Despite being outclassed at 58 years old, Evander Holyfield believes that the referee’s stoppage of his fight against Vitor Belfort was premature. Triller commentators made note that the referee for the event made the correct decision.
Belfort vs Holyfield
During Triller Fight Club’s main event, Vitor Belfort took on Evander Holyfield. However, Vitor was initially scheduled to face another boxing legend in Oscar De La Hoya. Unfortunately, Oscar was sidelined after testing positive for Covid-19, leaving Vitor without an opponent. Shortly after, Holyfield was announced as Vitor’s new opponent, as Evander planned to make a boxing comeback regardless.
The referee appeared to be wary from the beginning of the fight due to Holyfield’s 58 years old. Many fight fans believed that the Florida Athletic Commission shouldn’t have sanctioned the fight due to Holyfield’s age and training on the pads he displayed leading up to the battle.
Holyfield appeared to trip over his own feet, finding difficulty pivoting throughout the ring. Belfort capitalized on the inconsistent stability blitzing Evander into the corner and landing an uppercut.
The strike initially seemed to hit Holyfield in the chest. Nonetheless, it was enough to drop him. After he stood back up, Vitor unleashed powerful hooks, forcing the referee to stop the action.
Holyfield is now saying he wasn’t hurt in the post fight interview. Says it was a bad call and he should have been able to continue. Says he still wants to fight Mike Tyson.
No mother*cking thank you.
— Andreas Hale (@AndreasHale) September 12, 2021
Holyfield Speaks on Early Stoppage
Immediately after the fight, Holyfield told Triller Fight Club fans that he was never in danger of being hurt during the stoppage. Instead, he believes that the referee stopped the fight entirely too early.
“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,” said Holyfield immediately after the exhibition.
Rapper 50 Cent then asked Holyfield if he was still interested in fighting Mike Tyson, in which he replied with “yes.”
After seeing Holyfield’s performance against Belfort, should he step inside of the ring against Mike Tyson?
