Boxing colossus Floyd “Money” Mayweather had encouraging words for former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
In a recent interview on Sway in the Morning (via MMA Mania), he said:
I pray for him. He’s okay. I don’t have nothing negative to say about the guy Anderson Silva. I’ve seen some highlights on him. I don’t know him personally, but I’ve seen highlights of him fight, and hopefully he can bounce back. I heard he just took an ‘L,’ so hopefully he can bounce back from that loss.
Both Silva and Mayweather are considered the pound-for-pound best fighters in the world. Mayweather is undefeated in a 17-year career, totalling 45 straight wins. Silva, for his part, has the longest winning run in the UFC with the most title defences and knockouts.
However, the fortunes of the two fighters have diverged recently. Mayweather last week beat his latest opponent, Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez, collecting over $45 million in the process—a record for the sport. Silva, on the other hand, lost the title he held for six years to Chris Weidman at UFC 162.
Mayweather’s kind words about Silva stand in contrast to what the Brazilian had to say about him last month. That’s the boxer’s endorsement seems like one of his riddles.
During an interview on Sirius XM’s Shade 45 (via Fox Sports), “the Spider” said he doesn’t respect Mayweather because the champion respects “nothing.”
Boxers have the great story. I respect for boxing. Mayweather is good boxing. This is my opinion. The guy no respect me. I respect all the guys in the world. This guy no respect nothing. Sorry, but I no respect Mayweather.
Silva is due to have his rematch against Weidman, to try to win back the 185-pound title, at UFC 168 in December.
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