Oscar De La Hoya outlined his blueprint for Vitor Belfort in their “professional boxing bout” later this year. The trouble is, it’s more suited to MMA.
De La Hoya said he plans to “kick the s— out of Belfort when they collide on September 11. Something that certainly isn’t legal in boxing.
Speaking as the pair went face-to-face ahead of their Triller battle, six-weight boxing champion De La Hoya was in a buoyant mood.
Returning to the ring at 48 with world title ambitions not many can fathom, the Golden Boy promoter certainly doesn’t lack confidence.
“While I respect you brother, (Belfort), I can tell you one thing, we are going to kick the s— out of each other, that’s one thing for sure,” pointed out De La Hoya.
“This is not a game. I said, if we’re going to do this, let’s do this for real. Let’s not do a song and dance or these exhibitions that we’re tired of.”
“I’ve been in top challenges all my life. But I’ve been fighting since I was five years old,” he added.
“I’ve had every challenge in the book. I’ve fought the best, from Manny Pacquiao to Floyd Mayweather to Bernard Hopkins to Julio Cesar Chavez.
“I wanted a different challenge, and that’s what Vitor Belfort presents. A challenge that’s going to take my training and my mentality to a whole new level.”
OSCAR DE LA HOYA FAVORITE
Skeptics are out in force as to whether De La Hoya can even defeat Belfort, given his party lifestyle and problems with drugs and alcohol outside of the ring.
De La Hoya is not even a favorite with the bookmakers to beat Belfort, despite extensive experience in the ring as an eleven-time world champion.
If he does lose, De La Hoya faces being put in the same bracket as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. after the Mexican lost with a whimper to Anderson Silva.
The PPV retail price for the event is $49.99 (U.S. & Canada) plus the processing fee. Fans outside North America can check the FITE link at for international pricing.
De La Hoya vs. Belfort is the second event Triller Fight Club has promoted at STAPLES Center. Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. was first on November 28, 2020. The fight was boxing’s biggest pay-per-view event of the year garnering over 1.6 million buys.
