De La Hoya withdraws from his fight with Belfort due to Covid-19

Coronavirus has dealt another blow to boxing. Barcelona 1992 Olympic champion and former professional world champion in six weight categories Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) has found COVID-19 in his samples and the 48-year-old American will not be able to fight against former UFC champion Vitor Belfort (1-0, 1 KO) in Los Angeles on September 11.

58-year-old Evander Holyfield (44-10-2, 29 KOs), the only four-time world heavyweight champion in history, agrees to replace De La Hoya. The problem is that it's unknown if Holyfield, who returned to the ring after an eleven-year layoff (De La Hoya had a thirteen-year layoff), will participate in a full fight accepted by the California State Athletic Commission, which is sanctioning that evening.

De La Hoya vs. Belfort is another duel that was prevented by the coronavirus. It's worth recalling that in recent months COVID-19 has affected Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder III duel (postponed from July 24 to October 9 after Fury's illness), and Teofimo Lopez vs George Kambosos Jr. (postponed to August, then September and then October due to Lopez' infection), among others.