Triller’s boxing circus continues on with their latest high-profile match-up to be unveiled seeing ex-UFC star Vitor Belfort fighting legendary boxer Oscar De La Hoya on September 18th in Las Vegas.
The 44-year-old Belfort has been itching to get into the boxing ring and was previously scheduled to fight a YouTuber, but has now eclipsed that by going to the top of the food chain in the boxing world.
Or at least, ODLH was once at the pinnacle of the sweet science, but he hasn’t fought in over 12 years since a corner stoppage loss to Manny Pacquiao back in 2008.
In the years since the 48-year-old has enjoyed success with his Golden Boy promotion company, but has also been marred by troubles in his personal life, including struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. He was widely criticized for his bizarre commentary during a recent Triller event, which led to an apology from the boxer, who admitted he’d had been drinking beforehand.
So, De La Hoya stepping back into the ring at this stage in his life might not seem like the best idea, but the same could be said of Belfort given that by the time he hung up his gloves in 2018 his chin appeared to have deserted him, having lost five of his previous seven fights in the UFC by way of strikes, including a head kick KO loss in his retirement bout against Lyoto Machida.
At his peak there’s no doubt that Belfort was a formidable opponent who holds the record for the most knockout wins in UFC history (12) and briefly held the 205lb title all the way back in 2004, but was never quite able to replicate that success again over the course of his career.
Belfort drew controversy at times during his MMA career after testing positive for steroids during his days in the PRIDE organization, and many years later testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone while in the UFC.
At the time Belfort was in remarkable physical condition for his age and was on an impressive winning run, but after rules over the therapeutic use of testosterone changed, Belfort’s physique visibly declined and so did his form in the Octagon.
The rules for the exhibition boxing bout between ODLH and Belfort have not been announced, but it is known that De La Hoya will be fighting at 175bs, while Belfort’s limit is 190lbs and there will be eight, two minute rounds.
