I'm trying to do something for my people in Alabama."

One last thing ... since Bo is an avid cyclist (and one hell of an athlete) we had to ask if he thought he could keep up with Lance on the bike. Bo's response:

WNBA superstar Brittney Griner says her engagement to Glory Johnson is STILL ON ... despite their domestic violence arrests this morning ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Griner's attorney David Michael Cantor tells us ... "The last few months have been an extremely stressful time for Brittney and Glory. They will continue to work through these hardships together."

As we previously reported, both Griner and Johnson -- who's also in the WNBA -- were arrested for assault in Arizona this week after cops say they attacked each other during a heated argument.

The couple has been engaged since last year and are scheduled to get married on May 8th.

Griner's attorney did not say if the two will be pushing back the wedding date in light of the arrests -- but says the two are determined to "handle this family matter."