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Oscar De La Hoya is following in the footsteps of Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr by returning to boxing for an exhibition bout despite being absent from the sport for an extended period of time.
De La Hoya last fought in 2008 when he came up against fellow boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. 'The Golden Boy' struggled to pull ahead, with Pacquiao picking up the pressure as the fight progressed. De La Hoya's corner ultimately threw the towel in after the eighth round.
The judges had Pacquiao firmly ahead on their scorecards, with two scoring the fight 80–71 and the other judge scoring it at 79–72.
Oscar De La Hoya's return
Oscar De La Hoya has repeatedly hinted at a return to boxing in the years since his retirement.
In 2020 he officially announced that he would be coming back, calling out Gennady Golovkin. In an interview with Boxing Scene via Yahoo Sports, Oscar De La Hoya stated the following-
"You know how easy GGG would be for me? Oh, my gosh. I always took a good shot and I always took apart fighters like him. In my mind it would be that easy." Oscar De La Hoya said.
The Golovkin fight never came to fruition. However, Oscar De La Hoya now has his opponent. He will face former UFC title challenger Vitor Belfort, who retired from MMA in 2018.
Read here: What is Oscar De La Hoya's net worth?
De La Hoya's upcoming opponent Vitor Belfort
In his prime, Belfort was considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists on the planet. He holds wins over Anthony Johnson, Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping.
However, in the later years of his career, Belfort's chin became somewhat compromised. The Brazilian fighter was knocked out five times in his last seven fights.
He did sign for One Championship, an MMA organization based out of Singapore, in 2019. However, he never competed despite having had a fight booked against Alain Ngalani in 2020. Belfort has since parted ways with the promotion.
De La Hoya vs. Belfort
According to Mike Coppinger of The Athletic, the exhibition bout between Belfort and De La Hoya will take place under the Triller Fight Club banner. It is currently expected to happen in September and will take place in Las Vegas.
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