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When one door closes, another opens ... and that's exactly the case for Manny Pacquiao -- 'cause he tells TMZ Sports he's leaving his political career behind him for good ahead of his big boxing comeback.

The eight-division boxing champ served as a senator of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022 ... and followed up by running for the president spot, but lost by a wide margin.

Nearly four years after his last fight, the 46-year-old is making his return to boxing against Mario Barrios on July 19 in Las Vegas ... so we asked Pacquiao if he planned to follow a similar route by going back to politics in the future.

College basketball phenom Cooper Flagg is expected to go No. 1 in the 2025 NBA Draft ... and one guy who knows what that's like has some solid advice for the former Duke star -- Hall of Fame inductee Dwight Howard!!

TMZ Sports caught up with the 6'10" center ahead of the June 25th event at the Barclays Center ... and we asked what words of wisdom he'd give Flagg, since he was also the first pick in 2004.

"Just go hoop, enjoy the games," the 39-year-old said. "Don't let the politics take away the passion ... and have fun."

Former WWE Superstar Cora Jade tells TMZ Sports a big weight has been lifted off her shoulders after getting released from the promotion ... and while she says she's going to take the foreseeable future one day at a time, she did have a lot of nice things to say about rival company AEW.

Jade -- also known as Elayna Black -- sat down with "TMZ Sports" TV show cohost Mojo Muhtadi this week ... in the convo, she admitted she anticipated losing her "dream job" for a few weeks before it actually happened.

While there's certainly some sadness about the breakup, she's equally as excited for the opportunities that are now on the table -- like working with other wrestling promotions, as well as her OnlyFans and YouTube endeavors.

Diddy's asking the judge in his case for a mistrial again ... accusing prosecutors of presenting testimony they knew -- or should've known -- was false.

The rapper and mogul's legal team filed the letter Saturday morning ... and, the reasons for their request are related to testimony about the alleged incident where Bryana Bongolan -- a friend of Cassie's and fashion designer -- says Diddy held her over the edge of a balcony, 17 stories in the air.

Diddy's lawyers say prosecutors presented untrue testimony when Cassie testified about the incident because she said she actually saw Diddy holding Bryana over the balcony's edge.

Bow Wow's letting haters' jabs melt off him like the pounds he recently lost ... saying the people trying to body shame him aren't going to affect his mood.

We caught up with the rapper at LAX Friday ... and, we asked him if people are still in his comments disrespecting him for putting a few pounds on.

ICYMI ... Bow Wow fired back at people on Instagram Live recently saying, “They call me fat. Y’all don’t understand how this feels. Y’all been playing with me too long.”

Ben Crump's picked his side in the Elon Musk and Donald Trump beef ... but, he's not backing a personality, he says he's backing the better idea -- and, he doesn't want the "One Big Beautiful Bill" to pass through the Senate.

We caught up with the civil rights activist and attorney at WayMaker Men's Summit -- a part of BET weekend -- and asked him about the fight between POTUS and his former advisor ... and, he doesn't directly say he's on Elon's side -- but, he does think this spending bill is terrible.

Crump rips the bill for making cuts to Medicaid -- the medical assistance program for people with lower incomes.

It's been more than a year since Vince McMahon stepped down from his roles in WWE and TKO over allegations of sexual assault ... and while he's a rare sight out in public these days -- his son, Shane, tells TMZ Sports he's doing "really well."

We caught up with the 55-year-old out in L.A. this week ... and asked him how his old man is holding up behind the scenes.

"He's enjoying life," he said. "Getting a little bit of rest in there."

Devin Haney says he's moving on from his scrapped fight with Teofimo Lopez ... and while he wouldn't directly address whether Ryan Garcia is part of his future plans, he tells TMZ Sports he's now setting his sights on the "best fighters in the world."

We caught up with the 32-0 welterweight fighter at LAX this week ... fresh off the news that Lopez (22-1) opted out of their bout slated to go down on August 16 in Saudi Arabia.

Lopez's team said it was due to "personal reasons" ... but Haney isn't buying it, claiming "the proof is in the pudding."

Shaq Mason's officially entering his 10th season in the NFL, and to celebrate the big milestone, the offensive lineman treated himself to an iced-out pendant -- of himself!!

The 31-year-old guard -- who's suited up for the New England Patriots, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and, most recently, the Houston Texans -- got the new bling from Suny The Jeweler, TMZ Sports is told ... and check it out, it's awesome.

It features a detailed mini-Mason -- complete with his No. 69 jersey -- plus logos from every team he's played for during his decade-long career.

Ronda Rousey and Kayla Harrison come from the world of judo, and with the latter about to fight for a title, we asked her opp, UFC Bantamweight champ Julianna Pena, about all the comparisons to Rowdy!

TMZ Sports spoke with the champ just days before the Octagon door closes behind Pena and Harrison in the UFC 316 co-main event in the Garden State ... and let's just say Julianna doesn't see the similarities between Kayla and Ronda.

"Ronda was such a phenom in the fact she was just able to take everybody out in 10 seconds or less," the Venezuelan Vixen said. "I know Kayla's manager [Ali Abdelaziz] said she's gonna be bigger than Ronda Rousey."

Rapper Vic Mensa has some deep thoughts on musicians, the industry and creative personalities in the modern world ... after a viral social media clip had some questioning his sincerity and sanity.

We caught up with Vic in L.A., at the Waymaker Men’s Summit event, part of BET Weekend, and asked about the emotional video he posted earlier this week on X, in which he got teary-eyed about the modern state of the industry. He labeled his breakdown, "Mental Health & the Streaming Era."

The "Dark Things" rapper told us Thursday, he was initially worried about being seen as weak in the video, but now says he's on a mission ... and no longer "allowing fear to make my decisions for me."

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are beefing hard as their bromance goes up in flames -- but one tech journo says don’t count out a reboot ... 'cause these two could buddy up again.

Faiz Siddiqui -- a technology journalist and the author of "Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk" -- told "TMZ Live" Friday that Elon and Trump could totally kiss and make up, because, let’s face it, they’re both the type to have short memories ... when it suits them.

You have to watch the video -- Faiz even compares the Trump-Elon drama to the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar beef … and yeah, it’s as hilarious as it sounds!

Kayla Harrison already has two Olympic gold medals, and she's fighting for the UFC title on Saturday ... and with a win, her manager Ali Abdealziz says she'll be the greatest combat sports athlete ever!

TMZ Sports caught up with Abdelaziz leading up to UFC 316 on Saturday ... and we asked him about his star fighter's resume.

"[Kayla] will bypass Henry Cejudo, and I think she's probably more dominant than Henry," Ali said of Harrison supplanting his other client as the G.O.A.T.

Elon Musk thinks he dropped the "bomb" on President Trump by claiming he's in the so-called Epstein files, but the defense attorney for the deceased sex criminal is calling BS on Musk.

David Schoen, one of Epstein's lawyers, tells TMZ ... the disgraced financier had nothing on Trump ... 'cause he says that's what Epstein straight up told him.

Schoen says, "What I can say definitively is that I discussed this subject with Mr. Epstein at a time when it would have been in his best interests to implicate others and he made clear that Donald Trump did nothing wrong and that he had no damaging information against him."

Those ready to name A.D. the G.O.A.T. are in luck ... Aaron Donald spoke to TMZ Sports this week about his "best ever" candidacy -- and he made it clear, he's not going to fight anyone who wants to give him the label.

Donald, of course, retired from the NFL last year, and ever since he hung up his spikes ... fans have wondered if he has a legit claim to the title of greatest defensive player ever.

He did, after all, earn 10 Pro Bowl selections in 10 seasons ... and won a Super Bowl too. But with guys like Lawrence Taylor and Reggie White having pretty good resumes as well, we had to ask Donald while he was out at Raising Cane's event in Los Angeles on Tuesday what he thought of the chatter.