De La Hoya tops bill on 'game-changing' ticket

Oscar De La Hoya is launching a comeback in hopes of becoming king of the TrillerVerz.

The 11-time world champion will return to the ring on Sept 11 in Las Vegas to face former UFC superstar Vitor Belfort as part of TrillerVerz, a collaboration between Verzuz and Fight Club, which are both owned by global streaming service Triller. The partnership aims to meld the cultural phenomenon the two companies have created in music and sports.

The inaugural TrillerVerz festival will launch on Sept 10 with a full concert lineup, followed by the fight the following night and more concerts on Sept 12.

"We continue to create the biggest and most talked-about events of the year, and we're thrilled to introduce TrillerVerz, a spectacular weekend of music and boxing programmed by the legends themselves," said Bobby Sarnavesht, Triller chairman and co-founder.

"There is no more anticipated and talked-about return to the ring than Oscar De La Hoya, and his matchup with a legendary UFC champion in Vitor Belfort will be a must-watch for entertainment and athleticism."

The 48-year-old De La Hoya, who retired after a loss to Manny Pacquiao in 2008, is excited to be back.

"I'm proud to be part of Triller and Verzuz and their game-changing model of reimagining the boxing business as four-quadrant entertainment," De La Hoya told fightscene.com.

"I have nothing but the utmost respect for a champion like Vitor Belfort, and we will show the world what high-level boxing is all about. It was incredibly important to me that my comeback was on this date as it represents such an important moment in history for me, my fans, and the world."

Known as "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championship in three divisions as well as being an Olympic gold medalist.

He was named Ring magazine's Fighter of the Year in 1995, and was its top-rated pound for pound fighter in the world in 1997 and 1998. He compiled a record of 39-6 with 30 KOs over his 16-year career.

Brazilian MMA fighter Belfort is known to fight fans as "The Phenom" for the explosive striking power that helped him secure the UFC light heavyweight championship.

"It will be a pleasure to represent MMA again, this time in the ring against one of the biggest names in the history of boxing," said the 44-year-old Belfort, who was 26-14-1 in MMA fights and won his lone pro boxing match by first-round KO in 2006.

"It will be a war not to be missed and a fight my kids will be talking about. This is certain to make combat sports history."

The TrillerVerz weekend comes on the heels of the Triller's record-breaking Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones exhibition last November and the chart-topping Jake Paul-Ben Askren Triller Fight Club event in April.

Meanwhile, the Aug 21 "superfight" between Pacquiao and Errol Spence to unify the WBC/IBF world welterweight titles will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) will be making his 22nd career appearance in Sin City, though his first at the venue that houses the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights. The 42-year-old southpaw, who has won world titles in eight different weight classes, has not fought since winning a 12-round decision over then-unbeaten WBA welterweight champ Keith Thurman in July 2019.

Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) will attempt his second unified WBC/IBF title defense and sixth overall of the IBF belt he claimed in an 11th-round stoppage of Kell Brook in May 2017 in Sheffield, England.

Spence, 31, added the WBC belt to his collection with a well-earned split decision over Shawn Porter in their September 2019 unification bout at Staples Center in Los Angeles.