Anderson Silva, Roy Jones Jr. In Talks For 2008 Boxing Match
Preliminary talks are underway for a 2008 boxing match between popular boxer Roy Jones Jr. and current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, according to an NBC Sports report:
Representatives of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and boxing great Roy Jones Jr. are actively engaging in talks that would pit the two in a boxing match, NBCSports.com has learned.
Alan Hopper, director of public relations for Don King Productions confirmed that talks are ongoing, and characterized them as “preliminary.”
“Roy likes the idea and is up for it,” Hopper said. “It’s being discussed. Roy will only agree if the match takes place under the rules of boxing, and UFC would have to clear Silva’s participation.”
The bout, if it does take place, would be an officially sanctioned boxing match, not an exhibition as previously speculated. The fight would take place at a catchweight between 170-pounds and 185-pounds.
Having the UFC sign off on the match might be tough as the promotion is likely to be reluctant to the idea of having their most dominant champion go toe-to-toe with a professional boxer. The UFC would also need to reach an agreement on promoting the fight, which would likely air on pay-per-view.
The risk in the situation lies in the damage Silva’s reputation would take in a loss. MMAFrenzy.com’s advertising partner BodogLife.com currently has the odds highly skewed in Jones Jr.’s favor at -2500, making a loss for Silva highly likely, at least in the eyes of the sports books.
FINALLY BOXERS VS MMA
Jones as he was 10 years ago i wouldn’t give Silva a prayer, but now……who knows? I’d like to see them fight twice, once in the ring & then in the octogan…..carnage!!!!!!
It’s a very interesting idea that would attract a lot of attention. Probably more beneficial for boxing since the sport has seen better days.
I don’t see the UFC allowing this. It’s unecessary. MMA is growing like crazy and this is really not needed. It could also hurt the UFC and Anderson Silvas name if he gets dominated which is a big possibility.
Dana white seems to trust Anderson Silva and if Anderson is confident he can put on a good show and maybe even win, then who knows …….. Isn’t Dana a gambler ????????
well people think anderson doesn’t stand a chance…but let them fight and see he might not win but put up a good fight..he’s still got real quick hands and he’s good and eluding strikes whether punches or kicks…
and one more thing to consider…dana white is an ex boxer/boxing trainer…so who knows???
silva is a great “striker”. he isn’t a good “boxer”. i think he would get completely destroyed in a straight up boxing match. knockouts are harder with boxing gloves and he will need s different type of conditioning if the fight goes 12 rounds. does he even have any boxing experience? at least allow standing knee strikes to give silva a chance. i don’t think dana white allows it unless there is a guranteed second fight in the octagon.
meanwhile, floyd mayweather is fighting big show in the wwe… lame!
I guess I dont see the point of this…I think it will just lead to BS….basically….If Silva wins…..will that tarnish Jones’s career? What will it prove? Will mma fans say “that just proves mma fighters are better”…because of 1 fight?!?! Will Silva want to jump ship if he beats Jones in an easy fashion…??
If Jones wins….are boxing fans going to say that boxers are better fighters? What if Roy destroys Silva and hurts him…whats this do with his title? Will he have to forfeit and we have to see an undeserving champ, like Franklin again, represent the division?!!?
I am not for it, but I would watch it….if I was Silva’s manager…I would tell him go for broke.. go for something NO ONE has done in MMA…go down 1 class….win that belt…then go up 1 class and win that belt and hold 3 belts….thats more of a challenge that would benefit him than fighting a boxer passed his prime!!
This boxing match seems to make no sense. If Anderson loses I think there should be a rematch in the Octagon. You are correct sir, let’s see Anderson drop/gain weight and challenge for those belts. Could you imagine Rampage vs The Spider? That would be fun! I mean I like Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, Houston Alexander, and Keith Jardine…but can any of them beat Rampage? I doubt it. At least Anderson vs. Rampage would be fun to watch.
Its almost disrespectful !!!!!!!!
He’s pound for pound, the best MMA fighter around and hes willing to take a chance like that ????
Whats the matter, won a few fights in the UFC and your bored already ?????
Theres a lineup of MMA fighters who want a chance at Anderson. Stick around a while because there is a MMA fighter who has Andersons number. Every fighters got someone waiting for them !!!!
I agree! Anderson should stick with has made him who he is. I truly hope that Dana does not get on board with this!
Silva should either move up or down in weight and fight the best at 170lbs or LHW. That is what the fans would like to see and Anderson without your fans you would have the lifestyle you live.
I think this is Anderson’s way of saying he wants a HUGE pay day.
I don’t think it’s a good idea. Although Jones Jr is a big name in boxing, a win by Silva wouldn’t prove anything to the boxing world. They will say, that Silva beat an over the hill, almost 40 year old fighter thats past his prime - It proves nothing. If he really wants to prove something, he should challenge the winner of Hopkins-vs-Calzaghe fight scheduled for April 19. A loss to one of these guys would be lesser of a blow the MMA and UFC.
If Jones Jr beats Silva, then it would look really bad for UFC top fighter and MMA best pund for pound fighter to have gotten defeated by a boxer that’s clearly not in his prime anymore.
dana will not let it happen so dont get ur hopes up, it would be crap any way silvas best weapons r the clinch with kness n elbows, jones would just knock his head off even tho ide like to see that happen (not because im a boxing fan} i just dont like silva the big headed prick it int guna happen!!
I think its a high risk, low reward type of deal for Silva(excluding the nice payday he’d get) but if he’s determined to do it, then he should be allowed to, and there won’t nor should there be a MMA rematch of it, unless of course Roy is up for it, but it shouldn’t happen because despite what I’ve read on it today, I think its less of a transition to boxing than to MMA, thus making it a fairer fight as a boxing match.
Anderson WILL lose in a boxing match vs. Jones Jr. The best part of Anderson is he can hit you with all 8 lims. Elbows, knees, hands and feet. Anderson is 1-1 as a pro boxer.
I think this is a bad idea and if Dana okays it needs to be home and home. One fight in a ring one fight in a cage. But i don’t think zuffa will let him fight Jones jr and why would they. They have way to much to lose with very little to gain. If Anderson loses then that a-hole from hbo will say “this proves that boxing is better then mma” and if Anderson win then he will say “well Jones Jr. is old and broken down but in his prime he would have killed this bar fighter” It’s a no win for MMA and the UFC. Anderson may get a big pay day but it will be a step back for the sport.
PS randy, sherk and bisping suck!
lets see here jones is washed up, silva is in his prime i say after the boxing match they go mma style with knees and kicks! anderson silva is god and doesnt need to use submission…what he has like 3 submission wins and the rest is tko or ko!! he boxing is excellent
whoever eddy is doesnt know how far anderson silva has come since he was a boxer!!! muai tai is pretty much boxing with kicks and knees!! watch his punches and highlight videos!!! jones is out of his prime where has he been! besides all these boxers talk crap! look marcus davis an outstanding boxer 33-3 something like that, came over to the ufc and is one of the best at welter weight! WHO says guys from ufc cant help boxing be as popular as it use to be!! go spider go
and jpm!!! JONES WOULDNT LAST 30 seconds in the octagon his head would get kicked off!
Boxing is still popular. That sports has had some great fights so far this year. It isn’t dead.
Silva shouldn’t fight Roy Jones in boxing match. It’s just not good business. Jones is bigger and faster than Silva and probably has more punching power too. Dana won’t allow it, I don’t think.
Roy Jones is actually one of the few boxers who likes and respects MMA.
I believe that Anderson Silva should not fight Roy Jones in a boxing bout.I don’t think Silva has enough boxing skills for some one like Jones you can’t clinch in boxing like he did with Rich Franklyn if he couldn’t stand and trade punches with Franklyn what makes him think he could stand with the likes of Roy Jones.Don’t get me wrong I can’t stand Roy Jones but real is real in a boxing ring no chance.But now if we talk about the octagon then I would have to say that Anderson has a better chance at winning that is something I would pay to see.Anderson you are the man just not in a boxing ring.DON’T DO IT PLEASE!!!!!!!
nevin, your attack on eddy makes no sense. “muai tai is pretty much boxing with kicks and knees!!” is like saying the NBA and horse are basically the same. there’s similarities ya, but when you take away some of the weapons (knees, elbows) then the punches become less effective as well because you don’t have to worry about other ****. This is why, and it’s my opinion, i don’t understand how boxing could ever be considered superior to MMA. you have boxing which is 1 component and MMA which is multiple and includes boxing. anyone who saw ufc 1 should realize what happens when a pure boxer tries to fight a non boxer. as for marcus davis, i like the guy, but he didn’t start out well or end up where he’s at cuz he’s a boxer. it helped, but what got him where he’s at now is throwin in some ground skills. he lost early on in the show when he was a boxer, then he trained in other aspects and now he’s stompin people.
Nevin thanks for letting me know that kick boxing is boxing with kicks…i didn’t know that…that really help…thank you
As a boxing fan, I’d love this. I don’t think Silva could even hold his hands up for two full boxing rounds. He’d get tired and rush in and try to dry hump and rest. I hope roy disgraces the him and all the rest of the ufc ogres for 9 boring rounds then plants his ass in round 10. btw, boxing is literature, ufc is porn.
And I don’t mean no disrespect to UFC fighters. They’re badass, that silva dude would likely mash roy in an octagon. but in a boxing match…come on…i’d stay in the ufc and keep talking **** and making $$. this will be bad news for ufc 9,082
this news makes no sense. both sports loss, let boxers box and mma fighters do there thing. who realy cares its just another way for dana white to get in the main stream press
I see many people saying that Anderson should stay in his element. While it’s true that he’s probably a extremely large underdog in the squared circle against a pro like jones lets not forget the kind of money people get paid in big boxing matches.
I think it’d be foolish for him not to take advantage of his huge role and make some serious money. We’re talking millions on millions to test yourself against one of the greats. Win/win situation even if he loses.
Just to put it in perspective here. Anderson was paid $260,000 for beating Dan Henderson. Arguably the biggest challenge they can currently get to put in front of him in his division. One fight with Jones and he likely makes more win or lose than he did in his entire fight history with the UFC.
Wow, this has provoked a lot of response! Having read everyone, here are my thoughts:
These are two different and yet related sports. The guy that said ufc is porn apparently doesn’t grasp mixed martial arts. On one hand, MMA fighters are if anything more broadly accomplished and formidable. On the other, the best boxers surely will beat the best MMA fighters if the contest is limited to boxing. As a general rule, I don’t think it makes a lot of sense for a member of either camp to try to compete in the domain of the other. Tough to beat a boxer at what he does exclusively, and at the same time no boxer would have a prayer against MMA guys in a MMA conflict.
Having said all of that, might Silva-Jones be the exception? Good points were made by others - Silva is not a boxer per se as much as a striker; would he give up TOO much to strictly box? Maybe so.
And yet Jones is now a dubious commodity, reduced to beating up on retired former welter weights. Silva would be HUGE compared to Trinidad, with great reach, ranginess, and power. His punching is so beautiful; there is a clip of him nailing Chris Leben with a combination in which you get a glimpse of his body positioning, the native intelligence of his punching.
Though I fully agree that boxers will generally outbox MMA fighters (while not having a prayer in a broader encounter), with this given match - the unique profile of each of these guys - I would not be so quick to declare that Silva would have no chance… Jim
Jones kills Silva, if it happens.
MMA is such a joke, what a hillbilly sport, it will never gain the respect that mainstream sports like boxing, baseball, basketball, etc. have taken years to get. With childish, WWE-feel shows like elitexc and others on the air, how can it ever get respect?…watch a program like that, and you’ll see what I mean. Sucky officials, drunk rednecks in the crowd, sloppy fights…..MMA has gained popularity, but will NEVER have legendary athletes in it that could be mentioned along side of names like Marvin Hagler, Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, Roberto Duran, etc. It’s a phase, that will go away.