Oscar Vs Belfort will be authorized fight
Oscar De La Hoya’s 48-year-old comeback fight is now exactly that: a fight.
The Hall of Fame boxer’s Sept. 11 return against former UFC champion Vitor Belfort, originally planned as a boxing exhibition, will now be a sanctioned fight, Triller Fight Club founder Ryan Kavanaugh told ESPN on Wednesday.
The boxing match, which will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, will be contested over eight two-minute rounds at 180 pounds. De La Hoya and Belfort can weigh in within five pounds of the limit.
The event has been approved by the California State Athletic Commission, executive director Andy Foster told ESPN, subject to De La Hoya and Belfort passing comprehensive medical tests including an MRA and MRI of the brain, an electrocardiogram and cardiac testing, neurocognitive testing and an ophthalmological exam.
“I decided that if I was going to come back, it was for real, none of this showboating stuff,” De La Hoya said.
Once officially sanctioned, the fight will count against De La Hoya’s record, a sterling career that ended at 39-6 with 30 KOs. ‘The Golden Boy’ retired after an eight-round beating at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in 2008.
An Olympic gold medalist and five-division champion from Los Angeles, De La Hoya turned his attention to his company, Golden Boy Promotions, which remains a major player in boxing. GBP promotes Ryan Garcia, Joseph Diaz Jr, Vergil Ortiz and Gilberto Ramirez among its top fighters.
Golden Boy and top boxing star ‘Canelo’ Alvarez parted ways last year following a legal battle that grew out of a personal feud between the superstar fighter and De La Hoya. Golden Boy, which has an exclusive deal with streaming platform DAZN, will not promote this event, which will instead be a Triller Fight Club show available on pay-per-view.
This will be Triller’s third bill after a wildly successful show featuring Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. in November, followed by a fight between Jake Paul and former UFC fighter Ben Askren in April.
Triller’s planned fight between undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos, scheduled for June 19, was postponed after the champion tested positive for COVID-19.
“It’s important to make the transition from exhibitions … This is as real as any fight Oscar or Belfort ever had,” Kavanaugh said, “not an organized wrestling event.”
Belfort, 44, will box for the second time in his career. His professional boxing debut came in 2006, a first-round knockout in Brazil.
The Brazilian is a former UFC light heavyweight champion who holds a black belt in Brazlian Jiu-Jitsu with Carlson Gracie. Belfort also holds a black belt in judo.
Known for his explosive power, he is tied for the third most knockouts in UFC history with 14. Belfort’s third UFC run ended in 2018, a KO loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 224.
