‘The Masked Dancer’ Episode 7 Semi-Finals Reveal Zebra’s Identity

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

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

When asked to say if he could come out of retirement to box again, de la Hoya was shy – but he said so Variety that, “Let’s just say Mike Tyson inspired me to work out, to start working out in the gym.” In fact, I’ve been in the gym for about five months. And, you know, who knows, maybe the Zebra is making a comeback!

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

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

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

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

“I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to dance behind the mask. No one will know who I am. I can be stupid, I could just make it fun, ”he said. “And of course I had the time of my life.”

De la Hoya had no dance experience other than moving around 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 picture on the canvas, moving like a Picasso,” he says. “But outside the ring I have two left feet and I was a little hesitant when they asked me to do that because I knew I just couldn’t dance. But the experience was amazing. Literally, I couldn’t wait to go back every day to train and practice. I love the competition, I like the repetition every day and to improve myself, to do better. And so, when I got together with my dancers, they made it so much 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 fighting with my dress on. You are squeezed inside, you can’t really move because the costume is heavy. And I mean you literally sweat in there while you dance. And you can see, you could probably see behind the costume maybe 65%. Visibility is so bad. But once the lights go out, once the music is on, it’s kind of like the first ring.

“It was actually like training for a fight,” he added. “I would wake up early, do my yoga, stretch and try to mentally prepare myself. Because these days of practice sometimes lasted eight hours. You had to be physically and mentally ready to go behind this mask.

Among the panelists, Brian Austin Green understood early that it was de la Hoya. Paula Abdul stayed in the boxing business with Floyd Mayweather, while Ashley Tisdale guessed another fighter, Conor McGregor. Ken Jeong named Michael “The Miz” Mizanin; and guest panelist Will Arnett followed Green in accepting that it was de la Hoya.

“It was hilarious because Brian Austin Green, he kind of got that,” de la Hoya said. “Every time I went on stage, I tried to sideline him. I would try to give a little punch here and there, like I don’t know what I’m doing. And he guessed again, which was hilarious. The one that worried me was Paula Abdul because I have known Paula Abdul for ages. And so, every time I gave my hint, and they heard my voice, I instantly looked at Paula and saw her reaction.

De la Hoya had previously danced on Jason Derulo’s “Take You Dancing”; “Magalehna”, by Sergio Mendes; “All my life”, by K-Ci and Jojo; “Mi Gente”, by J Balvin and Willy William. Previous panelist guesses have 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 candidate says 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 Hammer. Previously unmasked were Jordin Sparks as Exotic Bird, Vinny Guadagnino as Hammer, Brian McKnight as Cricket, Elizabeth Smart as Moth, Bill Nye, The Scientist as Ice Cube and Ice-T as a disco ball.

The show boasts a cast of 10 celebrities who have “amassed over 38 million albums sold worldwide, 20 Emmy wins, 20 Grammy nominations, 10 global dance titles, five best-selling author titles. from the New York Times, four Olympic gold medals and three Broadway appearances. “

Here are the other contestants and their performances in Episode Seven, “Semi-Finals – It’s All About the Dance!”:

Daddy’s beard

Dance: “Get Ready (2013 Version)”, by 2 Unlimited and “Hey Mickey”, by Mickey Mix DH
Bonus hint: “I started on this path at the age of 6.”
Valentine’s Day Index:: “Will, you showed my love on the masked singer but I’m ready to show you my love on the masked dancer.”
Word Up: “Cover Girl”
The panel assumes: Tara Lipinski, Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas
Previous dances: “Glitter in the Air”, by Pink; “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 password: “Primetime”; “Team player”; “Pray”
The previous panel guesses: Jenna Dewan, Rose, Julianne Hough, Tara Lipinski, Kristi Yamaguchi, Gabby Butler, Simone Biles, Hayden Panettiere

The laziness

Dance: “Dancing with a Stranger” by Sam Smith feat. Normani
Bonus hint: “I was alone until I met the love of my life, who taught me that love is magic.”
Valentine’s Day Index: “Brian, who would have thought that one of your co-stars would be one of my co-stars?” Maybe one day we can be co-stars together.
Word Up: “App”
The panel assumes: Patrick Dempsey, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Valentin Chmerkovskiy
Previous dances: “What I like about you”, by the romantics; “Where We Belong”, by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes; “Ain’t that a kick in the head”, by Dean Martin; “Twist Remix”, by Neeraj Shridhar
Previous password: “Broadway”; “Leading man”; “Pink”
The 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 mix
Word Up: “Butterflies”
Bonus hint: “We need to talk about the hype at home.”
Valentine’s Day Index: “Ashley, I danced to ‘High School Musical’ for 10,000 hours. You are my baby forever. Toodles, Tulip. “
The panel assumes: Maddie Ziegler, Mackenzie Ziegler, Liza Koshy, Noah Cyrus, Dove Cameron
Previous dances: “Fergalicious”, by Fergie; “Champs d’or”, by Eva Cassidy; “Thank U, Next”, by Ariana Grande; “My Boyfriend’s Back” by The Chiffons
Previous password: “Triple”; “Princess”; “Lifetime Achievements”
The 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