TMZ Sports - Page 50

Amir Khan says Terence Crawford's record is INSANELY deceiving -- claiming his 34-0 record is littered with tomato cans ... not REAL talented fighters.

In fact, Khan says if he fought the kind of bums Crawford has beaten, he'd be undefeated too!!

Yeah, that's some hot fire from Khan who's set to square off with Crawford April 20 at Madison Square Garden ... a fight where Khan is widely seen as an overwhelming underdog.

Khan says the so-called experts have it all wrong -- because he's faced (and beaten) MUCH better fighters than Crawford.

"Look at my resume, look at the people I’ve beaten. My resume is a lot better than Terence Crawford's. I've fought better opponents, beaten better opponents. Okay fine, he’s unbeaten, but I’m sure I would be unbeaten if I fought all the guys he did."

Khan does have some impressive W's on his resume -- with victories over legit stars like Zab Judah, Marcos Maidana and Paulie Malignaggi.

Amir's losses have mostly come by way of superstars like Canelo Alvarez and Danny Garcia.

"[Crawford has] not fought anyone like me," Khan tells TMZ Sports ... "This is his hardest fight on paper in his boxing professional career. That should say it all."

As for Terence, he has this simple advice for gamblers -- "If you wanna lose some money, bet on [Amir Khan]."

#1 Dodgers fan George Lopez might have some regrets today about how his fun-filled Opening Day ended ... due to this drunken run-in with fans, and their convo about President Trump and Jussie Smollett.

Ya gotta see this -- George signed autographs and took pics with a group of fans Thursday afternoon, celebrating the Dodgers' 12-5 victory. Good times all around! And then, our camera guy brought up George's favorite topic ... Trump.

We asked what he thought about POTUS using the Smollett case as a MAGA rally cry, but George --clearly not in the mood for a serious chat -- called in fans for backup, and one guy obliged.

This is where George's boozy fun seemed to cross the line into bad taste. One fan opened up about being the victim of a hate crime, but as he did ... George mockingly humped him, and dropped some offensive language too.

To be fair, the fan didn't appear to be offended ... but certainly could have been. We think George got lucky.

Watch the clip to the end ... 'cause you gotta see how George's pal, Arsenio Hall, popped on the scene to save the day.

Not every WWE superstar is pissed about Gronk potentially joining the organization ... 'cause Bray Wyatt would welcome the newly retired NFLer with open arms!!

Becky Lynch just shaded the hell outta Rob Gronkowski earlier this week ... telling TMZ Sports it's bogus people like him or Ronda Rousey can just stroll into pro wrestling without having to work for their chance.

Wyatt ain't about that talk ... 'cause he says he LOVES the ex-Pats tight end ... and would jump on the opportunity to beat him up in the squared circle.

"I'd love to have Rob here ... he's a cool cat." Wyatt says.

There's also some history between the two ... Wyatt says his dad was roommates with Gronk's dad at Syracuse when they played on the football team, so they're very familiar.

Wyatt was at LAX with JoJo Offerman -- their first public appearance since announcing they're expecting a baby in June -- so we had to ask if baby Knash will follow in their wrestling footsteps.

Nate Diaz's tough guy image is just a front, 'cause he's all bark, no bite ... according to UFC star Justin Gaethje ... who says, "Gangsters fight, gangsters don't run their mouth."

TMZ Sports talked to Gaethje -- who's fighting Edson Barboza (that fight is going to be ridiculous) Saturday on UFC on ESPN 2 -- when JG opened fire on the Stockton fighter.

"The only thing that's been bothering me, Nate Diaz keeps talking so much shit but the dude won't fight," Gaethje tells us ... "It just amazes me how people think he's still a gangster."

"You can't talk and not show up. That's just funny to me."

Nate hasn't fought since losing to Conor McGregor in the rematch of their blockbuster fight ... and that was 951 days ago.

Dana White says he's offered Diaz a bunch of fights ... only to be turned down. Nate did agree to fight Dustin Poirier last year at UFC 230 ... but the fight was scrapped after Poirier got hurt.

Gaethje thinks Diaz has been running his mouth (it's unclear exactly what has Justin pissed off) ... so, we asked the logical question ... do you want to fight Nate?

If JG's right, don't hold your breath ... 'cause Nate ain't interested in anything more than running his mouth.

Heavyweight boxer Kubrat Pulev has been suspended indefinitely by the California State Athletic Commission for kissing a female reporter during a post-fight interview, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

A spokesperson for CSAC tells us Pulev will NOT be licensed to fight in CA until he appears before the Commission to address the incident in person.

We're told the next opportunity for Pulev to face the Commission will be in May -- though it's unclear if the Bulgarian fighter plans to attend.

Of course, Pulev is in very hot water for kissing Vegas Sports Daily reporter Jenny Sushe after knocking out Bogdan Dinu Saturday night in Costa Mesa, CA.

Sushe laughed it off during the incident -- but immediately lawyered up, hiring Gloria Allred and now she's considering taking legal action against the 37-year-old fighter.

As for Pulev, he initially brushed the whole thing off ... saying Jenny is a friend and they laughed the whole thing off together at an afterparty.

Obviously, Jenny doesn't feel the same way -- saying in a statement, "I did not encourage or consent to Mr. Pulev grabbing my face, kissing me, or grabbing my backside."

How are Zion Williamson and the Duke Blue Devils getting ready for the biggest game of their season??

FILET MIGNON, BABY!!!!

TMZ Sports has learned Duke hoops hit up Mastro's Steakhouse in Washington, D.C. on Thursday night to fuel up on delicious meats before their monster tilt with Virginia Tech on Friday.

We're told the entire squad was there -- from Coach K and his wife to Zion to even the ball boys -- and they grubbed on steaks ... and, of course, the legendary butter cake!!!

We're told, in all, there were about 40 people in the Blue Devil party -- and even Barack Obama's best buddy, Reggie Love, showed up!!

Unclear who picked up the tab for the meal -- but it surely wasn't cheap ... Mastro's is known as one of the finest restaurants in the country, costin' about $50 per steak.

Consider Tony Benford the anti-Conor McGregor ... 'cause he's here to take part, not to take over ... telling TMZ Sports no matter how well LSU does in the tournament, it's still Will Wade's team.

Of course ... The Notorious famously said "we're not here just to take part, we're here to take over" at UFC Fight Night 46 back in July 2014.

The Tigers' interim head coach sees things the exact opposite ... telling us the suspended coach deserves all the cred if Benford leads the Purple and Gold deep into the tournament.

Wade was suspended indefinitely before the NCAA Tournament ... after Yahoo Sports reported that wiretapped conversations revealed Wade discussed making a "strong-ass" offer to a recruit.

Benford -- who couldn't have been nicer -- says the Tigers are looking forward to ruining a bunch of brackets against Michigan State later Friday ... and are enjoying every step of the journey.

But, say LSU wreaks havoc and makes it all the way to the Final Four ... that means Benford should take over, right??

It's 2019 and a grown ass man was arrested Saturday night for weed.

That man is ex-NBA player Kwame Brown ... who was busted in Georgia with a bunch of marijuana ... including pot-infused cookies, tea and mints.

The 2001 first overall pick was a passenger in his Mercedes-Benz van when it was pulled over by Brunswick PD late Saturday night ... when cops say his car REEKED of weed.

Kwame copped to having weed in the car ... and told law enforcement he had some in the trunk of the van. Sure enough, cops found a backpack with all the weed treats.

The 37-year-old was arrested and charged with felony possession of edible marijuana products and misdemeanor possession of less than one ounce of weed.

Worth noting -- Brown is MASSIVE. Like, 7-ft tall big ... and couldn't fit in a regular cop car, so the cops had to wait for a bigger vehicle to transport him for booking.

Brown was released shortly after posting bond later Saturday.

Brown played for 7 different teams during his career ... most notably the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Lakers ... after jumping straight from high school to the Association.

"Wouldn't that be nice to never have done anything in wrestling and just go into Wrestlemania? I would love that"

That's WWE superstar Becky Lynch throwing some shade at Rob Gronkowski in the wake of rumors the NFL star could make the jump to pro wrestling.

Remember, Gronk made a cameo at Wrestlemania 33 in 2017 to help out his good pal Mojo Rawley -- and now that Rob's retired from the NFL, there's buzz he's close to signing with Vince McMahon.

In fact, WWE superstar Lio Rush already called out Gronk on 'Monday Night Raw' this week -- and on Tuesday, Gronk appeared at a WWE charity event.

Plus, Rawley told TMZ Sports he's VERY confident Gronk will return to the ring in some capacity in the very near future.

So, we asked Lynch how she felt about sharing the stage with the future NFL Hall of Famer -- and she wasn't exactly stoked about the possibility.

"Some of us almost get fired and have to work our way and scratch and claw, and then we come to the main event," Lynch said.

"Other people are like here you go, here's your debut match at Wrestlemania ... see you at Wrestlemania."

Translation -- Becky has an issue with the fact Rob could take the Ronda Rousey route into WWE superstardom ... and Becky HATES Ronda Rousey.

So, is this all a work? Is it how she truly feels?

6:37 PM PT -- Donald Trump Jr. just threw some major shade at Avenatti at his father's political rally in Michigan, joking that Michael's presidential ambitions took a serious hit this week.

Junior jokes that Michael went from "Avenatti 2020 to Avenatti 20 to 25" ... clearly hoping his foe is going to prison for his role in the alleged extortion plot.

Michael Avenatti was loaded for bear Wednesday night, proclaiming his innocence in the extortion case, proclaiming that the R. Kelly case would be unaffected by the extortion case and proclaiming it's only a matter of time before top Nike execs would be led away in handcuffs.

We got the embattled celeb attorney in WeHo Wednesday night ... and we strolled along with him on a long, long walk ... where he unpacked his outrage.

Avenatti said all the talk that his indictment will torpedo the R. Kelly prosecution is BS ... because the evidence is the evidence is the evidence.

And then, he talked Nike. As you know, he's been accused of trying to extort the shoe co. for more than $20 million in return for keeping his silence on alleged misdeeds -- specifically, Nike secretly paid off the families of star high school basketball players in order to direct them to Nike-sponsored colleges.

He goes after Nike execs with a vengeance, saying they are corrupt to the core and it will be exposed. He also insists any money he may have demanded was not a quid pro quo for his silence. Avenatti says he was going to expose Nike regardless of whether the company paid him or not.

The U.S. Attorney claims he has a videotape from a March 21 meeting between Avenatti and Nike attorneys in which he allegedly says, "If [Nike] wants to have one confidential settlement and we're done, they can buy that for $22.5 million and we're done."

Derek Jeter could go from baseball star ... to movie star ... because a VERY famous director says the "sh*tshow" Jeter's created with the Miami Marlins would make for a great Hollywood flick!!!

We got Billy Corben (the guy behind the 2006 hit "Cocaine Cowboys") in New York promoting his new documentary, "Screwball" -- which is all about Alex Rodriguez and the Biogenesis steroid scandal.

And, since his new flick is getting solid reviews on Rotten Tomatoes from top critics ... we asked Corben if there are any OTHER sports stories he'd consider turning into a movie.

"How about a story about Jeter and the Marlins," Corben said ... "Talk about a Miami sh*tshow!"

He's right ... the Marlins have been a DISASTER -- and even though Jeter's only been CEO for a year, things in Miami are lookin' grim.

In 2018, the Marlins placed dead last in MLB for attendance and most experts are predicting the team to be terrible on the field ... since they really have no stars.

Corben says the situation with the Marlins is the stuff great movies are made of -- so it could just be a matter of time before Jeter follows A-Rod to the big screen.

As for "Screwball," Corben says he thinks Alex will actually enjoy the flick because he thinks the guy has a sense of humor about the situation.

Oh, and if you're wondering why Corben used children to play the main characters in the story ... his explanation is pretty funny too.

Olivia Culpo is back in her natural habitat on Miami Beach, but this time she's hittin' the sand without her on-again-off-again beau, Danny Amendola -- which you couldn't care less about right now.

The former Miss Universe made Thursday a sun day with some gal pals -- including model Devon Windsor -- but she stole the show with her red two-piece bikini. Olivia definitely seemed aware of the cameras too, since she got in tons of different positions ... as if she were doing an impromptu photo shoot.

It's interesting that Olivia's back in Miami without Danny, with whom she's been hot and cold since this past fall. He's no longer a Dolphin -- dude got shipped out to the Detroit Lions earlier this month. Bummer for him ... that's a lot less beach time with Olivia.

John Cena is back on the dating scene ... hanging with a mystery hottie in Canada and, apparently, putting his ex-fiancee Nikki Bella firmly in the rearview.

We got this shot of the WWE superstar out on the town with an unknown -- for now -- brunette in Vancouver, and they're clearly having a great time together. Not only were they cozied up, arm-in-arm together ... but the photo agency that spotted them says they enjoyed a 4-hour dinner date!!!

This was their post-meal stroll ... and a pretty romantic one at that.

John's in Vancouver filming a new project, "Playing With Fire." The timing of his new playmate's debut is interesting. We've been seeing Nikki in California hanging with her new bae, dancer Artem Chigvinsev.

We broke the story ... Nikki says she's NEVER getting back with John, and based on this pic ... he seems to be just fine with that.

President Trump heard the outrage loud and clear, 'cause he just announced that he will NOT seek to cut nearly $18 MILLION in funding from the Special Olympics.

Trump's Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos proposed cutting nearly every cent of funding to the organization earlier this week ... and people were PISSED.

TMZ Sports even spoke to WWE legend and Special Olympics ambassador -- Big Show -- who called the idea "bulls**t."

Now, Trump is putting an end to all that talk ... telling reporters at the White House that he's given the order to fund the organization -- like was originally planned.

“The Special Olympics will be funded," Trump said ... "I just authorized the funding of the Special Olympics. I have overridden my people.”

WWE superstar Jimmy Uso just caught a HUGE break in his disorderly conduct case -- he's essentially off the hook after allegedly squaring up to fight a police officer.

As we previously reported, Uso and his WWE superstar wife, Naomi, were pulled over in downtown Detroit on Feb. 13 after cops say Naomi was driving the wrong way down a 1-way street.

Cops say Naomi reeked of booze so they ordered her out of the car -- but Jimmy was allegedly trying to restrain her and prevent her from leaving.

Eventually, Naomi got out ... and Jimmy followed -- with cops saying the wrestler eventually took off his shirt and jacket and squared up as if he was about to fight.

Jimmy was eventually arrested and booked for disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice.

But, we've learned Uso and his attorney, John Freeman, struck a deal with prosecutors in which he agreed to plead no contest to interfering with a govt. employee -- and in exchange, he was ordered to pay $450 in fines.

That's it. Case closed.

It's a big deal considering Uso was facing jail time if convicted of disorderly conduct.

As for Naomi, she was neither arrested that night nor charged with a crime.

Jimmy Uso is a big deal in the pro wrestling world -- his father is WWE legend Rikishi and his cousins are The Rock and Roman Reigns.

12:08 PM PT -- Jenny Sushe -- along with Allred -- just addressed the media and said the boxer not only kissed her without consent, he also groped her butt after the interview.

After the interview, Sushe claims the boxer asked her to remove the kiss from the interview because he knew how it would play out in public, but she refused.

In a letter to the California State Athletic Commission, Allred says, "We hereby request that the commission conduct an immediate investigation into the serious allegations."

"We request that Mr. Pulov's boxing license be suspended."

The female reporter who was suddenly kissed by a boxer she was interviewing AFTER his fight has lawyered up ... hiring Gloria Allred to go after his ass.

The video went viral over the weekend -- showing 37-year-old Bulgarian heavyweight Kubrat Pulev planting a kiss on the mouth of reporter Jenny Sushe during a post-fight media session.

Following the incident, Pulev said the Vegas Sports Daily reporter is a "friend of mine" -- and he passed the whole thing off as no big deal.

"On the video, after our kiss, we both laughed about it and thanked each other," Pulev said ..."There really is nothing more to this."

Well, clearly Sushe thinks it's a big deal ... she's hired Allred and she's planning to take legal action against the boxer.

In fact, in classic Allred form ... the attorney is holding a press conference Thursday to announce the plan of attack.