The Death Of Triller: The most repugnant combat promotor of the decade closes its doors
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(Let) Paul celebrates his victory over Askren, (right) Holyfield hits the canvas against Belfort
Triller has decided to finally shut down its boxing department and will no longer host any sort of combat sports events in the near future. Triller gave the likes of Jake Paul, and other YouTubers an opportunity to cross over into boxing and the verdict is still out on how that is to be perceived.
Triller was originally just a video-sharing platform that worked a lot like tik-tok, however, a surge in the app traffic around the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, prompted its owners to shift it’s attention into making entertainment and sporting events.
To this effort, Triller partnered with Mike Tyson and his Legends only League in setting up Tyson’s return to the ring against the former multi-divisional world champion, Roy Jones Jr. The event also featured Jake Paul going up against NBA superstar Nate Robinson on the undercard. It was the first and only event by the Org to not receive significant flak.
Triller shuts down Boxing Department Indefinitely
Since then Triller had been aiming for the bottom of the barrel with their promotional events. Starting with a boxing match between Jake Paul and retired MMA Champion, healing from a hip injury, Ben Askren, Fight Club had nowhere to go but down with each consistent event being tougher to watch than the previous one.
It’s biggest early blow came when Jake Paul, shifted and signed a long-term deal with Showtime Sports leading to a huge vacuum in their star power. To fill this void triller would sign up retired boxers and MMA fighters to be featured in their events.
A shameful example of this was when an out-of-shape Frank Mir was called up to face Kubrat Pulev, a boxer still among the top contenders at heavyweight, regardless to say, Pulev won that fight early. Another one followed shortly when Anderson Silva was booked against Tito Ortiz.
Silva who had been looking to re-establish himself in a boxing ring had just recently gone the distance and beat Julio Ceasar Chavez, a former Boxing Champion, while Ortiz was fresh off a stint in politics. The difference in skill was evident as Silva KOd Tito in the very first round.
Triller’s most shameful moment, in fact, can be pointed out as the fight between a juiced-up Vitor Belfort and a 58-year-old Evander Holyfield. In what was supposed to be an exhibition, the fighters were prohibited from wearing headgear and Belfort came in swinging as if it were a championship fight. Thankfully the fight was stopped shortly after the first knockdown.
What do you think will be the legacy of Triller in combat sports? Let us know!
Also Read: Mike Tyson gives two-division UFC champion a masterclass on signature “PEEK A BOO” technique
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Jerin Mathew
(713 Articles Published)