UFC legend Georges St-Pierre has never had any hesitation in testing himself in new ways. That willingness to tread new ground continued into a recent period of rumored negotiations to face legendary boxer Oscar De La Hoya in the boxing ring.
Triller CEO Ryan Kavanaugh recently took shots at UFC president Dana White for blocking the contest, statements De La Hoya backed up. When asked about Triller and the big business the company had done by promoting social media star Jake Paul's fight with former UFC fighter Ben Askren, White blew the company off, insisting they had lied about the numbers the fight had pulled and claiming they called him daily.
St-Pierre confirmed to Cinema Blend that White had, as Kavanaugh claimed, nixed the fight with De La Hoya.
"I understand that Dana didn't want me to fight," St-Pierre said. "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."
St-Pierre went on to say that he was under no illusion that he is a better boxer than De La Hoya but believed being younger and bigger would be enough to make for a competitive fight.
Meanwhile, Kavanaugh has continued pushing White to allow the fight to move forward, offering to pay $250,000 to a charity of White's choice if the UFC president allows St-Pierre to take the fight.
