The often-teased boxing match between combat legends Roy Jones Jr. and Anderson Silva is just a pipe dream that will likely never come to fruition.
UFC President Dana White’s broken record responses of “I don’t know” and “we’ll see” seem to be running thin on Jones. When speaking with the MMA Fight Corner, the 45-year-old former boxing world champion expressed disappointment in possibly never getting an opportunity to share the same ring with the greatest fighter in MMA history:
The UFC won’t allow him to fulfill his dream and get in the ring and enjoy a night of sharing the ring with the great Roy Jones, Jr. It’s such a pity. It’s such a shame because it’s a night that I’m sure people from both worlds would really admire, and would love to see, and would get a lot from because of two legends in the ring at once. Although it’s boxing, we could share the ring together because Anderson can box. He’s a professional fighter too, and he’s an entertainer just as myself.
White went as far as seating Jones in the front row at UFC 162 a year ago when Silva defended his middleweight title against Chris Weidman.
Unfortunately for both Silva and Jones, the outcome didn’t go as expected, and Silva’s priorities shifted to rebounding from a shocking knockout loss. But things didn’t go any better in the rematch for Silva, who broke both his tibia and fibula on a checked leg kick.
The initial assumption was that the swan song had finally sounded on Silva’s illustrious career. However, months of extensive rehabilitation work made the impossible possible. At 39 years old, Silva is expected to resume his MMA career in a highly anticipated bout with Nick Diaz at UFC 183 on January 31.
With Silva back in the fold, it only makes sense for talk of a potential dream fight with Jones to creep back into existence. This time, however, the odds of the bout being green-lit by White and company are probably dimmer than they were a year ago.
Silva recently revealed to Combate.com, per MMAFighting.com, that he had re-upped with the UFC for 15 more fights. The new contract likely seals Silva’s retirement with the promotion that helped make him into a star.
Given Silva’s recent injuries, it’s unlikely the UFC would risk one of its biggest stars venturing outside of the company to compete against another professional athlete in a completely different sport.
But we can still dream, can’t we?
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.
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