Oscar De La Hoya spoke to fans from a hospital bed while informing them he would be unable to keep his September 11 fight date. De La Hoya explained he contracted Covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated.
“Preparing for this comeback has been everything to me over the last months,” De La Hoya says. “I want to thank everyone for their tremendous support.”
Oscar De La Hoya and Vitor Belfort were to headline a Triller Fight Club PPV card next Saturday. Triller announced Evander Holyfield as the replacement for De La Hoya on the card.
Ryan Kavanaugh, Triller Fight Club president, explains the fight between Belfort will consist of eight two-minute rounds. Professional rules will apply when the fighters step into a ring at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida.
The original plan was for De La Hoya and Belfort to fight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. There is talk that the California State Athletic Commission was unwilling to sanction a boxing match between Evander Holyfield and Vitor Belfort.
Kavanaugh wished De La Hoya a speedy recovery before directing fans’ attention to the Belfort-Holyfield event. “Heavyweight clashes are always the most exciting, Kavanaugh promises. “And this is a heavyweight fight between two great warriors.
Vitor Belfort is a former heavyweight champion in the UFC. The 44-year-old will fight as a professional boxer for the second time in his life.
Evander Holyfield enjoyed one of the most storied careers of any heavyweight boxer in any era. His resume includes two victories over Mike Tyson and a decision over George Foreman.
Holyfield is 44-10-2 as a professional with 29 knockouts. The former champion is 58 years old and has not fought since defeating Brian Nielsen by TKO in 2011.
Triller still plans to showcase Oscar De La Hoya on a fight card soon. A preliminary plan exists to find the hall of fame fighter an opponent for thanksgiving weekend.