After Dana White was recently accused of blocking a fight between Georges St-Pierre (GSP) and Oscar De La Hoya, GSP has now confirmed the news in disappointment.
Last week, both Oscar De La Hoya and Triller executive Ryan Kavanaugh stated that Dana White prevented a boxing match between UFC legend Georges St-Pierre and De La Hoya from happening. After De La Hoya was quoted in calling White a “fuck nut,” he posted on Instagram that he’d be willing to add an extra $250,000 from his fight purse to go to a charity of Dana White’s choosing.
White was not persuaded and likely didn’t even know about De La Hoya’s offer. He stated at the UFC 262 post-fight press conference that he refused to take any calls from anyone associated with Triller without any desire to even know what the calls were about.
Now, St-Pierre has come forward to discuss what happened. And much like De La Hoya, he was not pleased to learn of White’s decision.
“I understand that Dana didn’t want me to fight,” St-Pierre said in an interview with Cinema Blend. “However, it would have been fun. Because my career as a professional fighter, to become the best in the world in mixed martial arts, is done. I’m turning 40 years old tomorrow; I’m going to be 40 years old. It’s a young man’s game.
“However, to rather fight a boxing match under the rules that Triller put on against the legendary Oscar De La Hoya? For me, it would have been a dream come true, because he is my second favorite boxer of all time, behind Sugar Ray Leonard. Plus, a lot of the money made would have been given to charity. So it would have been for a good cause, just to show that we don’t take ourselves too seriously. And it would have been serious competition because you say, I play basketball, I play hockey, but you don’t ‘play’ fighting. It would have been fun.”
Like most people, Dana White wouldn’t be in a big hurry to do business with someone he considers to be a cokehead, so perhaps this deal was dead from the start and maybe even a waste of time. Furthermore, many people may wonder why St-Pierre would even agree to a boxing match against a former boxing champion, to begin with. St-Pierre was regarded to be primarily a grappler throughout his MMA career. Even in Conor McGregor’s case when boxing Floyd Mayweather in 2017, McGregor was well known as a striker. The same cannot be said for the wrestling-heavy Canadian.
In spite of public assumptions, St-Pierre believes that the fight would have been fairer than most would think due to age and size differentials evening out the playing field.
“I don’t have the audacity to pretend that I’m better boxer that Oscar De La Hoya was because when he was in his prime, he’s one of the best that’s ever done it, and I come from a different sport,” St-Pierre said. “But take it now because of where we are in our lives. I think it would have been a good matchup between him and I because he’s older than me. Yeah, of course he has a lot more experience than me in boxing. But I’m younger, I’m a little bit bigger. So I think it would’ve made it a pretty even matchup. It could have been fun.”
Georges St-Pierre just turned 40 years old today, May 19. He won’t be celebrating his birthday with a lucrative fighting deal, but perhaps he can enjoy a marathon viewing of his past fights in a sport he actually does have experienced with while enjoying a few rounds of birthday cake.
Do you think Georges St-Pierre would have had a chance of defeating Oscar De La Hoya in a boxing match?
