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Oscar De La Hoya vs. Vitor Belfort exhibition bout booked for Triller event on Sept. 11

Oscar De La Hoya will clash with Vitor Belfort in a special attraction exhibition boxing match that will take place at an upcoming Triller event scheduled on Sept. 11 ahead of Mexican Independence Day weekend.

Sources confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Thursday with both fighters agreeing to the matchup.

The event is targeted for Las Vegas with a venue still to be determined with an all-weekend event expected with promotion by Triller including concerts and the fight card on Saturday night featuring De La Hoya vs. Belfort.

Numerous musical acts are also rumored for the event but those details will come at a later date with Swizz Beatz and Timbaland overseeing the entertainment portion of the event including a Verzuz rap battle expected to take place on Friday, Sept. 10.

The undercard for the event will also be announced at a later date.

The fight marks De La Hoya’s first appearance in the ring since 2008 when he fell to Manny Pacquiao before announcing his retirement. The now 48-year-old, former multi-time boxing champion returns to action as he seeks to build upon a massive resume that includes wins over the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez, Hector Camacho, Pernell Whitaker, Arturo Gatti and Fernando Vargas.

As for Belfort, the former UFC champion was originally expected to compete on the June 19 fight card against “The Real Tarzann” Mike Holston, but now he’ll get the chance to take on a boxing legend as he’s discussed in the past. Belfort had previously told MMA Fighting that he hoped to take on Evander Holyfield later this year.

Prior to joining the Triller roster, Belfort had inked a deal with ONE Championship but he never actually competed for the promotion after he was unable to book a fight with them largely due to the global pandemic. When that contract ended, Belfort turned his attention to boxing and now he faces De La Hoya in September.

The bout will be contested as an exhibition with the fighters expected to wear 12-ounce gloves. More details about the event will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

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Oscar De La Hoya set for exhibition boxing match with former UFC champion Vitor Belfort in September

Oscar De La Hoya is back. The "Golden Boy" will make his return to the boxing ring at 48 years old on Sept. 11 against former UFC titleholder Vitor Belfort, according to multiple reports. Mike Coppinger of The Athletic was first to report the news.

The pair will face off in an exhibition with 12-ounce gloves in an event expected to take place in Las Vegas on Triller PPV. De La Hoya has not fought professionally since a TKO loss to Manny Pacquiao in 2008. He participated in an exhibition with Shaquille O'Neal in 2009. Belfort, meanwhile, signed a deal with ONE Championship in 2020 with his expectation to fight for the MMA promotion later that year. However, he left the promotion shortly after without competing. Belfort had signed on to face Mike Holston on the June 19 card that featured Teofimo Lopez vs. George Kambosos in the main event, but that card was postponed after Lopez tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.

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Belfort has seemingly been angling to get in on the boxing exhibition bonanza for months before landing the now-canceled fight with social media star and animal advocate Holston. Recently, Belfort claimed he could knock out both Logan and Jake Paul in the same night before criticizing Jake's recent choice of opponents in former MMA fighters Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley, calling them "the worst representation of MMA."

De La Hoya had long teased his return to the squared circle with the hopes of luring a big name MMA combatant in as his foe. Georges St-Pierre said that UFC president Dana White prevented him from participating in such a match last month.

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COMEBACK KID Oscar De La Hoya to make boxing return against ex-UFC champion Vitor Belfort in Las Vegas showdown in September

Oscar De La Hoya is set to make his return to the boxing ring after 13 years to face former UFC champion Vitor Belfort, according to reports.

The ‘Golden Boy’ has not fought since 2008 when he was beaten unceremoniously by Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.

Yet the 48-year-old confirmed in April he will make a ring return, with former light-heavyweight champion Belfort expected to be the man stood opposite him with 12 ounce gloves.

Although the Mexican-American initially stated he would fight in July, the Athletic claim the bout will take place on September 11 on the Triller platform.

De La Hoya wanted to face Floyd Mayweather for the second time, with ‘Money’ living up to his moniker during a lucrative exhibition bout with Logan Paul earlier this month.

Belfort has not fought in the UFC since May 2018 when he was beaten by Lyoto Machida, with the 44-year-old winning his sole boxing bout back in 2006 against Josemario Neves.

Machida not only held the 205lbs belt during his illustrious reign, he fought in the middleweight division and even knocked out the UK’s very own Michael Bisping in 2013.

Such was the severity of the knockout; Bisping infamously suffered a detached retina because of a head kick sustained in the second round before he piled on the pressure.

However, he appeared decidedly more mortal in the years after USADA entered into the sport and his knockout and win ratio dwindled massively.

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Triller lines up Vitor Belfort vs. Oscar De La Hoya boxing exhibition for September

Vitor Belfort is the latest ex-MMA star who will make the crossover to the boxing world.

Belfort, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, has agreed to an exhibition match with former longtime boxing champ and current promoter Oscar De La Hoya. MMA Junkie confirmed the news with a person with knowledge of the booking after an initial report from The Athletic.

The fight will be under the Triller banner and is expected to take place the weekend of Sept. 10-11-12 in Las Vegas as part of a full weekend of events. According to the person close to the event, Friday will be a Verzuz event, and Saturday and Sunday will be full-day music festivals. The fight is expected to take place Saturday.

Belfort, who turned 44 in April, has not fought since UFC 224 in May 2018. He announced his retirement after his loss to fellow former champ Lyoto Machida. But the following year, he signed with ONE Championship. And in April 2020, he announced his promotional debut. But that debut never came, and he’s no longer tied to the Asian promotion.

The 48-year-old De La Hoya is an Olympic gold medalist who held many titles in multiple weight classes throughout his distinguished boxing career. He last fought in December 2008 and lost to Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas. Since then, his business pursuits have been at the forefront, particularly his Golden Boy Promotions combat sports company. That promotion put on the Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz fight in November 2018.

More details about the Belfort-De La Hoya fight are expected to be announced soon.

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Oscar De La Hoya, ex-UFC champ Vitor Belfort Exhibition Boxing match set for September 11

Update: The date of the fight is September 11th and not 18th.

Oscar De La Hoya’s return to the boxing ring will reportedly occur in September.

The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger reports that De La Hoya, who hasn’t fought since he lost to Manny Pacquiao in 2008, will face former UFC champion Vitor Belfort in an exhibition on September 11th in Las Vegas. Belfort was supposed to fight on this weekend’s Teofimo Lopez pay-per-view against ‘The Real Tarzann,’ but Lopez’s positive COVID test postponed the entire event to at least August.

According to MMA Fighting, this Triller event will also include musical performances on the card and a Verzuz rap battle the day before the fight.

De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) has long been teasing a comeback and reportedly there were talks for him to box an MMA fighter. Anthony Pettis, Eddie Alvarez, and Georges St-Pierre also surfaced as potential options but never materialized. Now in steps the 44-year-old Belfort to face the 48-year-old Oscar. Vitor’s only previous boxing experience — exhibition or otherwise — occurred in 2006 when he knocked out Josemario Neves in Brazil. Belfort signed with ONE Championship after his UFC career ended by KO to Lyoto Machida, but he’s yet to compete for the Asian MMA promotion.

Details on the undercard and full rules for this circus exhibition will be revealed in the coming weeks.