Some two weeks removed from his strange boxing match against a
YouTuber, Vitor
Belfort will instead be facing a much more dire threat from the
boxing world in September.
Earlier in June, Belfort was
announced to have joined the Triller Fight Club event on June
19 in Miami, but the entire card was nixed when headliner Teofimo
Lopez tested positive for COVID-19. Instead of the match with
Michael Holston, a man known as “The Real Tarzann” from his
animal-keeping videos, Belfort has a new opponent and a new date.
On Sept. 11, Belfort (26-14, 1 NC MMA; 1-0 Box) will throw down in
an exhibition against the legendary Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs
Box). The news was first reported by The
Athletic on Thursday, and it has since been confirmed by
numerous
outlets and the promotion itself.
De La Hoya last boxed in 2008, when he fell short to Manny Pacquiao
by corner stoppage after eight rounds. Over the years, the U.S.
Olympic Hall of Fame boxer faced most of the best opponents the
sport had to offer, including Floyd
Mayweather, Pacquiao, Shane Mosely, Julio Cesar Chavez and
Hector “Macho” Camacho. In 2002, De La Hoya knocked Fernando Vargas
out to hold belts in four different title-granting institutions,
namely the WBC, WBA Unified, IBA and The Ring light middleweight
straps. De La Hoya hung up his gloves and changed to promoting,
where he grew the “Golden Boy” promotions into a league that has
staged many boxing events and even a few MMA cards.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship light
heavyweight champion Belfort may be getting the toughest change in
opponent imaginable, going from a boxing newcomer to a former
pound-for-pound king. This will be the MMA pioneer’s second boxing
match, as he previously faced fellow boxing novice Josemario Neves
in 2006. As an MMA fighter, “The Phenom” put on many dazzling
performances over the years and set the UFC’s record for knockouts
at 12, with a majority of those coming from his hands. Early in his
career, Belfort was lauded as a “knockout puncher” with “tremendous
hand speed & accuracy” as well as having “no known weaknesses.”
The Brazilian will be the younger man at 44 compared to De La Hoya
at 48, and since the retirement of “The Golden Boy,” Belfort fought
in MMA 16 times, earning six knockouts along the way. As such,
Belfort has been installed as a -140 betting favorite per BetOnline
in their exhibition contest with 12-ounce gloves, although an
unknown number of rounds has been decided. In the event that the
fight goes the distance and no winner is declared, the bets will be
ruled as No Action on the sportsbooks. The match will likely be
held in Las Vegas at an undetermined venue, as part of a Triller
show that will include concerts and additional combat sports
spectacles throughout the night.