The Real Winners and Losers from the Evander Holyfield-Vitor Belfort Card
Three ex-UFC champions. Two former cruiserweight and heavyweight boxing kingpins. Snoop Dogg in a "duet" with Marvin Gaye. And the guy who began 2021 as leader of the free world.
Put them all together on a Saturday night in South Florida and you've got yourself an event that'll be recalled far more for pomp, circumstance and logistical chaos than for lingering competitive value.
B/R's combat sports team was in the house for "Triller Fight Club - Legends II," a four-bout pay-per-view show broadcast from Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood—a 7,000-seat venue located about 30 miles northwest of Miami's South Beach.
The show was Triller's follow-up to last November's exhibition bout between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr., which was among 2020's top PPV events. The sequel was to feature former MMA ace Vitor Belfort against Oscar De La Hoya, but the 48-year-old boxer was stricken with COVID-19 and replaced atop the bill by 58-year-old Evander Holyfield, a two-time Tyson foe who'd last fought in 2011.
It was initially set for the Staples Center in Los Angeles but moved across the country during fight week after the California State Athletic Commission balked at sanctioning an event with Holyfield competing.
Additionally, the broadcast was to mark the fight-calling return of longtime HBO stalwart Jim Lampley, who signed a deal with Triller in the spring, but he exited shortly after the announcement that former President Donald Trump would be featured on a separate "unfiltered boxing commentary" feed.
Trump worked the mic with son Donald Jr., UFC veteran Jorge Masvidal and ESPN alum Todd Grisham.
Once the PPV was purchased, customers could toggle between English, Spanish and Trump.
Shawn Porter was set to team with Lampley on the main broadcast but instead worked alongside 50 Cent and Ray Flores.
No specific reason was given for Lampley's departure, though a source told B/R that "(Lampley) still expects to call fights."
All that said, the show did go on, and B/R handled its business amid the tumult to put together a definitive list of the night's winners and losers. Click through to see what we came up with, and drop a line or two in the comments to let us know what you thought, too.
Loser: Heavyweight Nostalgia
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Well, at least he looked ready to fight.
Though Holyfield was a trim, muscular 225.4 pounds at Friday's weigh-in, he was little more than a hollow shell of his championship self in losing by shocking first-round TKO in Saturday's main event.
Just a month shy of his 59th birthday, Holyfield was unsteady on his feet early on, was driven to the canvas by a looping left-right-left combination and was rescued during a follow-up combination from the 44-year-old Belfort that even drew a gasp of surprise from longtime fan and friend Trump.
The official time was one minute, 49 seconds.
"(Belfort's) stock is even higher tonight," Trump said, addressing the fighters and the crowd in a brief post-fight speech. "You beat someone who is probably one of the greatest of all time. I've been with Evander a long time and I've never seen that happen to him. It's just one of those things."
Belfort, who'd stopped someone named Josemario Neves in a single round in his only official pro boxing match 15 years ago, used the unexpected platform to praise Trump, call for unity in his adopted home country and challenge social media boxing ringleader Jake Paul to a $30 million winner-take-all match.
Paul fought another ex-UFC champion, Tyron Woodley, to a grueling split-decision win last month.
The challenge was issued for late November, on the anniversary of Triller's Tyson-Jones debut last year.
"I'll bring it back. I'll bring it harder," Belfort said. "Get ready, boxers. You've got to come to my world."
Addressing Paul, he said: "You've got my respect, but I'm going to put you in my lap. You'll be like a baby."
For Holyfield, the loss all but killed any chance for a third bout with Tyson, whom he beat in 1996 and 1997 and had long said was his preferred target for any prolonged ring return.
The former four-time champion threw jabs and occasional right hands at the outset, but he appeared to slip on a spot in the ring as Belfort threw a punch and subsequently almost fell through the ropes while missing a wide shot of his own.
He was rattled soon after by a long left, then went down as a subsequent right hand and left uppercut landed. He rose and reengaged, but Belfort drove him across the ring with another flurry and prompted an intervention from referee Sam Burgos.
The crowd booed the stoppage in real time as Holyfield protested, but video replays showed how significantly the punches had landed.
Loser: Bad-Boy Blathering
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If you didn't like the idea of Tito Ortiz in a ring, don't worry.
It probably won't happen again.
The self-professed MMA bad boy and vocal Trump supporter lasted less than half a round in his professional boxing debut, taking a single hard right hand and spending the next 10 seconds flat on his face on the way to a KO loss to fellow ex-UFC champ Anderson Silva in a scheduled eight-rounder.
The official time, for those keeping score, was one minute, 21 seconds.
Ortiz, 46, who won six of nine UFC title fights from 1999 to 2006, hadn't competed professionally since 2019 and had a stint earlier this year on the city council in his hometown of Huntington Beach, California.
Nevertheless, he promised mayhem against Silva a day after missing weight and strode to the ring carrying a flag with loud backing from the "Real American" theme song made popular by Hulk Hogan in the 1980s.
He charged at Silva at the opening bell and threw combinations of wide slow punches as the Brazilian focused on defense. The fight went to a corner as Ortiz continued to unload, until the moment he was struck by a counter right from Silva that pitched him forward toward the ring post.
A follow-up left drove him to the floor, where he was counted out by referee Christopher Young.
"I expected more from this fight," Silva said. "You know, I trained hard, showed my respect for the boxing world. The grand master Bruce Lee said, 'Be water, my friend.' That's what I did today."
Winner: Real Fighters in a Real Fight
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Whaddya know?
Even on Old Timers Night, an actual fight can break out.
Lost amid a PPV circus whose winners were 46, 44 and 40 years old, combative junior lightweights Jono Carroll and Andy Vences put on the most entertaining scrap of the show with a 10-rounder billed as an eliminator for the WBA's title in the division.
Carroll, a 29-year-old from Ireland, was deemed the winner by majority decision.
Two judges gave him official nods of 97-93, while a third saw it even at 95 apiece.
Labeled "King Kong," Carroll was the more aggressive and busier fighter for most of the rounds, fighting effectively from a southpaw stance and consistently forcing his California-based foe into exchanges.
Vences did have his moments, though, opening a cut over Carroll's right eye with hard, precise counter shots and occasionally controlling space when he chose to fight off his front foot.
A ringside physician took a long look at Carroll's eye before the ninth round while Vences stood in a neutral corner, exhorting the crowd to chime in and encourage the fight to continue.
It did, and the fans were brought to their feet several times in the final six minutes before greeting the fighters with an ovation at the final bell.
Carroll lost to Tevin Farmer in a bid for the IBF title at 130 pounds in 2019, but he is now 4-1 since and 20-2-1 overall since turning pro in 2012.
Vences, meanwhile, fell to 23-3-1 since 2012, with all three losses coming in his last four fights. He arrived ranked seventh in the world by the WBA, three slots below Carroll.
"I'm not in the sport just to fight," Carroll said. "If I can't get to a world title, then farewell.
"I don't love the sport to stay in it just for the sake of staying in it. Every fight for me now is with the intention of fighting for a world title next."
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Loser: Heavyweight Reality
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No, David Haye is not ready for Tyson Fury.
Or perhaps even Tommy Fury.
But what he had left at age 40 was still more than enough to handle comparative novice Joe Fournier in their eight-round heavyweight "grudge match."
Absent from the ring for more than three years since consecutive stoppage losses to Tony Bellew, Haye looked more than capable of handling himself against a 38-year-old foe who'd arrived with an unbeaten record against competition boasting a combined mark of 29-116-1.
The fight was officially labeled an exhibition and was contested with two-minute rounds.
Nicknamed "The Billionaire," Fournier strolled to the ring with a curious mix of Winston Churchill and Los Lobos, but he had precious little to offer afterward as Haye controlled distance with an active left jab and occasional follow-up right hands.
Haye scored the fight's lone knockdown with a jab in the final few seconds of the first round and controlled nearly every session with the same approach, dodging Fournier's occasional rushes and wild swings.
The ex-cruiserweight and heavyweight title claimant called for the belt-toting Fury in the aftermath, but he'd be much better suited to the burgeoning Triller senior circuit.
Two judges scored it 79-72 in Haye's favor, while a third gave him every round on an 80-71 card.
B/R agreed and gave Haye a 79-72 nod.
"I did what I wanted to do tonight. I wanted to show the world I've got plenty left," Haye said. "There's one fighter I'd come back to professional boxing for and that's Tyson Fury. That big, fat dosser.
"I know what he can't handle. I'm his kryptonite. I know he knows it. His dad knows it. His uncle knows it. My overhand right, which I didn't show in there tonight. I didn't want to scare him. If I let my right hand go, he wouldn't be taking the fight."
Haye was a champion at cruiserweight following wins over Jean-Marc Mormeck and Enzo Maccarinelli in 2007 and 2008, respectively, then climbed to heavyweight for a defeat of then-WBA champion Nikolai Valuev in 2009. He defended with KOs over ex-champ John Ruiz and former Olympian Audley Harrison, but lost his belt by a wide decision to Wladimir Klitschko in 2011.
He was inactive for four years following a defeat of Dereck Chisora in 2012, then scored two more wins before the consecutive losses to Bellew prompted his retirement.
"(Fury) thinks I'm 40 years old. He thinks I'm finished," Haye said. "I've been out of the ring. I've just had one fight against Joe Fournier. He thinks it'll be an easy fight and he's wrong. I know he's dodging Anthony Joshua because he doesn't want that work. I'll give it to him. 'The Hayemaker' will come for you. We were meant to fight in 2013; it didn't happen. I'm healthy now, I'm ready to go.
"Fans want to see Tyson Fury fight someone who can knock him out. He's been put down by way lighter punchers than myself. (Steve) Cunningham nearly had him out. Smaller guys have put him over. I know what his kryptonite is, and he's getting knocked out when we get in the ring."
Winner: Triller's Ploy to Make Noise
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The folks at Triller were obviously looking to make some noise.
So, toward that end, their choice of announce teams worked.
Having Trump on the mic guaranteed a night of consistent social media buzz that a fight, go figure, matching a 58-year-old and a 44-year-old might not otherwise have gotten.
His commentary included predictable references to "bad rigged decisions" in boxing and political elections, not to mention mispronouncing Anderson Silva's name as "Anderson Silver."
And it was no different in the house in Hollywood, where the former chief executive was greeted upon arrival around 6:30 p.m. with a "We love you, Mr. President" shout and follow-up cheers from the several dozen then in the building. He acknowledged the initial love with waves and thumbs-ups from a makeshift studio perched atop the seating area in a row of luxury boxes.
Naturally, not all in the building were pumped about the high-profile guest, which prompted dueling chants at random points throughout the evening.
A flurry of "Let's go, Biden!" yellers were quickly shouted down by a "F--k, Joe Biden!" reply, while a subsequent "We want Trump!" chorus was interrupted each time by a "No, we don't" response from a few adjacent attendees.
That said, the "noise" was not restricted to the former and current White House occupants.
Porter and Flores were toasted when 50 Cent cracked open a bottle of champagne at ringside, and the card was supplemented by the presence of a still-youthful Mario Lopez, a silver-haired Michael Buffer and live musical guests Gente de Zona, Lunay and Anitta, who performed on the stage alongside the ring.
Later, during a memorial 10-count for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, a shouting woman wearing a "Cancel Big Tech" T-shirt was ejected from ringside. And more back-and-forth chants broke out when Trump was shown on the big screen following a stirring rendition of the national anthem by nine-year-old D'Corey Johnson.
"This is like a rally," said Trump, who was criticized elsewhere for participating in the event on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. "We love you all. We love this country."
Loser: A High-Profile Debut
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It's a night Eliezer Silva will remember forever.
But he'll be one of the very few.
The Los Angeles-based Brazilian made his professional debut in the night's first fight, pounding on nondescript opponent Terry Roscoe for the majority of four rounds while scoring a unanimous decision in their middleweight get-together.
Imposing at 6'1" and 158 pounds, Silva, 26, fought effectively from a left-handed stance throughout a 12-minute coming-out party, though it was only celebrated before a few dozen early arrivals in the venue shortly after 6 p.m.—an hour before the pay-per-view broadcast got started.
The amphitheater was so quiet, in fact, that Porter's voice from the announce table was clearly audible.
Roscoe, who was dropped in the third round, lost for the sixth time in seven fights since winning his pro debut 13 months ago at the DeKalb County Schools Coliseum in Fort Payne, Alabama.
In a second non-televised bout, Anthony Chavez fought to a majority draw with Diuhl Olguin over six rounds at junior lightweight. One judge gave Chavez a 58-56 nod but was overruled by two 57-57 scorecards.
Full Card Results from Evander Holyfield vs. Vitor Belfort
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Main Card
Vitor Belfort def. Evander Holyfield by TKO, 1:49, Round 1
Anderson Silva def. Tito Ortiz by KO, 1:21, Round 1
Jono Carroll def. Andy Vences by majority decision (95-95, 97-93, 97-93)
David Haye def. Joe Fournier by unanimous decision (79-72, 80-71, 79-72)
Preliminary Card
Anthony Chavez drew with Diuhl Olguin by majority decision (58-56, 57-57, 57-57)
Eliezer Silva def. Terry Roscoe by unanimous decision (39-36, 39-36, 39-36)
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