Semifinals of episode 7 of ‘The Masked Dancer’ reveal the identity of the zebra

If boxing champion Oscar de la Hoya returns to the ring, you’ll have to thank “The Masked Dancer”.

De la Hoya was the next celebrity to be revealed on the show, as the person under the Zebra costume in the Wednesday edition of the hit series. He was unmasked after dancing Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife” in honor of a loved one who lost to cancer.

Asked if he can get out of retirement for boxing again, de la Hoya was shy – but he said Variety that, “Let’s just say that Mike Tyson inspired me to train, to start training at the gym. In fact, I’ve been at the gym for about five months. And, you know, who knows, maybe the Zebra is back! “

De la Hoya said the pandemic also gave him time to focus on training. “It’s the perfect time,” he said. “I think with what this show did for me, mentally and physically. Because, first of all, you have to be in shape, so I ended up doing yoga. I ended up going back to the gym. I started running every day. I mean, I’m struggling with the weight now. So, it’s like wow, okay, maybe there’s something there. And then watch Mike Tyson enter the ring again. I mean, it was very inspiring. “

De la Hoya’s revelation also comes after this year’s Super Bowl, in which two former “Masked Dancer” contestants – Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown – took rings as part of champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Hey, maybe I can win a world title in the ring,” joked de la Hoya.

The boxer said he hesitated at first when asked to be part of “The Masked Dancer”, but later decided it would be fun.

“I was thinking, ‘OK, I’m going to dance behind the mask. Nobody will know who I am. I can be silly, I could just make it fun, ‘”he said. “And for sure, I had the best time of my life.”

De la Hoya had no previous dance experience, other than moving around in the boxing ring. “I literally said that in most of my fights, if you put paint under my boxing shoes, I could paint this beautiful image on the canvas, just by moving like a Picasso,” he said. “But outside the ring I have two left feet and I was a little hesitant when I was asked to do this because I knew I just couldn’t dance. But the experience was incredible. Literally, I couldn’t wait to come back every day and practice and practice. I love competition, I love repetition every day and getting better, doing better. And then, when I teamed up with my dancers, they made it really fun. I mean, they made me feel like I was Fred Astaire. “

De la Hoya said he would compare the “Masked Dancer” experience to being in the ring – but “blindfolded and still struggling with my robe. You are contracted inside, you cannot really move because the fantasy is heavy. And I mean that you are literally just sweating while dancing. And you can see, you could probably see behind the fantasy maybe 65%. Visibility is so bad. But once the lights go out, once the music is turned on, it’s like the first bell rings.

“It actually looked like training for a fight,” he added. “I woke up early, did yoga and stretching and tried to prepare myself mentally. Because those days of practice sometimes lasted eight hours. You had to be physically and mentally prepared to be behind that mask. “

Among the speakers, Brian Austin Green realized from the beginning that he was de la Hoya. Paula Abdul stayed in the boxing realm with Floyd Mayweather, while Ashley Tisdale guessed another fighter, Conor McGregor. Ken Jeong called Michael “The Miz” Mizanin; and guest speaker Will Arnett followed Green in agreeing that he was de la Hoya.

“It was hilarious because Brian Austin Green, he kind of found out,” said de la Hoya. “Every time I went up on the stage, I tried to lose him. I would try to punch here and there, as if I don’t know what I’m doing. And he still guessed, which was hilarious. I was worried about Paula Abdul, because I have known Paula Abdul for a long time. And so, whenever I gave my tip and they heard my voice, I immediately looked at Paula and saw her reaction

De la Hoya had previously danced to “Take You Dancing”, by Jason Derulo; “Magalehna”, by Sergio Mendes; “All My Life”, by K-Ci and Jojo; “Mi Gente”, by J Balvin and Willy William. Previous speakers’ assumptions included Conor McGregor, Barry Bonds, Ricky Martin, Kevin Richardson, Pitbull, Floyd Mayweather, Mario Lopez, Tito Ortiz, Tony Robbins, LL Cool J and, yes, de la Hoya.

“The Masked Dancer” includes the “Word Up” feature, in which each competitor says a clue of a word about their identity. De la Hoya’s first “Word Up” was “Comeback”, the second “Word Up” was “Champion” and the third was “Author”. On Wednesday, his last “Word Up” was “Box Office”.

This season’s costumes include Zebra, Tulip, Sloth, Exotic Bird, Cotton Candy, Cricket, Disco Ball, Moth, Ice Cube and Hammerhead. Previously unmasked were Jordin Sparks as the exotic bird, Vinny Guadagnino as the Hammerhead, Brian McKnight as the cricket, Elizabeth Smart as the moth, Bill Nye the Science Guy as the Ice Cube and Ice-T as the Disco Ball.

The show features a cast of 10 celebrities who “have accumulated more than 38 million albums sold worldwide, 20 Emmy awards, 20 Grammy nominations, 10 World Dancing titles, five New York Times best-selling titles, four Olympic gold medals and three performances at Broadway shows. “

Here were the other contestants and their performances in episode seven, “Semifinals – It’s all about the dance!”:

Cotton Candy

Dance: “Get Ready (2013 Version),” by 2 Unlimited and “Hey Mickey,” by Mickey Mix DH
Bonus clue: “I started on this path when I was 6 years old.”
St. Valentine’s Day:: “Will, you showed my love at Masked Singer, but I’m ready to show you my love at Masked Dancer.”
Word Up: “Cover Girl”
Panel guesses: Tara Lipinski, Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas
Previous dances: Pink’s “Glitter in the Air”; “Sour Candy,” by Lady Gaga feat. Blackpink; “Great Balls of Fire”, by Jerry Lee Lewis; “Swan Lake Opus 20, Act 1 Finale,” by Tchaikovsky
Previous Word Ups: “Prime time”; “Team Player”; “Prayer”
Previous panel guesses: Jenna Dewan, Pink, Julianne Hough, Tara Lipinski, Kristi Yamaguchi, Gabby Butler, Simone Biles, Hayden Panettiere

Laziness

Dance: “Dancing with a Stranger,” by Sam Smith feat. Normani
Bonus clue: “I was alone until I met the love of my life, which taught me that love is magical.”
St. Valentine’s Day: “Brian, who would have thought that one of your castmates would be one of my castmates? Maybe one day we can be co-stars together. “
Word Up: “Application”
Panel guesses: Patrick Dempsey, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Valentin Chmerkovskiy
Previous dances: “What I Like About You”, by Românticos; “Up Where We Belong”, by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes; “This is not a kick to the head” by Dean Martin; “Twist Remix,” by Neeraj Shridhar
Previous Word Ups: “Broadway”; “Leading man”; “Pink”
Previous panel guesses: Matthew Morrison, Kevin Federline, Jason Derulo, Jonathan Groff, Keegan-Michael Key, Will Ferrell, Bradley Cooper, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Harry Shum Jr., Hugh Jackman, Jack Black

Tulip

Dance: Polka medley
Word Up: “Butterflies”
Bonus clue: “We need to talk about the hype back home.”
St. Valentine’s Day: “Ashley, I danced ‘High School Musical’ for 10,000 hours. You are my baby forever. Toodles, Tulip. “
Panel guesses: Maddie Ziegler, Mackenzie Ziegler, Liza Koshy, Noah Cyrus, Dove Cameron
Previous dances: “Fergalicious”, by Fergie; “Fields of Gold”, by Eva Cassidy; “Obrigado, Avançar”, by Ariana Grande; “My Boyfriend’s Back,” by The Chiffons
Previous Word Ups: “Triple”; “Princess”; “Life Achievements”
Previous panel guesses: Charli D’Amelio, Ariana Grande, Heather Morris, Sarah Hyland, Hayden Panettiere, Kristen Bell, Charli D’Amelio, Simone Biles, Julianne Hough, Liza Koshy, Haylie Duff, Jamie Lyn Spears