Report: Oscar De LA Hoya vs. Vitor Belfort Exhibition Fight Agreed to for Sept. 11
Mike Chiari@@mikechiari
Featured Columnist IVJune 17, 2021
Legendary boxer Oscar De La Hoya and former UFC star Vitor Belfort have reportedly agreed to fight in a boxing exhibition.
According to Mike Coppinger of The Athletic, the fight is likely to occur Sept. 11 in Las Vegas under the Triller promotional umbrella.
The 48-year-old De La Hoya, who has been training for a return to the ring, has not had an official fight since 2008 when he lost to Manny Pacquiao.
De La Hoya was among the most popular, successful boxers during his career, which lasted from 1992 to 2008.
He posted a 39-6 record, with 30 knockouts, and held titles in the junior lightweight, lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight divisions.
De La Hoya has faced some of the biggest stars in the history of boxing, including Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley, Arturo Gatti, Felix Trinidad and Julio Cesar Chavez.
The 44-year-old Belfort is a longtime MMA star with 41 career professional fights under his belt.
He owns a career record of 26-14 with one no-contest, and 18 of his wins came via knockout. In the UFC, Belfort went 15-10 with one no-contest, and he is a former champion.
The native of Brazil held the UFC light heavyweight title and vied for the middleweight title on a couple of occasions.
Some of Belfort's most notable opponents include Randy Couture, Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Alistair Overeem, Anderson Silva and Jon Jones.
His last fight came at UFC 224 in 2018 when he lost to Lyoto Machida by second-round knockout and retired after the bout.
Triller has shown a willingness to put on unconventional fights over the past year, including YouTuber Jake Paul's bouts against former NBA guard Nate Robinson and former UFC fighter Ben Askren.
The promotion also helped stage the exhibition fight between boxing legends Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. in November.
UFC legend Georges St-Pierre said last month that UFC President Dana White would not allow him to box De La Hoya in an exhibition, but Triller still landed someone with UFC ties and an impressive resume in Belfort.