I Was Destroyed: Oscar De La Hoya Is Glad He Didn’t Fight Vitor Belfort

Oscar De La Hoya has had a very lucrative career both as a fighter and a promoter in the sport of boxing. A former Olympic gold medalist, De La Hoya made his professional debut in the year 1992, and till his retirement had 45 bouts in total. During his active career as a fighter, he went up against some of the elite boxers the world had in the near past just seen.

At present, De La Hoya, 49, is the chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions in boxing. Starting from stars such as Canelo Alvarez to Ryan Garcia, there are many elite athletes whom De La Hoya has so far promoted.

However, it has been over a decade since Golden Boy hung up his own gloves and retired for well. Still, back in 2021, he had promised a comeback. He was supposed to fight Vitor Belfort, a former contender in the UFC.

Oscar De La Hoya is glad he did not fight Belfort, but why?

Oscar De La Hoya and Belfort were all set to fight in an exhibition match in September 2021. However, because of unforeseen circumstances, the fight never happened. Recently, an interviewer asked De La Hoya about the cancellation of the match and how it had made the former feel at that time.

The following is what he told in reply: “I actually was one week away, and I got covid. That was the bottom line. I got covid, and it got me hard. I was very disappointed, I was destroyed.”

Watch This Story – Five Expensive Things Mike Tyson Was Forced to Sell

“I really wanted to be up in the ring and fight. Boxing is my comfort zone. Being inside the ring, it’s everything I know. So it was a big blow to me because I was in great shape mentally, physically,” he added.

Although the cancellation hit him like a big blow, De La Hoya was glad that the fight did not happen.

“Pretty glad it didn’t happen, because who knows what could have happened? I mean one wrong punch, especially against a guy who was weighing in 210 pounds. I’ve never even seen that weight, never in my life. Everything happens for a reason, so yeah, but I’ve hung up the gloves,” he said.

Read More – Oscar De La Hoya and Muhammad Ali Win Over Michael Buffer With Their Signature Moves

Well, good for De La Hoya that he didn’t have to fight Belfort. However, one cannot help but imagine what it would have been like had the two ever squared off in a ring.

What do you think about Oscar De La Hoya not fighting Vitor Belfort? Let us know in the comments.