After the fight: How Triller is trashing the sport of boxing

Triller Fight Club started strong with Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr., but they’ve taken a wrong turn along the way and have transformed into a travesty. 

When Triller ventured into the boxing business with their Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. event, the social media platform looked like they struck gold. However, less than a year later, they’ve lost their momentum and look like the freakshow of combat sports.

It’s not hard to sell a Tyson fight, even when he was 54 years old. Triller went about bringing Tyson to the ring the right way. Triller booked Tyson vs. Jones Jr. as an eight-round exhibition with shortened rounds.

Unfortunately, they didn’t provide Evander Holyfield with the same common-sense approach. They set up a boxing legend for failure and embarrassment in a cheap sideshow format.

In reality, Triller’s production for Holyfield vs. Belfort likely cost a fortune. They owed Holyfield a ton of money, and TMZ reported that they shelled out a small fortune to secure President Donald Trump for his alternative commentary.

There may not have a bigger waste of cash in combat sports history.

What made Tyson vs. Jones Jr. so successful was Triller’s presentation of the event. They kept it real with fight fans. They presented a competitive exhibition bout between two former greats. It was nostalgic and fun.

Holyfield vs. Belfort was originally billed as a professional bout. So were two other fights on the card, but they all morphed into exhibitions. David Haye didn’t pretend to try against his friend Joe Fournier and openly admitted after the fight that he held back.

Triller Fight Club deeply disappointed boxing fans with its Evander Holyfield vs. Vitor Belfort show

Triller’s lack of transparency is a great way to alienate fans.

Tyson vs. Jones Jr. was classy and professional. It looked like the champagne of combat sporting events with A-list musical performers and celebrities. It had the perfect blend of boxing and music that provided an innovative format.

It’s wild how quickly Triller degraded their product five months later with Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren. The class from their previous event evaporated, and trash T.V. took over. Paul vs. Askren was akin to The Jerry Springer Show.

The inclusion of the unfunny Pete Davidson, who did nothing but curse and insult Triller Fight Club, along with slap fighting and the occasional drunk commentary, made for an incredibly sloppy and disappointing show. The pacing was awful, and so was the matchmaking.

Triller found a way to outdo the ludicrousness of Paul vs. Askren with Holyfield vs. Belfort.

Jono Carroll vs. Andy Vences was a very entertaining contest, but the remainder of the pay-per-view bouts were bizarre. Anderson Silva scorched Tito Ortiz, Haye vs. Fournier looked scripted, and Holyfield vs. Belfort shouldn’t have happened.

The addition of Trump and Donald Trump Jr. made no sense. Triller decided that they wanted added sensationalism for their show and booked one of the most unrestrained voices in history onboard. Trump knew very little about any of the boxers and made factual errors all over the place while inserting jokes that perpetuated false voter fraud claims.

Trump further demolished Triller’s boxing credibility and reduced the show’s quality in a truly Trumpian way. Put Triller Fight Club right up there with Trump University, Trump Vodka, and Trump Steaks. They’re equally appetizing.

Triller has gone so far in the gutter that it’s hard to imagine that they can redeem themselves in the eyes of boxing fans. They can say that they’re not trying to appeal to traditional boxing fans all they like, but without boxing credibility, they’re nothing more than a promoter of crappy D-list celebrity boxing with deep pockets.

Also, their cash flow will dry up quickly if they continue putting out a subpar product like Holyfield vs. Belfort.

Triller’s fall is disappointing. The path to redemption is clear. Go back to the formula that made Tyson vs. Jones Jr. a success. Right now, they’re making headlines for all the wrong reasons and taking boxing with them down a debauched path.