“The Spider” and Sonnen bury the hatchet to discuss Silva’s tough boxing match against former champ Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. on June 18th.
Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen spent the better part of their salad days in the UFC feuding with each other and making a lot of money off two wild fights. That involved a whole lot of Chael doing what Chael does best, trolling “The Spider” and going so far as to declare he’d pat Anderson’s wife on the read and tell her to “make me a steak, medium-rare just how I like it.”
At the time of these comments Silva wasn’t much of a Sonnen fan and neither was Brazil, where favela druglords were so offended on behalf of the country that they eventually offered a sizable bounty for Sonnen’s decapitated head.
Fortunately, Chael’s head is still connected to his body and over the years he and Anderson Silva have chilled out, to the point where Anderson just appeared on Chael’s YouTube show to promote his upcoming July 19th boxing bout against Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.
The first big question Sonnen had for Silva: did this deal involve the UFC or did they release “The Spider” after his last loss to Uriah Hall in October of 2020?
“I’m completely free,” Silva said. “When I take my last fight in UFC, Dana talk to me and asked me to sign something about ‘This is my last fight in UFC.’ I say okay, but what happened, this is my last fight in UFC but you can’t hold me here. When I’m finished, it’s done. It’s done. And that’s it.”
But he’s not done with fighting, and apparently the offers are coming in from all over the place.
“This is the first, but different promoters call me and call [talent agency] ICM,” Silva said. “But right now my focus is this fight. But a lot of people call me and ICM that represent me, that I’m signed right now. But right now my focus is one fight, this fight on July 19th and let’s see.”
First he’ll have to get past former WBC middlweight champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who may not have lived up to the expectations of his home country of Mexico but is still a fierce opponent with a legit 52-5 record. Chavez Jr’s most recent headlines come from a fight with Daniel Jacobs in 2019 which saw him quit between rounds citing a broken nose.
It’s not the first time he’s bowed out mid-fight due to an injury and you know how that goes in the “No Mas” world of boxing. We imagine he’ll be looking to add a more memorable highlight to his name against a high profile opponent like “The Spider.”
So what was Silva thinking agreeing to fight such an experienced boxing pro?
“I’ve been boxing Brazilian for many many years and I practice professional too, I have two fights of professional boxing,” Silva noted. “I love challenge. I know it’s hard because Chavez Jr has been doing boxing his entire life. But that’s a good challenge for me. I know I don’t need to prove nothing to anyone. I do this because I love sport, I love fighting. And this is my air.
“When you do something with your heart, you’re successful. Doesn’t matter if you win or not.”
Tribute to the Kings: Anderson Silva vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. goes down on June 19th via Fite.TV and also features an exhibition match between Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and Hector Camacho Jr plus a fight between Chavez Jr.’s brother Omar Chavez and Ramon Alvarez. A true family affair, and you’ll excuse us if we’re assuming once again the MMA guy is getting brought in to be beat. We’d love to be wrong though!