Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who looked all but toast in his last couple of MMA fights, is now 2-0 as a professional boxer with victories over former WBC champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and ex-UFC light heavyweight titleholder Tito Ortiz, the latter of which ended by knockout.
And because celebrity boxing is all the rage these days, “Spider” fans couldn’t help but persuade the Brazilian to consider a showdown against undefeated pugilist Floyd Mayweather Jr., no stranger to putting the hurt on former UFC champions.
“When I finished the fight with Tito and I saw on my Twitter and my Instagram, everybody talking, ‘You need to fight with [Floyd] Mayweather!’” Silva told The MMA Hour. “I don’t know, that’s insane! I don’t know if I can fight on the same level as Mayweather but this is a challenge for me.”
Mayweather was back inside the ring earlier this year to humor social media troll Logan Paul, who like his brother Jake, has been able to parlay his Internet fame into pay-per-view (PPV) paydays. Despite the difference in size, “Money” made Paul look like an amateur, which is a testament to Mayweather’s ability to carry a fight, considering Paul is probably far worse than an amateur boxer when it comes to actual skill.
“When people talk about [the size difference], I say the same – I’m too big,” Silva continued. “But Mayweather fought with Logan Paul and I can fight, too. I can [weigh] 189, 190 [pounds] and fight Mayweather. Let’s go see. Of course this fight were to happen, it’s a show fight, not a real fight, but I think that’s good. Let’s go see.”
Celebrity boxing matches will continue, for better or worse, so long as people are willing to pay for them. At age 44, I can’t imagine Mayweather has too many of these exhibition bouts left in him, assuming he wants his legacy to be defined by his perfection inside the ring.
“I don’t know, maybe this happens or not. I’m prepared for that. I just try to do my best everyday and I think this is a good fight, me and Mayweather,” Silva said. “Two big names and a different level. I go try to prove why I’m there to fight with Mayweather. I don’t know if this happens or not but I’m prepared for a good challenge for myself.”
Silva is prepared to fight … but are you prepared to pay for it?