Evander Holyfield’s return to the ring didn’t go anywhere near as planned.
Holyfield fell to UFC Hall of Famer Vitor Belfort via a first round TKO after Belfort landed several blows and had the 58-year-old former champion stumbling around the ring out of control.
“The guy pushed me. The guy’s strong,” Holyfield said after the loss. “I wasn’t hurt … The thing is, it wasn’t no shot that really hurt me real bad. He’s just strong and he gave me a shot and he fell down.”
Holyfield said he wasn’t hurt at all after the fight, and that he didn’t think the official should have stopped the fight when he did.
“It’s kind of sad. It is what it is,” he said of the whole experience.
Holyfield struggled to find his footing, and at one point even nearly lost his balance and fell through the ropes out of the ring. Belfort got a knockdown shortly after Holyfield got back up, and then landed nearly two dozen uncontested shots before the official stopped the match with just 12 seconds left in the first round.
Holyfield was a late add to the event, replacing Oscar de la Hoya who tested positive for COVID-19 less than two weeks ago. Holyfield hasn’t fought since 2011 — when he beat Brian Nielsen with a 10th round TKO. He held a 44-10-2 overall record with 29 knockouts headed into Saturday’s bout.
Belfort has only boxed professionally once in his career, having knocked out Josemario Neves in 2006. The former UFC champion, however, boasts a 26-14 record in the Octagon. He last fell to Lyoto Machida in 2018.
This post will be updated with more information shortly