World mystified as Donald Trump confirms surprising new boxing gig

Donald Trump. Photo / Getty

Politics always involves plenty of scraps but Donald Trump is about to be involved in a very different kind of fight.

The former American president has landed a surprising role as a boxing commentator for this weekend's fight between Evander Holyfield and Vitor Belfort in Florida.

Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr, will be at the Hard Rock Casino to call the action live as fight fans are served up a circus that is becoming all the more routine in boxing as retired stars look to make a quick buck.

Triller Fight Club is promoting the event and said Trump will "host and commentate" on the night.

"I love great fighters and great fights," Trump said in a press release. "I look forward to seeing both this Saturday night and sharing my thoughts ringside. You won't want to miss this special event."

As many on social media pointed out, it means Trump will be doing boxing commentary on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Trump has long held an interest in combat sports, and is a good friend of UFC president Dana White.

Former U.S President Donald Trump at a UFC event earlier this year. Photo / Getty

Belfort, 44, is a former MMA star who fought in the UFC and was supposed to step in the ring against Oscar De La Hoya but the ex-boxer tested positive for Covid-19 and was ruled out of the sideshow. In his place stepped 58-year-old Holyfield — who famously had his ear bitten by Mike Tyson during his heyday.

That's not the only odd showdown taking place on the weekend. Also on the main card of the pay-per-view is a fight between UFC veteran Anderson Silva and UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz — who is a huge Trump fan and entered into a controversial political career himself before quitting the Huntington Beach City Council earlier this year.

UFC megastar Conor McGregor is the biggest name from MMA to cross over into boxing when he fought Floyd Mayweather in 2017, and now some of his contemporaries are following suit.

The main event was originally slated to take place in California but the state wouldn't licence Holyfield to take part in a professional fight, so things moved to Florida where the bout is being allowed to go ahead.

There was plenty of surprise at the announcement Trump would be behind the microphone for the fight.

MMA reporter Ben Fowlkes tweeted: "I don't know what's crazier: that the Triller people apparently thought to themselves 'hey maybe we could get Trump on the mic for this Florida boxing s***show' or that, if current reports are to be believed, they were right?"

Author Alex McClintock added: "If you ever feel like things are going badly, remember Donald Trump went from President of the United States to commentator on a novelty boxing match in Florida between two guys with a combined age of 102 in less than nine months.

"Doing commentary on novelty boxing matches seems like exactly the kind of thing Donald Trump would be doing in a world where he DIDN'T become president."