I myself gave in, and ordered the Triller PPV Saturday, mainly to monitor what Donald Trump and his son Junior said while doing commentary. But, after 25 minutes floundering about, and being unable to figure out how to access that Trump commentary, I called my provider, and told them to forget it, cancel my order.
They complied, and at the same time, the ref pulled the plug on the fighting career of Evander Holyfield. This sad coda proved something that didn't need proving–that 58 year old people should not engage in prize fights, and if they want to keep competing, then they should put on head gear, find someone of comparable skill and age, and go about it that way. No one should be fighting for money, ideally, at age 58.
Ole Holy walks to the ring for the last time as an active prizefighter. He turns 59 on October 19, for the record. Photo, and all photos in this story, by Amanda Westcott
Will that be THE takeaway from the Saturday night event, which took place in Florida, the place you want to go if you want to take advantage of a “laissez faire” mindset which the state leadership embraces? Probably…Though the producers will not be inclined to focus on that element of the promotion, and will instead seek to play up the performance of the 44 year old Belfort, who looked better than most expected.
Is that because he was fighting a 58 year old dude? It didn't hurt…And the producers can point out that Holyfield was a fill-in, that 48-year-old Oscar De La Hoya, if he hadn't been scratched because of COVID, would have been better equipped to handle Belfort.
Here is the release put out by Triller after the fights:
Fort Lauderdale, FL (September 11, 2021) In front of a standing-room only crowd on Saturday night at the Hard Rock LIVE at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Fort Lauderdale, FL, TRILLER FIGHT CLUB presented an outstanding, action packed evening of boxing and music.
With the 45th President of the United States, DONALD J. TRUMP commentating on the FITE.TV Pay-Per-View and phenomenal music from ANITTA, LUNAY and GENTE DE ZONA, fans were treated to an extraordinary evening of entertainment.
Headlining the event, former UFC Heavyweight World Champion VITOR ‘THE PHENOM’ BELFORT, (2-0, 2 KOs), stopped former Undisputed Cruiserweight and Heavyweight World Champion EVANDER ‘THE REAL DEAL’ HOLYFIELD, (44-11-2, 29 KOs), in the first round. Dropping Holyfield twice in the opening stanza, the bout was stopped at 1:49 of the round as the heavy-handed Belfort proved too much for the Hall of Famer.
“It was a legendary moment for me to fight tonight. I’m very blessed. It was a great environment here, great fights and competition,” said Belfort. “We can all learn from the sport of boxing about how to adapt. We should be more caring for each other in this great country of America.”
“You never judge how many victories you have, you judge by the quality of your opponents. When you fight someone, the two warriors gain immediate respect for each other. For me to be able to compete with Holyfield is a dream.”
Continued Belfort, “Yes, I challenge Jake Paul to a thirty-million-dollar winner take all fight, he cannot say no to me, he needs a real fight.”
Said Holyfield, “I wasn’t able to bounce back like I used to. I let him get too close. But he’s strong and he pushed me but I wasn’t hurt. I’m not hurt at all. Yes, I’m still interested in fighting Mike Tyson.”
Co-featured, ANDERSON ‘THE SPIDER’ SILVA, (3-1, 2 KOs), knocked out ‘THE HUNTINGTON BEACH BAD BOY’ TITO ORTIZ, (0-1), with a stunning overhand right to the head dropping Ortiz to the canvas. With Ortiz unable to beat the count the fight was stopped at 1:21 of the round.
“I’m so happy, my team and I worked so hard,” said Silva. “I just try to enjoy every single moment inside the ring. Thanks to God for giving me one more time to do my job.”
“The training is tough and that makes me feel ready for everything inside the ring. The entire team pushes me every day. I prepare my body and my mind for war and tonight I won. I’m not sure what’s next, just to go home and be with my family.”
In a battle of former friends, Former Unified Cruiserweight World Champion and Former Heavyweight World Champion DAVID ‘THE HAYEMAKER’ HAYE, (29-4, 26 KOs), solidly defeated JOE ‘THE BILLIONAIRE’ FOURNIER, (9-1, 9 KOs), in their eight-round clash. Scores were 80-71 and 79-72 (twice) as Haye flashed moments of brilliance throughout the fight against the outgunned Fournier.
“It felt really good to be back in the ring,” said the victorious Haye. “I haven’t hit a bag in three years, no sparring but I had four weeks of preparation for this and I got in there and felt fresh. I felt sharp, my timing was good. I wanted to give eight rounds of good entertainment and that’s what I did.”
“Now I feel like I’m ready to do some big things. I went out there and did exactly what I was going to do. Tyson Fury has been in my mind for a long time since 2013 when we were scheduled to fight. I’ve always wanted that fight and I’ve seen him getting better and better. I know I can beat him, I know his style, I know what he does well. My attributes don’t work for his style and he and his team know that.”
In a thrilling ten-round junior lightweight battle, Ireland’s JONO “KING KONG’ CARROLL, (22-6, 5 KOs), was victorious over ANDY ‘EL TIBURON’ VENCES, (23-3-1, 12 KOs), by way of majority decision. Scores were 95-95 and 97-93 twice. An even fight in the first half, the southpaw Carroll would pull away in the latter half of the fight with damaging combinations against the valiant Vences.
Said Carroll, “It’s fantastic to get this big win, it’s been a very tough year. But they say you have to sacrifice to really succeed in life. It’s never been a matter of if, only when I’m going to accomplish these goals. And now in 2022 I’m set up to fight for a world title and become a world champion. When I become a world champion I can build on the next chapter in my life.
A win like tonight and it all becomes worth it.”
In a preliminary bout, ANTHONY CHAVEZ, (9-1-1, 3 KOs), and DIUHL OLGUIN, (15-19-5, 10 KOs) fought to a majority draw in their junior lightweight bout. Scores were 58-56 for Chavez and 57-57, twice.
Also, ELIEZER SILVA, (1-0), made a successful pro debut against TERRY ROSCOE, (2-6), in their four round middleweight fight. Scores were 39-36 on all three scorecards for Silva.