Oscar De La Hoya Hospitalized with Covid-19, Pulls Out of Comeback Fight

Oscar De La Hoya took to Twitter to announce he is currently in the hospital being treated for covid-19, despite being fully vaccinated. He also shared that he will be pulling out of his scheduled comeback fight.

“Wanted you to hear directly from me that despite being fully vaccinated, I have contracted Covid and am not going to be able to fight next weekend. Preparing for this comeback has been everything to me over the last months, & I want to thank everyone for their tremendous support,” he tweeted.

After being away for more than a decade, the 48-year-old boxer was set to make his comeback in a fight against Victor Belfort on September 11.

“What are the chances of me getting COVID?” he says in the video. “I’ve been taking care of myself. This really, really kicked my ass.”

De La Hoya is confident that he’ll be back in the ring “before the year is up.”

As for the fight that was scheduled for next weekend at LA’s Staples Center, former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield has agreed to step in and box Belfort in his place. However, the fight will now take place at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, sources told ESPN.

Wanted you to hear directly from me that despite being fully vaccinated, I have contracted Covid and am not going to be able to fight next weekend. Preparing for this comeback has been everything to me over the last months, & I want to thank everyone for their tremendous support. pic.twitter.com/0wKEnr5Jzv

— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) September 3, 2021