Former President Donald Trump was defeated by Joe Biden at the ballot box last year, but the 45th president is confident he would beat his political rival in the boxing ring if the chance arose.

Trump called in Thursday to a press conference ahead of Saturday’s fight between former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort and was asked: “If you had to box somebody on Saturday night, who would it be and what would the fight look like?”

“Well, if I had to pick somebody in the world, not only a professional boxer — because I’ll take a pass on the professional boxers, that could be a very dangerous subject,” Trump answered, “but if I had to box somebody, I think probably my easiest fight would be Joe Biden, because I think he’d go down very, very quickly. Very, very quickly.

“You know, he once said, ‘Oh, I’d like to take him behind the bar,’ ” added Trump, referencing the then-vice president’s 2016 statement that he would like to take Trump “behind the gym.”

“He’d be in big trouble if he ever did,” Trump went on. “No, I think Biden would go down within the first few seconds.”

The former president’s verbal jab at his successor drew laughter and applause from the fighters and other press conference attendees.

President Joe Biden
Former President Donald Trump touted President Joe Biden “would go down within the first few seconds.”
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Trump and his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., will provide commentary on a “gamecast” of the pay-per-view event, which will go off Saturday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. The main telecast will be fronted by Jim Lampley, the longtime voice of boxing on HBO, with analysis by former welterweight world champion Shawn Porter.

The eight-round Holyfield-Belfort tilt tops a four-fight card that includes matchups between MMA greats Anderson Silva and Tito Ortiz as well as boxers David Haye and Joe Fournier. Holyfield is a last-minute substitute for Oscar De La Hoya, who was originally supposed to fight Belfort at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, but withdrew after contracting COVID-19.

Trump said Thursday that the presence of Holyfield, a longtime friend, was “one of the reasons” he agreed to be a part of the fight presentation.

“I tell you what, I have been close to Evander,” the former president said. “I’ve been with him during some incredible times in his career and I’ve seen him enter a little bit of a bad time, but he came out of it. He’s a great guy and he’s a great, great fighter.”

Trump is no stranger to the fight game, having hosted boxing cards headlined by Michael Moorer, Hector Camacho, Roy Jones Jr., and Wladimir Klitschko at his Atlantic City casino. The Trump Taj Mahal also hosted UFC cards in 2000 and 2001.

Viewers of Saturday’s fight can order either the main telecast or the “gamecast” with Trump’s commentary for $49.99



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