Former President Donald Trump (mostly) stays in the sport while commenting on boxing

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Former President Donald Trump made his debut as a boxing commentator on Saturday night as you might expect.

With a verbal rag.

Trump agreed to provide commentary during a four-card fight featuring Evander Holyfield, the former heavyweight champion who will return to the boxing ring at 58 years old. And at the start of the live-pay-per-view livestream, the top commentator said it was the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and postponed to the former president.

Called the 9/11 anniversary one of the most important days, Trump added, and we had a very bad week because of some very bad decisions made We shouldn’t have allowed to happen what happened in Afghanistan with 13 great fighters and many injured and many people have been killed in these last days and just embarrassing.

Later, while waiting for results from the three judges after the first fight, Trump said he has seen many bad boxing decisions in recent years.

It’s like an election, he said. It can be deceived.

(Editor’s note: The Department of Justice has found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.)

However, on a night when Holyfield stopped before the first round ended at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, perhaps the most surprising thing of all was this: Trump was almost staring at boxing.

Hosted memorable fights at his casinos, Trump showed enthusiasm for the sport, a decent knowledge of boxing and endurance. Which is to say he continued to mix it up with his son Donald Trump Jr. and guest commentators on the pay-per-view event which is nearly 3 hours long.

What seemed more pleased he was the adoring audience, who exploded with songs of We Want Trump! We want Trump! He stood up and with a wide smile shook.

Former Presidents Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. spoke. after the fight between Evander Holyfield and Vitor Belfort.

But for most of the night, he performed his agreed-upon guest commentary duties, offering insights and opinions. Some of the most famous came after a TKO beat Holyfield in the first round when the referee waved.

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From the very beginning you see it, he’s not the same fighter, Trump said. He lost a lot. That left jab is very slow.

Holyfield did not leave quietly.

So the Evanders complained a bit about stopping it. I think you probably need to, right? Trump asked.

Commentators agreed but noted that it was difficult for the one-time champion to accept defeat.

As Holyfield left the temporary area, Trump said, “That’s probably the last time you’ll see Evander Holyfield’s great legend, right? Probably the last time, in this capacity. I hope so, hopefully.

More: Evander Holyfield lost to Vitor Belfort via first-round TKO as a return to boxing

Anderson Silva: Spider defeats Tito Ortiz in boxing match between former UFC stars

Trump seems familiar with fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Mike Tyson. He also talked about more obscure warriors, like Iran Barkley and James Toney. Yet despite his recollection of former fighters, he is familiar with two relatives: Jake Paul and Logan Paul, the YouTube celebrity brothers who inspired the boxing scene.

At the end of the night, Trump sat down next to UFC star Jorge Masvidal, who exchanged barbs with Jake Paul and said he wanted to fight the siblings. Trump said: So brothers Paul, we have Jorge and he wants to fight you and I think it’s an incredible fight.

The first two fights were mostly dull, and sometimes Trump’s commentary wasn’t good either. But he does spice it up with opinions. Like being in favor of championship battles over 15 rounds rather than 12 rounds.

I think it really hurts in boxing, Trump said, talking about the lost championships in the championship, formerly the 13th, 14th and 15th rounds before the format change.

The fights were shortened after Kim Duk-koo died following the championship match against Ray Mancini in 1982. Duk-koo was defeated by TKO in the 14th round and died five days after the fight.

Other things you probably haven’t heard at a Trump rally: He has a fan of British heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury and he thinks Larry Holmes has the best left-hand jab.

Junior dos Santos, a former UFC heavyweight champion, joined Trumps as a guest commentator and spent a large portion of the time chatting with Trump as the cameras rolled and the fights progressed.

I’m impressed with how much the gentleman knows about boxing, Santos said.

Weve had a lot of fights, Trump replied, seemingly referring to the ones he staged rather than the ones he fought.

This article originally appeared in USA NOW: Donald Trump: What the former president said in his commentary on boxing

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