TMZ Sports - Page 17

Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven are making history with their upcoming showdown -- the heavyweight title fight will be staged at the Pyramids of Giza, the first to be held at the iconic landmark.

It was announced on Friday that Usyk will defend his WBC title against the former kickboxing heavyweight champion at "Glory in Giza" on May 23 in Egypt.

The news shocked boxing fans, as bouts are usually in famous venues like Madison Square Garden or T-Mobile Arena -- not one of the most historic landmarks on Earth.

Quick history lesson ... the Great Pyramid -- largest in Egypt -- was constructed around 2600 BC using an estimated 2.3 million massive stone blocks. It's the oldest structure of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, initially built as a massive tomb for Egyptian pharaohs.

The Atlanta Falcons wasted no time cutting ties with assistant LaTroy Lewis -- hours after the coach was accused of sexual assault, the team announced he's been fired from his role.

The Falcons made the announcement Friday, not long after they confirmed they were looking into the disturbing report.

The allegations against Lewis stem from his time as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan from 2023-24. A woman claims Lewis raped and attacked her in separate incidents -- with the article including graphic messages Lewis allegedly sent the woman.

NeNe Leakes is setting the record straight when it comes to a video from her recent date ... she says she didn't kiss the guy -- they only pecked!!!

The reality TV star took to social media to put her spin on footage we first obtained, which shows her and attorney Arthur Earl Horne III touching lips at an NBA game.

NeNe says it was just a peck ... and it came after a fun night out in Memphis, Tennessee, where the booze was flowing.

What's more, NeNe says she's not in a relationship with Arthur ... claiming he's just one of multiple men she plans on dating.

NeNe's love life has been closely followed over the years ... she was married to Gregg Leakes from 1997 to 2011 before they remarried in 2013. They remained together until Gregg’s death from colon cancer in September 2021.

The golf world is finally hearing from Andrea Pavan after he fell down an elevator shaft in South Africa on Wednesday ... with the Italian athlete confirming he is recovering in the hospital after undergoing surgery -- and thanking everyone who reached out over the past 48 hours.

The DP World Tour released a statement on behalf of the 36-year-old on Friday, with Pavan saying he underwent surgery "on my shoulder and my back on Wednesday evening." While he acknowledged he has "a lot of rehab and hard work ahead of me," he's thankful for all the support he's gotten.

"The care I have received so far from the Mediclinic hospital staff has been incredible, as has the support from the DP World Tour, the Sunshine Tour, and all their staff here in Stellenbosch. I am also very grateful for all the help Johann Rupert and his wife Gaynor have given me."

Kysre Gondrezick might be sidelined with an injury, but it certainly hasn't slowed her down in the content department -- the pro hooper just dropped a super-hot selfie showing off her toned tummy and major underboob.

The former WNBA star shared her 'fit on Instagram ... featuring black pants and a 3/4-length sleeved shirt pulled up to expose her abs.

Of course, 28-year-old Gondrezick isn't shy about showing off her body -- she recently posed nude for Playboy, which was a big hit for the publication and her fans.

Ryan Garcia had an unwelcome guest Thursday night -- TMZ Sports is told an alleged burglar hopped a fence and tried to enter his home ... before scurrying away as cops responded to the scene.

Law enforcement sources tell us the incident went down around 9:35 PM, with officers receiving a call for an attempted burglary at the boxing superstar's residence in L.A.

By the time cops got to the home, the suspect was gone ... and a search of the area came up short. It's unclear if Garcia was inside when the attempted burglary went down.

Chloe Kim had no idea she was scouting her future boyfriend the first time she saw Myles Garrett play … because she thought she was there for a Martin Garrix concert.

The Olympic snowboarding superstar spilled the hilarious origin story on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” -- admitting she’s not a football fan and had zero clue she was watching the Cleveland Browns’ Defensive Player of the Year when a mutual friend invited her to a game.

Kim says her friend told her “our client’s playing,” but somehow heard “Martin Garrix” instead of Myles Garrett. So there she was … sitting in the stands, cheering for the Rams, fully expecting the EDM DJ to pop out at halftime.

Meanwhile, Garrett’s on the field wreaking havoc -- and Chloe’s wondering why the “performer” hasn’t taken the stage.

She even admitted she thought the DJ was “wack” for not showing up … only to realize later the whole point of the trip was to see Myles dominate, not drop a beat.

Brantley Gilbert is divin' headfirst into the non-alcoholic beer boom ... the country music star linked up with the late Hulk Hogan's Real American Beer brand, and he's launching his own beer!

41-year-old Gilbert has been sober for 14 years, and he wanted to create something for all the people who don't consume alcohol, but still want to be part of the party.

“This is for people who want to show up, be part of the moment, and enjoy the same experiences with friends and family while staying true to their lifestyle,” Gilbert said. “Real American Beer ZERO allows everyone to be included, while keeping the taste and culture people love about beer."

Blueface didn't waste any time getting his nasty cut treated after taking an elbow to the face during a workout -- and the rapper was kind enough to give TMZ Sports access to the whole appointment.

The musician got treated at a Los Angeles medical facility after his sparring partner accidentally elbowed him in the face while training for his celebrity boxing match against former NBA champion Nick "Swaggy P" Young.

Blueface was in good spirits while the medical staff member fixed him up, and he even playfully flirted with her a little bit, leaving her laughing.

Megan Rapinoe went off on the Team USA men's hockey team after their historic Olympics victory -- calling the players clowns for visiting Donald Trump, saying the move tarnished their moment of glory.

Rapinoe -- an Olympic medalist and two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion -- spoke her mind on the latest episode of her podcast with her WNBA legend wife Sue Bird ... starting by saying Team USA's White House visit is what she calls a "classic ripping defeat from the jaws of victory."

"The United States men's hockey team, in their utter moment of glory, childhood dreams come true, once in a lifetime accomplishment, sensational, ruined it for themselves," Rapinoe said.

"Because they allowed themselves to be totally co-opted by a clown. And now you're a clown. You look like a clown."

A friendly featuring Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team descended into chaos in the waning moments of the match Thursday night, as a group of fans rushed the pitch to snag a selfie with the soccer legend -- which ended with Messi being dragged to the ground.

It all unfolded in the 88th minute of the match against Independiente del Valle of Ecuador when a man ran onto the field and took his shirt off. He was then followed by two other fans who were wearing Messi jerseys. One guy got a selfie, another an autograph.

The shirtless fan then hugged Messi, prompting security to grab him and take him to the ground, but because the guy had his hands on Lionel, he went along for the ride.

BLACKPINK's new project, "DEADLINE" is here ... but the first voice heard on their lead single isn't Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa or Rosé -- it's actually legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer!!!

The massive K-pop group's third mini album dropped on Friday ... featuring four new tracks -- as well as "JUMP," which was released last year.

But let's focus on their energetic single, "GO" -- the word "ready" is heard on repeat right at the beginning ... and any fan of the fight game can easily tell it's from Buffer's signature battle cry, "Let's get ready to rumble," which he shouts to hype up the audience at boxing matches.

Johnny Gaudreau’s parents almost didn’t make the trip to Milan … and now they’re calling their change of heart one of the best decisions of their lives.

Guy and Jane Gaudreau were in Italy for a special tribute to their late sons after Team USA won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics -- but they tell TMZ Sports they initially turned down the invitation because the pain was still too fresh.

“We declined it at first because it was just too difficult for us to go,” Jane said. “We were all supposed to go as a family and watch the games and watch him play.”

Hometown heroes helping hometown heroes … that’s exactly what went down for Laila Edwards’ gold medal run.

Before she lit it up for Team USA in Milan, Laila’s dad, Robert Edwards, launched a GoFundMe with a $50,000 goal -- hoping they wouldn’t have to choose between airfare to Italy and paying the electric bill back home in Cleveland Heights.

And as we previously told you, the biggest donation came from Jason and Travis Kelce -- to the tune of $10k.

“It was a significant amount of money and it definitely boosted us,” Robert tells TMZ Sports. “But more than that, it just felt good that they cared enough to support us and to help Laila.”

Robert says having family in the building for the Games made the entire experience go “beyond expectations.” They had a travel party of roughly 12 people who made the trip to support Edwards.

“We're very pleased and overwhelmed and humbled by their support and by their interest,” Robert said. “We follow them as people and we love them and everything they stand for. And we're hoping that they can feel the same way about us and Laila."

The viral snowball fight in New York City had some star power -- 49ers QB Mac Jones was in the park -- before things went south.

Jones shared video of the wild scene on his TikTok account, showing off his view of the massive gathering in Manhattan's Washington Square Park ... as MJ and his buddy even got a few throws in (Mac was slingin' those snowballs!).

Of course, it was all fun and games until it wasn't ... as the gathering is now being remembered for all the wrong reasons, as a group of agitators turned their attention to some NYPD officers walking through the crowd, pelting them with snowballs.

A couple of officers were even injured during the incident.

Days after the White House shared an A.I. video of Brady Tkachuk calling Canadians "maple syrup-eating f***s" ... the Ottawa Senators' left winger is condemning the clip -- saying, "I don’t like that video because that’s just never come out of my mouth."

Tkachuk met with the media Thursday after returning from a whirlwind couple of days celebrating USA's first Olympic hockey gold in 46 years -- and while the vibes were certainly high overall, he says the AI vid was a bit of a stinker for him.

"It's clearly fake, because it's not my voice, not my lips moving," he said. "I'm not in control of any of those accounts, and I know that those words would never come out of my mouth. So, I can't do anything about it."