“You signed the contract. It’s 195. Why don’t you make your weight?”
Anderson Silva can’t understand Tito Ortiz’s concerns about ‘respect’ when ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ couldn’t even make weight for their Sept. 11 boxing match.
The bout is to be contested at 195 pounds but Tito weighed in 5 pounds heavy, hitting the scales at 200 pounds.
Silva believes this is a clear display of disrespect. Why, says Silva, did Ortiz sign the contract if he couldn’t make 195 lbs.?
“You signed the contract. It’s 195. Why don’t you make your weight? You don’t prove your respect for the people watching. You don’t prove your respect for the fans. I don’t have anything to say. I do my part, I’m professional and that’s it,” Silva told MMA Fighting ahead of the fight (transcribed via MMA Mania). “I don’t know. Why did you sign the contract?
“When you’re training hard, you’re putting your heart into your job, when you love something, you do your best. It’s not different for me. I try to do my best all the time. I never disrespect my fans and I make weight and do my best. I come prepared in my mind. I come prepared with my body to do my best inside the ring.”
The bout, which will serve as the co-main event for Triller: Holyfield vs. Belfort, marks Ortiz’s professional boxing debut. Silva, on the other hand, will enter the bout riding a lopsided decision victory over former multiple-time boxing champ and son of legendary boxer Julio Cesar Chavez, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Triller Fight Club: Holyfield vs. Belfort takes place tonight, Sept. 11 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.