TMZ Sports - Page 50

Otto Wallin intends to be the 6'5", 230 lb. wrench that screws up Anthony Joshua's (very lucrative) plan to fight Deontay Wilder in March ... flat-out saying the scrap ain't happening!

Walling and Joshua are fighting Saturday in Saudi Arabia ... a stacked card that also includes Wilder vs. Joseph Parker. So, what's Otto's beef?

Well, Anthony and Deontay seem to be assuming they'll not only win this weekend, but also skate through relatively unscathed ... 'cause the heavyweight boxing superstars have agreed to fight each other in March.

TMZ Sports talked to 33-year-old Wallin, who has only 1 career loss, which came against Tyson Fury ... a very competitive fight that was nearly stopped after the Gypsy King suffered a gruesome cut above his eye.

We asked Otto about AJ's decision to sign the Wilder contract.

"I just think it's crazy that they think that fight is gonna happen on March 9th. What is it, 2 and a half months? There is no way that fight's gonna happen, I'll tell you that now. There's no way that fight's gonna happen. Maybe in the future."

Wallin continued ... "I'm gonna beat Joshua. Wilder-Parker, that's not an easy fight. he could get beat, too. Even if both guys could win, they have to come out with no injuries. The time's just too short, it's not gonna happen."

We also talked to Otto about the fight with AJ.

We also talked to Anthony ... who as you might've guessed, sees things a bit differently than Otto. Among the topics we discussed ... were the Wallin fight, the news of the Wilder bout leaking, and the recent success of the UK UFC fighters.

Like AJ, Wilder has his hands full, too, with 6'4" Parker, who is 33-3 (23 KOs) as a pro. Deontay, 43-2-1 (42 KOs), last fought in October 2022 when he dispatched of Robert Helenius inside 1 round.

Wilder and Joshua is a fight that fans have wanted for years ... and Wallin, a normally friendly guy, is in this case looking to spoil the party!

No Shave November has come and gone, but don't fret because 'Decembeard' is here and we're taking a look at some of your top celebs ... and with that comes one hairy question: Are these famous faces better off with a buzz or a little fuzz?

On the field Travis Kelce may look tough and buff, but do you prefer him smooth shavin' or sportin' some scruff?

Up next is John Legend whose facial hair has definitely grown on his fans, but does "All Of Me You" prefer him buzzed or fuzzed?

And, of course we gotta ask about this handsome fella ... Ricky Martin who either comes with a full beard OR he's "Shavin La Vida Loca!" He's always got the moves but which facial hair trend are you gettin' down with?

Patrick Mahomes says Travis Kelce's boo, Taylor Swift, is seeing a lot of love from the Kansas City Chiefs... 'cause according to him, she's basically a teammate!

The Chiefs' QB had glowing things to say about the singer during a chat on "CBS Mornings," admitting the guys kinda kept their distance from the romance when it first started ... but they all quickly opened up to her.

Patrick says a few jokes about Travis' new relationship just came with the territory -- but adds the entire gang has since welcomed her with open arms, claiming she's an honorary member to them.

PM gave TS a rave review, too ... saying she's "top tier" and is even part of Chiefs Kingdom.

He also says he's loving how well Taylor's been getting along with his wife, Brittany Mahomes -- they've been like white on rice from the get go.

Larry Merchant, one of the most iconic boxing broadcasters of all time, was rushed to a hospital Thursday night and is in the critical care unit of a L.A. area hospital ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ.

We're told an ambulance came to Larry's building at around 6 PM Thursday and rushed him to a nearby hospital. We're told he's in a critical care unit.

We do not know what triggered the emergency or his prognosis.

Larry has been a longtime HBO boxing commentator, working with Jim Lampley, George Foreman, Roy Jones Jr., Harold Lederman and many others. He's been called "The greatest television boxing analyst of all time."

The 92-year-old also has acting chops, appearing in "I Spy," "The Fighter,' and "Rocky Balboa."

Larry retired from HBO in 2012, but he cast a long shadow and is still remembered for his broadcasting skills.

We're seeing more of why Taylor Swift is attracted to Travis Kelce ... courtesy of a couple pics he snapped a few years back.

Travis, now 34, shot a video back in 2017 while he enjoyed a day at the spa. We knew the dude was fit, but it's better than we thought!

It's some sort of bubble massage, which Travis clearly enjoyed. He stands up and voices his approval over the treatment, and in the process gives people a look at what's under the jersey.

You see him flex a bit and then disentangles his hair as he peers into the camera.

Now to the present ... Taylor was at a recording studio Thursday night in NYC, but she's heading to Kansas City to spend time with her BF and hit up the Chiefs game on Christmas Day.

The relationship, we're told, is already super serious and there are rumblings of a ring in the not-too-distant future. We will see, but it feels like that's the trajectory.

Bradley Cooper beelined it out of a big news conference for "Maestro" Thursday after someone called him to say something had happened to his daughter.

Cooper was speaking to the NYC crowd when he received the call from 6-year-old Lea's school nurse, after which he told the crowd, "So sorry. The school nurse just called me."

He then left the room to call the school back and then returned, telling the crowd he had to get to the school STAT to administer some sort of medicine that was out of bounds for the school ... this according to the Daily Mail. He said, "I have to apply something that they won't allow."

It's unclear what was wrong with Bradley's daughter and what medicine was used to treat the issue.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce might not be anywhere near the baby-making stage of their relationship, but that doesn't mean others aren't ... and it sounds like folks like their names.

A rep for BabyNames.com -- one of the premiere destinations for digital baby name sifting online -- tells TMZ ... it's them, they're the problem (or the reason, rather) for why they believe searches for the monikers of "Taylor" and "Travis" have skyrocketed on their site.

We're told those two names have jumped about 25% between November and December compared to what their users might normally search -- and BN.com says they attribute this to the Tayvis phenomenon that's consumed pop culture throughout the entirety of fall.

Obviously, Taylor was a major star before hooking up with Travis ... but we're told the relationship has, arguably, made her even more popular -- and the proof's in the data.

BTW, if you're wondering what these names mean and where they come from -- we know that too. Taylor is an English gender-neutral name that literally means ... "One who tailors clothes." As for Travis, another English name that means "From the crossing or Tollgate."

We've seen this sort of craze with baby names before -- namely, when the "Barbie" movie came out and people were totally obsessed with it ... flocking to BabyNames.com to look up those names as well at the time. Now, Taylor appears to be dominating their online engines.

Philip Rivers is 42 years old and hasn't taken a hit in an NFL game since the 2020 season ... but according to Shawne Merriman, the dude STILL has aspirations of getting under center again.

The former Chargers superstar made the revelation in a chat with TMZ Sports earlier this month ... saying he knows for a fact that his good pal and former Bolts teammate wants another shot in the NFL.

"That's why he hasn't retired," Merriman said of the quarterback.

In fact, Shawne tells us he thinks Rivers could potentially play not just one more season ... but maybe even two.

"I can tell you," Merriman said, "Phil still wants to play."

Rivers last suited up for the Colts in 2020-21, piling up 4,169 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. He led Indy to an 11-5 record, though he ultimately failed to get a win in the playoffs -- losing to Buffalo in the Wild Card round.

Prior to his stint in Indianapolis, Rivers put together a Hall-of-Fame-worthy résumé with the Chargers ... and after he took a high school coaching gig in 2021, many believed he was satisfied with how his career had played out.

But, Merriman said that's just not the case.

"I still think Philip can play another year or two if a team gets down here in the playoffs and they need a quarterback to come off the street," Merriman said. "Phil can do it."

Deontay Wilder vs. Anthony Joshua is the biggest fight in boxing, period ... according to The Bronze Bomber, who says the two heavyweight stars are finally ready to deliver the fight fans have wanted for nearly a decade!

TMZ Sports talked to 38-year-old WIlder about the tentatively scheduled March 9 bout set to go down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ... assuming Deontay and AJ can successfully navigate their fights this weekend against Joseph Parker and Otto Wallin, respectively.

"I'm looking forward to all this," Wilder told us. "It's a beautiful time for me."

Deontay then put the magnitude of the fight into perspective.

"Me and the Joshua talk has been something, like you said for a decade," adding ... "and that is the biggest fight in the world."

Despite the talk about AJ, Wilder (43-2, 42 KOs) knows he has to first handle Parker (33-3, 23 KOs) ... who's no average Joe. In fact, Joseph told us earlier this week that he plans on putting Deontay to sleep on Saturday.

"The only thing with words, you have to believe what you say," Wilder said in response to Parker's statement. "Now, Joseph can say what he wants but do he believe what he says?!"

"We know that when Deontay says things, he speaks it, he believes it, he receives it."

Deontay said it was a beautiful time for him ... and he's not lying. He has a ton of big things going on, including talk of a major crossover MMA/boxing event with Francis Ngannou ... something Deontay seems interested in.

"This is something I'm very serious about getting into and I wanna do," Wilder said.

Neither Leon Edwards, nor his coach, believes Belal Muhammad deserves the next title shot. Belal has a message for the champ and his people.

"Leon's coach goes on the interviews today and says 'I think Gilbert Burns deserves it.' And I'm looking at these guys like, 'I really think their whole team is dumb blondes.' Like they're not smart," Belal told TMZ Sports.

He continued ... "I'm looking at these guys like ... Gilbert Burns, who I just beat, deserves it more than me? Even Leon Edwards after the fight, I don't think that Belal should skip the line. I'm number 2 in the world you moron, skip what line? There's nobody ahead of me. I'm the guy that's next. What are you talking about?"

If you're looking at the rankings, Belal's right ... he's the number 2 ranked contender, behind only Kamaru Usman. And right now, Usman isn't in play for a title shot. He recently fought Khamzat Chimaev on short notice across the world. He's also lost twice to Leon in the last 18 months.

After Belal, Shavkat Rakhmonov is the third-ranked contender ... after beating Stephen Thompson at UFC 296, where he jumped up two places. Burns is 4th ... but is coming back from an injury he sustained while fighting Muhammad. Colby Covington is fifth.

We asked Belal about Shavkat, and while he was very complimentary, calling him an "amazing fighter," he added, "he should not be skipping me."

Muhammad also addressed the idea that Islam Makhachev, the lightweight champ, could move up to face Leon.

"Islam, you have plenty of fights at 155. Oliveria rematch. Justin Gaethje. And if I'm the UFC, Leon didn't earn a double champ fight or a huge fight cause that fight was so lackluster, what are we gonna reward you with a Sean Strickland fight when you didn't even do nothing? [Performance vs. Colby] was terrible."

Dana White hasn't yet indicated what's next for Leon.

If they do fight ... it'll be a rematch of their March 2021 fight that ended in a no-contest after an accidental eye poke.

Two men have been hit with criminal charges for their alleged roles in an altercation that eventually ended with the death of a Patriots fan at Gillette Stadium earlier this year, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

According to the Foxborough Police Department, 59-year-old John Vieira and 39-year-old Justin Mitchell were charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct this week after investigators say they were involved in a fight with Dale Mooney just prior to Mooney's death at the Pats vs. Dolphins game on Sept. 17.

The FPD says the charges came down after the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Mooney died from "probable cardiac dysrhythmia in a person with severe hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease during a physical altercation."

The FPD, however, added that despite the OCME ruling the manner of Mooney's death as a homicide ... the evidence its investigators gathered did not establish "a basis for criminal prosecution of charges related to homicide in Mr. Mooney’s death."

Vieira is slated for arraignment on Jan. 19 ... while Mitchell is set to be arraigned a week later.

“We thank the members of the public who made their private videos of the altercation available for our review," Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said in a statement Friday, "and the investigators at the Foxborough Police Department, for their help in establishing a clear picture of these tragic events."

A Lil Wayne and Kevin Durant track exists ... and the rap legend just revealed it almost made it onto his most recent project with 2 Chainz, but he decided it simply wasn't time to share it to the world.

Weezy spilled the beans in a Bleacher Report interview with Taylor Rooks, who said she spoke with Durant before their sit-down ... and he let her in on their secret.

"He said he had a question -- 'Are you going to drop a snippet of you all song on the radio show?'" Rooks explained to Tunechi.

The "A Milli" rapper was caught off guard, as their duet was supposed to be "on the low" ... and Wayne hilariously called KD out for tellin' their business.

"I just want you to know you messed up," Wayne laughed as he sent a message to the Phoenix Suns superstar. "That song was being considered to be on 'Carter VI' and now since you're saying something, it's not goin' on 'Cater VI.'"

In fact, Wayne said it was initially supposed to go on the "Welcome 2 ColleGrove" album that just came out in November ... but he's saving their special song for something else.

"KD's a jewel," Wayne said about KD's rap skills. "He's a backpack rapper."

"I can imagine he probably could call a timeout in a game, and probably ask him to rap and he probably got a verse for you."

Of course, Durant isn't the only NBA player with bars ... Damian Lillard has been known to spit impressive lyrics on his songs, including his hit single dedicated to Kobe Bryant.

Even Shaquille O'Neal was a gifted MC ... and trendsetter Allen Iverson went by the rap name Jewels.

Durant has some experience in the rap game -- not only did he have the song "It Ain't Easy" with LeBron James, he was recently enlisted as A&R for Drake's "For All The Dogs" project.

Univ. of Alabama offensive lineman Elijah Pritchett was arrested on Wednesday night after cops say he was accused of knowingly spreading a sexually transmitted disease.

The Tuscaloosa Police Department tells TMZ Sports ... the 19-year-old -- who was released from custody on $500 bond shortly after his arrest -- has already been hit with a misdemeanor charge in the case.

According to AL.com, Pritchett faces up to three months in jail or fines up to $500 if he's convicted.

We've reached out to the Univ. of Alabama for comment ... but, so far, no word back yet.

Pritchett was one of the top OL prospects in the 2022 H.S. class ... and committed to Bama over Florida State and Georgia, among others.

The GA native appeared in all 13 games for the Tide this season, playing mostly on special teams.

Pritchett, however, announced his plans to transfer earlier this month -- but he changed his mind a couple weeks later.

The greatest wide receiver in NFL history is ... Randy Moss!

That's according to the first-ballot Hall of Famer himself who gave his list of greatest wideouts ever when he joined Kevin Hart on his Cold As Balls" show this week ... and yes, that means he's better than Jerry Rice.

"Hands down, I consider myself as the greatest wide receiver to ever play the game," the 46-year-old said.

"It wasn't a shot at Jerry. I still have respect and love for Jerry, but I just thought the way that I changed the game of football."

Of course, it's a debate that's been raging for decades ... with many believing Rice is not just the WR G.O.A.T., but also the best football player, period. With 3 Super Bowl wins, including an SB MVP, and a gang of NFL records, it's a strong argument.

On the other hand, Randy has ridiculous numbers, too ... and he didn't play with two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Joe Montana and Steve Young. In fairness, Moss did play several seasons with Tom Brady.

The rest of the wideouts making up Randy's Mount Rushmore ... "Terrell Owens, Jerry Rice, Calvin Johnson."

Andre August is still feeling that knockout punch from a week ago, but Jake Paul is already moving on to his next boxing match -- he's entering the ring again in three months ... and "Euphoria" star Wanna Walton will be on the card, too!!

The Problem Child announced the huge event just minutes ago ... saying he will be the co-main event when Amanda Serrano faces off against Nina Meinke at El Coliseo De Puerto Rico on March 2.

Jake's opponent for the Most Valuable Promotions event has not been revealed just yet.

Paul posted on social media about the move ... saying, "Guess who’s back :) … Jake already? Yes, I’m on a mission... But this one is much bigger than me."

"This one is for the greatest Puerto Rican boxer ever, Amanda Serrano. This one is for the people of Puerto Rico, from the Choliseo to the world. This one is for all of boxing to see how powerful women are in this sport and for Wanna Walton to usher in his superstar boxing future in front of 20,000 people."

Of course, Jake -- who's now 8-1 in his pro boxing career -- just beat August in Florida on Dec. 15 ... whooping his ass in the first round with a right uppercut.

17-year-old Wanna -- famous for playing beloved character "Ashtray" on the HBO show -- has been boxing for the majority of his life ... and he recently joined Paul's MVP as he pursues a championship career.

"I wanted to go somewhere where I knew that I was gonna be valued, and a place that I knew that they were going to care about me a lot, and a place with a lot of talent," Wanna told TMZ Sports back in August. "Everyone over at MVP is very talented and they've all done such amazing things in their career."

Jake said he's super pumped for the whole event ... saying, "I can’t wait to fight in San Juan and show the world this beautiful island."

Derrick Ward is now facing some serious time behind bars after his alleged robbery spree ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned he's just been hit with FIVE felony charges in the case.

According to court records, prosecutors levied the counts against the Super Bowl champion on Wednesday -- just two days after he was arrested.

The records show all five charges against Ward were second-degree robbery.

We broke the story, the ex-New York Giants tailback was thrown in jail on Monday afternoon following allegations he used force and fear to rob establishments in the Los Angeles area, including gas stations.

Jail records show as of Thursday morning, he still has not been released from police custody.

Ward played in the NFL from 2004 to 2011 -- helping New York beat Tom Brady's undefeated Patriots in SB XLII -- and he had such a fine career, he at one point signed a $17 million contract with the Buccaneers.