Getty Georges St-Pierre takes part in a training session on November 7, 2011 in Issy-les-Moulineaux, a neighboring suburb of Paris.
Former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre wants to try his hand in boxing, according to a promoter. But the possibility of it happening has hit a major obstacle.
Triller co-owner Ryan Kavanaugh took to Instagram earlier this week to claim that UFC president Dana White has “blocked” a boxing match between “GSP” and Oscar De La Hoya. De La Hoya announced a few months back that he will make his return to the ring on July 3 against an unnamed opponent, fighting for Triller Fight Club.
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According to Kavanaugh, it’s “The Golden Boy” and St-Pierre’s “dream” to box each other. But White won’t return Kavanaugh’s phone calls. Kavanaugh expressed his frustration in the post and also said that White is “trying to get Jake Paul to fight for the UFC.” Paul has boxed his last two matches for Triller, but he is currently a free agent.
“[White] and [UFC] just blocked @georgesstpierre from fighting @oscardelahoya,” Kavanaugh wrote. “It is a big payday for GSP and both he and Oscar’s dream to fight each other. Dana would rather hold back those who put the UFC where it is and why? @snoopdogg @jakepaul @mariolopez @teofimolopez @keviniole I’ve tried to call and Text Dana at least 5 times to make it work for both parties not even the courtesy of a return call. And he’s trying to get #jakepaul to fight for the ufc now? Making him offers? Just hurting his own people and chasing ours.”
It’s unclear if White has completely dismissed the boxing match or not, or if he will consider it in the near future. One thing is for certain, the UFC president does not have a good relationship with De La Hoya, so that could play into his decision of allowing St-Pierre to break his contract and box The Golden Boy.
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GSP Targeted a Fight With Former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov
The last time the Canadian stepped inside the UFC’s Octagon was in 2017 when he dethroned middleweight champion Michael Bisping. St-Pierre would vacate the belt shortly after due to medical reasons and then eventually retire from MMA.
He did target one superfight, however, with Khabib Nurmagomedov. He told the media on several occasions that he would return to the cage for one more fight and it had to be against “The Eagle.” Nurmagomedov also expressed interest in the fight.
Before “The Eagle’s” third lightweight title defense in October 2020 against Justin Gaethje, GSP was in the news regularly with many thinking he’d fight Nurmagomedov next should the Russian defend his belt.
Nurmagomedov defeated Gaethje but then announced his retirement from the sport, derailing the chances of the superfight. St-Pierre immediately accepted Nurmagomedov’s decision and said on several occasions that he will remain retired from MMA.
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