Buyer’s remorse may be sinking in for those who chose to shell out cash for Saturday’s Triller Fight Club: Legends II PPV event.
That’s not just because the main event was little more than a sham. Rather, it now appears that three of four main card bouts on the boxing PPV will actually be considered exhibition bouts. The lone exception comes in the case of Jono Carroll vs. Andy Vences, which saw Ireland’s Carroll win a majority decision.
Following reports from boxing journalist Dan Rafael and MMA Fighting, Cageside Press reached out to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, under which the Florida Boxing Commission lies. In response to that inquiry, Deputy Communications Director Patrick R. Fargason confirmed that “The Jono Carroll vs Andy Vences fight was an official bout under the unified rules of boxing which will appear on both fighter’s professional records. The Holyfield vs. Belfort, Silva vs. Ortiz and Haye vs. Fournier fights will not count towards the fighter’s professional records.”
Reports of the Holyfield vs. Belfort fight falling on the exhibition side first arose Friday. Although initially positioned by Triller FC as a professional bout, Triller exec Ryan Kavanaugh later confirmed to ESPN that Holyfield had expressed concern about the fight appearing on his official record. Kavanaugh indicated that Triller would acquiesce to Holyfield’s request, and have the fight held under the pro ruleset, while officially counting it as an exhibition.
Hayes’s return, and Anderson Silva’s bout against Ortiz, being exhibition bouts come as something as a surprise. To be fair, Haye’s match against Joe Fournier was reported as an exhibition by multiple outlets the night of the fight, though it was never really marketed as such. In the case of Silva vs. Ortiz, meanwhile, there was really no legacy to protect. Ortiz had never competed as a boxer, while Silva was coming off a pro victory against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
In any case, only Jono Carroll actually gets an official W on his record following Saturday’s Triller Fight Club PPV.
