Holyfield vs Belfort fight results: Ex-MMA star knocks out Evander Holyfield, while Anderson Silva shines.
Holyfield vs Belfort
The good news is that no one was wounded severely. That’s about the nicest thing one can say about the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida’s Thriller Fight Club pay-per-view event on Saturday.
In one of the most unusual fight cards in recent memory, MMA star Vitor Belfort knocked out 58-year-old former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield in the main event.
while Anderson Silva continued to build his status on the boxing side of his post-UFC fighting career.
Let’s take a closer look at what we discovered while following this circus from Florida.
1. Triller is the bottom of the combat sports food chain
That’s a designation typically reserved for the many bare-knuckle boxing organizations that have sprung up in recent years, offering fading warriors of various fighting disciplines the last payout before retiring.
Triller, on the other hand, set a new bar for obscene by being willing to take a chance on Holyfield, a senior citizen, to replace Oscar De La Hoya, 47, on six days’ notice, even if it meant and it sadly did – moving the card to Florida on short notice after the California commission refused to license Holyfield.
But if the promotion’s sole fault on this night was bringing out competitors who were far beyond their prime, there wouldn’t be nearly as much controversy.
Triller managed to pull it off, along with a slew of other bizarre and surreal elements, such as several live kinds of music acts, a video of Snoop Dogg rapping with the late Marvin Gate, Donald Trump, and his son, Don Jr.
on another commentary feed, and the regular announce team imbibing alcohol (which was a departure from comedian Pete Davidson joining Snoop Dogg in smoking marijuana on a recent show).
In addition, before his fight, Belfort delivered a pro-wrestling-style promo in an interview, encouraging Americans to make their nation “great again,”.
And after his win, he called out both Jake Paul and Canelo Alvarez, replete with a stream of expletives, while his family cheered him on.
Triller officials, who were clearly intoxicated, also interrupted Belfort’s challenge to Paul by announcing that the winner would get $30 million.
In all honesty, boxing’s history is littered with far too many extreme instances to attempt to pick out pearls and make a big deal out of Triller’s terrible behavior.
You can only apply so much lipstick on a pig. However, it would be difficult to find this many strange, unpleasant and downright cringe moments all on the same night without feeling like this is a huge step backward.
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2. Let’s be happy for Holyfield it wasn’t much worse
Any state commission that would have permitted Holyfield.
who was one week short of turning 59 to box a competent hitter like Belfort with such a distinguished past in performance-enhancing drug problems is criminal.
Let’s just be grateful that Holyfield’s first-round TKO defeat was fast and relatively painless for everyone involved, especially him.
After the fight, Holyfield claimed that the knockdown he received before being halted on his feet was the result of a shove rather than a clean shot hitting.
He also said many times that he was unharmed. Even so, it was clear straight away that this wasn’t going to be a competitive game.
Belfort had just three years earlier competed at the highest levels of mixed martial arts.
Meanwhile, Holyfield had been retired for a decade after a 27-year professional career that included 57 bouts and numerous injuries for one of boxing’s fiercest fighters.
There was nothing to gain in this battle, apart from a salary.
Any discussion about whether referee Sam Burgos made the correct decision in halting.
the fight while Belfort was flurrying on Holyfield while hiding behind his gloves has to come to a halt right now.
In principle, old man bouts are always entertaining.
But if promoters continue to profit from them, they will eventually become sad and deadly.
The greatest thing that occurred that night was that Holyfield was able to go away on his own.
3. Consider Anderson Silva the new face of the celebrity boxing era
It’s fair to argue that the current trend of circus fights and celebrity crossovers started when Logan and Jake Paul, YouTube stars and social media influencers, decided to throw their hat into the ring a few years ago.
Both have recently embraced the sport seriously enough to headline a Showtime pay-per-view fight and establish themselves as genuine boxing attractions.
But neither seems to be as deadly as Silva, the 46-year-old UFC veteran, inside this bubble at the moment.
Silva set the internet on fire on Saturday by knocking fellow former UFC champion Tito Ortiz out cold with a counter right hand only 81 seconds into the first round, three months after his shock of disgraced former boxing middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
He (3-1, 2 KOs) has seamlessly transitioned between combat sports,
retaining a high level of speed and reflexes to go along with his boxing-ready footwork.
Silva has looked so brilliant in two bouts this calendar year that one has to question if, given his height and quickness, he’s too dangerous for either of the Paul brothers to take on.
The event would very certainly be a smash in any case.
Silva seems to be the best prepared of all the entertainers, MMA fighters and ex-boxers who have entered the ring during this bubble to continue inflicting harm if he chooses to go on.
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