The fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Vitor Belfort is being targeted for the Staples Center in Los Angeles and has been promoted from an exhibition to an official bout on September 11.
The boxing bout between former UFC champion Vitor Belfort and former WBC, WBO, and IBF champion Oscar De La Hoya is expected to take place in Los Angeles and has been changed from an exhibition to a sanctioned professional bout with eight two-minute rounds. ESPN’s Mike Coppinger was the first to report the news. The fight is being promoted by Triller and is scheduled for September 11.
Per Triller’s Ryan Kavanaugh, De La Hoya expressed that he was in terrific shape and scoffed at the idea of the fight with Belfort being an exhibition. The fight will be the first for “The Golden Boy” since he fought Manny Pacquiao in 2008 and subsequently retired after losing the bout. De La Hoya will enter the bout at 48 years old. Belfort last fought in 2018 and will enter the bout at 44 years old.
If the September 11 bout does come to pass in California, it will be the first major combat sports event to be held in the venue with fans since the coronavirus pandemic shut businesses down last March. Triller did put on their inaugural event headlined by Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr at the Staples Center last December, though that event did not feature fans in attendance. Currently, the largest high profile combat sports event scheduled for California is Bellator 263 next Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood. It should be noted, the state of California declared that masks would still be required at many indoor venues and it is unknown if the Staples Center will be able to fill to capacity for the event.
