Evander Holyfield Now To Fight Vitor Belfort On Sept. 11

[Old School]

ESPN https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/...nder-holyfield



Oscar De La Hoya hospitalized with COVID-19; Vitor Belfort will now face Evander Holyfield on Sept. 11

Oscar De La Hoya announced from a hospital bed that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and won't be able to fight former UFC champion Vitor Belfort on Sept. 11 in a Triller Fight Club PPV.

The Hall of Fame boxer was set to compete for the first since a December 2008 TKO loss to Manny Pacquiao.

De La Hoya, who says he is vaccinated, briefly described his bout with the virus in a video posted on Twitter on Friday.

Embedded Tweet

Triller's Ryan Kavanaugh told ESPN that Evander Holyfield has agreed to terms to step in and fight Belfort. Holyfield is 58 and hasn't fought since a 2011 TKO victory over Brian Nielsen.

Kavanaugh said the contracts call for pro-fight rules contested over eight two-minute rounds. De La Hoya-Belfort was set to take place at Staples Center in Los Angeles (where De La Hoya was born and still resides), but Triller plans to hold Holyfield-Belfort at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, sources told ESPN.

The California State Athletic Commission refused to sanction Holyfield-Belfort, sources told ESPN's Marc Raimondi.

"Heavyweight fights are always the most exciting clashes, and this is a heavyweight fight between two true warriors," Kavanaugh said. "We really wish Oscar a speedy recovery, he's a champion and a warrior; we know he'll fight this and win. We look forward to seeing him in the ring on the anniversary of Fight Club's launch."

Triller Fight Club debuted in November with the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. exhibition event, a commercial success. Kavanaugh said they are now seeking opponents for De La Hoya to fight on Thanksgiving weekend.

The entire undercard, including the David Haye-Joe Fournier exhibition bout, will move to Florida, Kavanaugh said.

Holyfield (44-10-2, 29 KOs) is one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He owns two wins over Mike Tyson and a victory over George Foreman. Known for his fighting spirit, the Atlanta resident also is one of the most beloved fighters of all time. Holyfield signed to fight Kevin McBride on Triller Fight Club earlier this year, but the bout was scrapped due to medical concerns regarding McBride. McBride, 48, was deemed a plus-6 on the Boxing Severity Index by the California State Athletic Commission, a high-risk boxer.

Belfort, 44, will be boxing for the second time in his career. His pro boxing debut came in 2006, a first-round KO in Brazil.

The Brazilian is a former UFC light heavyweight champion who owns a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Carlson Gracie. Belfort also owns a black belt in judo. Known for his explosive power, he's tied for the third-most finishes in UFC history with 14. Belfort's third run with UFC ended in 2018 with a KO loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 224.

[Old School]

Video Description: Belfort vs Holyfield: Who wins?


Big Fight Weekend https://bigfightweekend.com/news/tri...belfort-fight/

[Old School]

CBS Sports https://www.cbssports.com/boxing/new...-price-rumors/



Evander Holyfield vs. Vitor Belfort: Fight card, date, odds, location, PPV price, rumors

Holyfield steps in on short notice to replace Oscar De La Hoya when he takes on former UFC champion Belfort

Perhaps the sport's most bizarre event of the year has taken another strange turn. Triller Fight Club is set to present its latest PPVo offering on Saturday, Sept. 11, but not without some wild last-second changes. The main event was set to see the return of Oscar De La Hoya when he faced off with former UFC champion Vitor Belfort, but after "the Golden Boy" came down with COVID-19 just a week before the fight, alternate plans had to be made.

Enter former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield. The 58-year-old, who had hoped to make a return to the ring earlier this year, will sub in for De La Hoya in the main event to salvage the card. But because the California State Athletic Commission will not sanction Holyfield for action, the entire card is moving from Los Angeles to Hollywood, Florida, at the Seminole Hard Rock casino.

Holyfield (44-10-2, 29 KOs) hasn't boxed since 2011 when he defeated Brian Nielsen in Denmark. The former two-division champion has been in training for a comeback fight but saw his proposed Triller debut against former Mike Tyson conqueror Kevin McBride in an exhibition bout postponed on multiple occasions.

Belfort has only boxed once as a professional, scoring a knockout win in 2006. In his MMA career, Belfort is a former UFC light heavyweight champion, winning the belt from Randy Couture in 2004 with a doctor stoppage win in less than one minute after a fluke cut to Couture's eyelid. Belfort lost the title back to Couture in his next fight and went on to lose three more attempts to win UFC gold, twice at middleweight and once at light heavyweight.

Below is the complete fight card and viewing info with the latest odds from Caesars Sportsbook when they are made available.

Holyfield vs. Belfort fight card, odds

Evander Holyfield vs. Vitor Belfort, heavyweights (eight two-minute rounds)

Anderson Silva -800 vs. Tito Ortiz +550, cruiserweight

Andy Vences vs. Jono Carroll, super featherweight


Holyfield vs. Belfort info

Date: Sept. 11 | Start time: 7 p.m. ET

Location: Seminole Hard Rock Casino -- Hollywood, Florida

How to watch: Fite PPV | Price: $49.99

[Old School]

SB Nation https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2021/9/5...ass-boxing-mma



58-year-old Evander Holyfield not licensed by CSAC, Triller moves Belfort event to Florida to bypass issue

Triller is moving its entire event to avoid licensing issues made to protect fighters.

Triller is scrambling to save its event after Oscar De La Hoya pulled out due to a pretty serious case of COVID-19. This is Triller’s second major event to be hit by coronavirus cancellations after Teofimo Lopez also tested positive.

Not wanting to have another event scrapped and lose more money, Triller has booked 58-year-old Evander Holyfield to step in and face former UFC champion Vitor Belfort on very short notice. Reports are now coming in that the California State Athletic Commission has not cleared Holyfield to compete due to his age.

According to MMA Fighting, Triller did some commission shopping to try and bypass the issue, and will be moving the entire event from Los Angeles, to Florida.

Holyfield, who turns 59 next month, has not competed in over a decade. Even then, he was already clearly way past his prime, with the New York State Athletic Commission previously refusing to license him sixteen years ago, from all the way back in 2005.

The September 11 event will also have a boxing match between Anderson Silva vs Tito Ortiz.

As Triller bypasses these protocols designed to protect fighters, hopefully nothing terrible happens in an event that is headlined by fighters aged 44, 46, 46 and 58.

[Wawwie]

58 is pretty damn old to be boxing professionally. I don't keep up with boxing but I wonder if Mike Tyson still fights.

[Old School]

Mike Tyson fought Roy Jones in 2020....

[opus]

Maybe this can get this thread moved to politics too.



Trump to provide commentary on Holyfield-Belfort boxing match on 9/11

On the day other ex-presidents visit memorial sites to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 2001 terrorist attacks, former President Trump will be providing commentary on a boxing match between former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-e...-pay-per-view/

[GentlemanJim]

And it doesn't last long. Holyfield out by TKO in the first round. One account that I read claimed that he didn't even land a punch?