Jake Paul may not be interested in boxing Anderson Silva after the MMA great beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but he did offer up a more interesting possibility.
Anderson Silva did what many thought was impossible on Saturday night by beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by split decision. And not only did he beat the former boxing world champion, many think the judge who scored the fight for Chavez Jr. did “The Spider” dirty. We had Anderson winning 77-75 along with the other two judges.
Now all of a sudden MMA has what it apparently needs in this age where celebrity boxers are gaining clout by clubbing our converts: a UFC GOAT who can bring it in the ring (watch the highlights from the Chavez Jr. fight here).
So of course the conversation is going to turn to the Paul brothers. Logan Paul just survived an exhibition bout with Floyd Mayweather. Jake Paul is going to fight Tyron Woodley in the fall. Would Anderson Silva be interested in battling either one of them?
“Wow, in the future everything is possible,” Silva said in an interview with TMZ. “Both brothers, I respect them both. They’re good boys. Smart boys too. And I think that’s good for the future. Especially right now, everything’s changed in the world. People like to see the big shows. The entertaining shows.”
Jake Paul, who didn’t hesitate to call out Nate Diaz following UFC 263, didn’t sound too keen on facing “The Spider.” Instead, he offered to make Silva’s dream boxing bout come true.
“Respect to Anderson Silva on the win,” Paul wrote on Twitter. “You are a Brazilian legend! Would be an honor to have him vs. Roy Jones Jr on the same card as Tyron and I.”
Respect to Anderson Silva @spideranderson on the win….vc é uma lenda brasileira! Would be an honor to have him vs Roy Jones Jr on the same card as Tyron and I
— Paul Paul (@jakepaul) June 20, 2021
Anderson Silva has been chasing a Roy Jones Jr. fight since 2013, but the UFC never allowed its star to attempt the leap to boxing. Even when Silva was just going through the motions at the end of his MMA career, UFC president Dana White refused to contemplate allowing it.
“Anderson Silva had his day,” White said after Silva’s final UFC fight. “Roy Jones Jr. had his day. Today is not their day. It’s just not. These young guys that you saw fight tonight are the future. These are the up and coming, and this is what I’m interested in … That’s just not really what I do. There’s other people out there that do that, plenty of people that do the old guy stuff. I don’t do the old guy stuff.”
In general, we agree with White … the UFC is no place for ‘the old guy stuff.’ But there’s certainly nothing wrong with Anderson Silva fulfilling his dream of boxing Roy Jones Jr. elsewhere, and if it’s on the undercard of Paul vs. Woodley you know he’s getting paid. That’s a win-win-win: for Anderson, Paul’s promoters at Showtime, and the fans.
Maniacs sound off: are you interested in seeing Silva vs. Jones Jr. after all these years?