Georges St. Pierre may have made headlines recently for his latest reprisal of Marvel's Batroc The Leaper in Disney+'s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but MMA fans are always on the lookout for any hint that the UFC legend could return to the fighting world. It appeared as if that was happening after the promotion Triller's boss Ryan Kavanaugh started talking up a superfight boxing match between GSP and boxing icon Oscar De La Hoya. Only that's probably not happening, since UFC president Dana White said no to St-Pierre's involvement, claiming he didn't even take Triller's call.
I spoke exclusively with Georges St-Pierre about many topics, including the much-discussed breakdown in any potential negotiations between Triller and UFC by way of making his boxing match with Oscar De La Hoya happen. GSP shared his thoughts on the situation, some information about the fight, and why he was ready to go to Triller and make the fight happen.
I understand that Dana didn't want me to fight. 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.
Georges St-Pierre definitely seemed disappointed with how the current situation is playing out, and it seems as though the fight won't happen unless Dana White has a big ol' change of heart. Triller's Ryan Kavanaugh had not mentioned any financial specifics in his initial public rant against Dana White, though he later shared that he would be willing to donate $250,000 to charity if White would agree to let GSP out of his UFC contract. Kavanaugh also alleged that White was privately courting Jake Paul for UFC fights, even though Paul's last fight was on Triller.
The former 3-time Welterweight UFC champion didn't have much more to say about Dana White or Ryan Kavanaugh, though Georges St-Pierre did have plenty of things to say about Oscar De La Hoya, only not the kind of smack-talk that Triller fights are already known for. St-Pierre spoke a bit about the proposed matchup, and why it would've been much more competitive than say, Jake Paul and Ben Askren.
And 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 thats ever done it and I come from a different sport. 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.
Any kind of fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Georges St-Pierre does sound worthy of a pay-per-view, from thumb-wrestling to Slapjack, but it likely won't happen. This negotiation collapse could be the just one of many between Triller and the UFC, as the up-and-coming company seeks to gain a larger foothold on the must-see pay-per-view MMA and boxing scene. It was reported (by Jake Paul) that Triller's pay-per-view between Ben Askren and Paul got 1.5 million buy-ins, and generated around $75 million. That's a lot of Purple Urkle.
For now, MMA fans can see Georges St-Pierre in movies, TV, and in UFC highlight reels, of course, and MCU fans can easily re-live his admittedly short run as Batroc the Leaper on Disney+ with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Speaking of all things boxing and Triller, "Iron" Mike Tyson recently shared some real talk about why folks hate Jake Paul.
