Dana White to Consider Anderson Silva vs. Roy Jones

Evidently Anderson Silva and Roy Jones Jr. aren’t the only two men who believe they’ll clash in a boxing match in the near future.
On the Dec. 4 episode of FOX Sports Live, UFC president Dana White admitted that he felt obligated to endorse a boxing ma…

Evidently Anderson Silva and Roy Jones Jr. aren’t the only two men who believe they’ll clash in a boxing match in the near future.

On the Dec. 4 episode of FOX Sports Live, UFC president Dana White admitted that he felt obligated to endorse a boxing match between the 38-year-old Silva and the soon-to-be 45-year-old Jones.

These two drive me crazy. They drive me crazy. First of all, Roy Jones Jr. is a longtime friend of mine. When I was a 19-year-old kid in the boxing business, Roy Jones was very good to me. So I’m in this position where I feel like Roy wants to fight him, he wants to fight RoyI feel like I’m in this position to try to make both of these guys happy. But it drives me crazy. I would love Roy Jones Jr. to focus on his next opponent and Anderson to focus on his. We’ll talk about all this stuff. I know Roy’s coming to the fight. … We’ll see what happens. 

The idea of a scrap between the two men seemed unlikely when Silva suffered his first KO loss and relinquished the middleweight strap he’d held since 2006 to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 in July. 

But Jones brought the idea of a fight with Silva back to light by telling John Dennen of Boxing News that he still plans to pursue a bout with “The Spider,” but only if he bests Weidman in their rematch at UFC 168.

“So if he beats Weidman, I’ve got to be ready for it because he’s going to be coming for me and I want to be ready when he comes for me. I want to give him what he wants. … He said that’s his lifelong dream. We’ve got to make that happen. He’s a great striker and a great defender.”

White seemed more rational at the end of his above statement, saying, “I would love Roy Jones Jr. to focus on his next opponent and Anderson to focus on his.”

It’s obvious that neither Silva nor Jones stand anything to gain by pondering a fight with one another at this point. 

After all, Silva has arguably the most significant fight of his career on the horizon with Weidman, and Jones has a WBU Cruiserweight title bout slated with Zine Eddine Benmakhlouf on Dec. 21. 

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Roy Jones Jr. Taking Tune Up Fight in Moscow for Anderson

For years, fight fans have been eager to watch a world-class boxer vs. mixed martial artist grudge match play out.
It’s a question of combat superiority that will never be answered until that infamous throwdown ensues.
We got a taste of this unheralded…

For years, fight fans have been eager to watch a world-class boxer vs. mixed martial artist grudge match play out.

It’s a question of combat superiority that will never be answered until that infamous throwdown ensues.

We got a taste of this unheralded square-off when Randy Couture beat down James Toney a few years back, but that was more saddening than competitive.  Plus, it was sanctioned as a MMA bout inside the ruthless chain-link cage of the UFC’s Octagon.

Now, on the eve of a potential 2014 boxing match between legendary Roy Jones Jr. and pound-for-pound MMA wizard Anderson Silva, the reality of our deepest fight fantasy playing out is all but certain.

ESPN’s Dan Rafael reported that Jones Jr. has decided to fight Zine Eddine Benmakhlouf in Moscow, Russia, in order to tune-up for the aforementioned bout opposite Silva.  The former boxing standout was scheduled to fight Bobby Green at cruiserweight later this month, but that is no more and Jones Jr. instead opted for a Russian slug fest.

People have wondered why the 44-year-old hasn’t decided to hang them up in the twilight of an illustrious career, but that hasn’t deterred the former champ’s mindset of fighting a MMA superman. Per Rafael’s report: 

“I want to be ready for Anderson Silva in case he beats [Chris] Weidman,” Jones told ESPN.com back in October. “Silva has made it clear that if he wins, he wants me next.  I’m here for him.  That’s a fight that intrigues a lot of people, but I can’t fight Anderson Silva coming off such a long layoff.  So I needed to get a fight first.  If it wasn’t for Anderson Silva calling me out, I wouldn’t be fighting this fight.”

Now it has yet to be determined as to what kind of promotional role the UFC would have in such a superfight and whether or not the public intrigue will sustain itself if Silva is unable to recapture middleweight gold when he fights Weidman on Dec. 28.

Regardless, it’s good to see that Jones Jr. is dead set on polishing his rusty pedigree before taking on arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history.

 

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Roy Jones Says He’s Taking a Tune-Up for Anderson Silva Bout

One of the greatest boxers in the sport’s history, Roy Jones Jr., apparently believes a boxing match with former UFC pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva could still materialize. 
Despite being in the worst rut of his career and well out of his ath…

One of the greatest boxers in the sport’s history, Roy Jones Jr., apparently believes a boxing match with former UFC pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva could still materialize. 

Despite being in the worst rut of his career and well out of his athletic prime, the soon-to-be 45-year-old Jones continues to plead his case for a future scrap with “The Spider.”

Whether he believes he can resurrect his career with a win over Silva, he feels he has something to prove, or he just wants another easy payday, Jones still is genuinely interested in this endeavor.

In the latest development in his saga with The Spider, Jones told John Dennen of Boxing News that he plans to use his December bout with cruiserweight Bobby Gunn as a warm-up for Silva.

If [Silva] beats [Chris] Weidman, then we’ll do a boxing match, which is what he wants to do. The Gunn fight would give me a tune-up so I’m ready for the fight in case he beats Weidman. So if he beats Weidman, I’ve got to be ready for it because he’s going to be coming for me and I want to be ready when he comes for me. I want to give him what he wants.

Although he’s a winner of his last two bouts, Jones (56-8) has prevailed in just seven of 13 fights since losing via TKO in his rematch with Antonio Tarver in 2004. In that span, Jones got knocked out three times.

The 38-year-old Silva, on the contrary, has tasted defeat just once since 2006. In fact, before losing to Chris Weidman by KO at UFC 162 in July, The Spider had racked up a 16-0 UFC record, winning 11 straight title bouts.

Their career trajectories seem radically different, but Jones still contends he represents Silva’s dream opponent. 

“He said that’s his lifelong dream. We’ve got to make that happen. He’s a great striker and a great defender,” Jones told Dennen

For now, Jones should concentrate solely on his match with Gunn (21-5-1), a former cruiserweight world champion who lost his last bout to James Toney in 2012.

If Jones can’t dispose of the 39-year-old Gunn, who failed to answer the bell at different points in each of his last two losses, then the former multi-division world champ should nix the idea of fighting Silva.

As for The Spider, he should zero in on regaining his footing in his rematch with Weidman. After all, if he drops a second straight fight to Weidman, will Silva really entertain the idea of fighting Jones?

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Report: Rampage Jackson vs. Roy Jones Jr. Slated for Year-End Boxing Match


(“…and as part of your signing bonus, we’re going to hook you up with a tricked-out, 2014 stretch Winnebago.” Photo props: Bellator MMA via mmanytt.se)

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is becoming quite the utility player for Viacom. With his Bellator MMA debut looming in the future and his TNA wrestling career already underway, Rampage is about to add boxing to his list of duties. And we’re not talking about beating up some random cans in Oklahoma — the former UFC/PRIDE star will reportedly be fighting none other than multi-divisional boxing champ Roy Jones Jr., as part of a pay-per-view event targeted for the end of the year. As MMAJunkie reports:

Viacom is expected to announce plans to go head-to-head with pay-per-view juggernaut Zuffa LLC and its UFC 168 offering at next week’s Bellator 97 event on Spike TV.

An unveiling of Bellator fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s plans with the promotion will likely include a pay-per-view boxing match with former multi-division boxing champ Roy Jones Jr., multiple sources close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

The fight is expected to take place at the end of the year, though a date and weight class for the bout could not immediately be confirmed. It’s also unclear how the event will be branded given Bellator and parent company Viacom’s focus on MMA.

“We’ve been talking to Roy and his people over a potential ‘Rampage’ vs. Roy fight for over seven months,” a representative from Jackson’s longtime team, Wolfslair MMA, told MMAjunkie.com. The rep requested anonymity due to the ongoing negotiations related to the matchup.

“If it happens, it would be an incredible fight,” the rep said. “Boxing and MMA have both been discussed, and (Bellator Chairman and CEO) Bjorn (Rebney) has been in these discussions every step of the way. I can’t say much more than that. We’ll see what happens.”

Bellator MMA officials declined to comment on the possible event.

Alright, two things…


(“…and as part of your signing bonus, we’re going to hook you up with a tricked-out, 2014 stretch Winnebago.” Photo props: Bellator MMA via mmanytt.se)

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is becoming quite the utility player for Viacom. With his Bellator MMA debut looming in the future and his TNA wrestling career already underway, Rampage is about to add boxing to his list of duties. And we’re not talking about beating up some random cans in Oklahoma — the former UFC/PRIDE star will reportedly be fighting none other than multi-divisional boxing champ Roy Jones Jr., as part of a pay-per-view event targeted for the end of the year. As MMAJunkie reports:

Viacom is expected to announce plans to go head-to-head with pay-per-view juggernaut Zuffa LLC and its UFC 168 offering at next week’s Bellator 97 event on Spike TV.

An unveiling of Bellator fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s plans with the promotion will likely include a pay-per-view boxing match with former multi-division boxing champ Roy Jones Jr., multiple sources close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

The fight is expected to take place at the end of the year, though a date and weight class for the bout could not immediately be confirmed. It’s also unclear how the event will be branded given Bellator and parent company Viacom’s focus on MMA.

“We’ve been talking to Roy and his people over a potential ‘Rampage’ vs. Roy fight for over seven months,” a representative from Jackson’s longtime team, Wolfslair MMA, told MMAjunkie.com. The rep requested anonymity due to the ongoing negotiations related to the matchup.

“If it happens, it would be an incredible fight,” the rep said. “Boxing and MMA have both been discussed, and (Bellator Chairman and CEO) Bjorn (Rebney) has been in these discussions every step of the way. I can’t say much more than that. We’ll see what happens.”

Bellator MMA officials declined to comment on the possible event.

Alright, two things…

– Although the Junkie report suggests that the Rampage vs. RJJ match could go head-to-head with UFC 168, it would be promotional suicide to put this stunt-fight up against a UFC event that features the Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman rematch and Ronda Rousey’s next appearance against Miesha Tate. Viacom is crazy — crazy enough to hire Rampage Jackson, at least — but surely they’re not that crazy. At the moment, the latest 2013 date without a fight event already scheduled is December 7th.

– I’ll just state the obvious: The only purpose of this boxing match is to screw with the UFC. Anderson Silva and Roy Jones Jr. have been going back and forth about a potential boxing match for over five years, and Jones even flew out to Las Vegas for UFC 162 to discuss it with UFC president Dana White. But now that Silva torpedoed every UFC super-fight possibility by losing to Weidman, Bellator is locking RJJ down for a boxing match on their turf. Well played, you devious bastards.

Until we hear Rampage Jackson and Roy Jones announcing that they’ve signed contracts for a certain date, we’re just looking at this as a weird possibility for now. But don’t act like you wouldn’t watch this freak show.

Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson Will Reportedly Face Roy Jones Jr. in Boxing Match

Former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has reportedly booked his first fight since signing with Bellator Fighting Championships, but it won’t be an MMA bout.
According to MMAJunkie.com, Jackson will instead be strapping on the boxing gloves…

Former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has reportedly booked his first fight since signing with Bellator Fighting Championships, but it won’t be an MMA bout.

According to MMAJunkie.com, Jackson will instead be strapping on the boxing gloves to face former multi-divisional champion Roy Jones Jr. The weight limit is currently unspecified, and the match will be a Viacom/Bellator-produced pay-per-view event to close out the year.

Bellator officials were unavailable for comment at the time of publication when contacted by Bleacher Report.

Jackson has been out of action since January when he lost a unanimous decision to Glover Teixeira in his final bout in the UFC. Following that fight, Jackson was granted free agency and opted to sign a long-term deal with Bellator. Additional deals are in place with parent company Viacom and TNA pro wrestling.

Since signing his new deal, Jackson has been appearing on TNA wrestling while rehabbing an injured knee that ailed him for the biggest part of his last few fights with the UFC. There was no timetable for his return to action, although he speculated it would be before the end of 2013.

Now all signs are pointing toward Jackson stepping back into the cage/ring later this year while facing a former boxing legend in his return fight.

Roy Jones Jr. has had his name tossed around MMA circles for the last few years, most notably by former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who long talked about facing him in a boxing match.

UFC president Dana White even teased that he was talking to Jones during UFC 162 fight week about possibly making a deal to put him in the cage with Silva. Unfortunately, that plan all fell to the wayside thanks to Chris Weidman ending Silva’s reign as champion with a second-round knockout victory.

That left Jones without any potential opponents, but it seems Bellator and Viacom were still interested in matching him up with somebody from the MMA world. That somebody is Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

It’s unknown at this time how Viacom or Bellator would promote such a fight given the fact they are not in the business of boxing, but at least the skeletal work has been formed and the rumor has been spread.

 

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report

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How Much Time Does Anderson Silva Have Left?

After his defeat at UFC 162, Anderson Silva must have realized the enormity of his legend, his legacy. As soon as the talk of a rematch with Chris Weidman began, he was placed as a heavy betting favorite without a second thought.
That says something wh…

After his defeat at UFC 162, Anderson Silva must have realized the enormity of his legend, his legacy. As soon as the talk of a rematch with Chris Weidman began, he was placed as a heavy betting favorite without a second thought.

That says something when you consider that Weidman didn’t just eek out a decision over Silva—he knocked him out.

Even though it was no doubt the upset of the year, many fans are marking it down as something far less. They say Silva did it to himself and won’t make the same mistake twice in the rematch.

But that’s just what the fans say.

Silva says that his in-cage antics of bravado and taunting are here to stay. He says it’s all part of the show, and it is his show, make no mistake about it. He says it all like a man who simply stumbled, nothing more.

Silva has nine fights left on his contract, and by all accounts, he’s found the fire to compete again.

But nine fights is a long time to go when you’re on the dark side of your thirties in one of the most demanding sports in the world. When you are in that position, sometimes the first stumble is the beginning of a hard fall.

After all, it’s not the first time the world of combative sports has seen a giant tumble. When one takes a step back and looks at Silva, you can see that he has much in common with one of his idols: Roy Jones Jr.

Like Jones, Silva has built a style of fighting that disregards some of the basic corner stones of the fight game. Jones never really used the jab, nor does Silva. Jones relied on his speed and unconventional defensive style in order to protect himself, and so does Silva.

Any time either man has stepped into combat, they decided to do things their own way, making up the rules as they went along. It was the magic of improvisation, and it was nothing short of spectacular.

But there is another similarity between Jones and Silva that is less flattering.

After Jones was knocked out by Antonio Tarver, he was quick to write it off as something that happens in the fight game; he just got caught, that’s all.

Then, he stepped back into the ring against Glen Johnson. It was supposed to be a comeback party for Jones; his chance to correct the idea that he was anything less than superhuman.

Then, Jones reverted to the same defensive style that had seen him conquer so many great fighters. It was almost arrogant, based upon the speed, reflexes and gall of a younger man who always defied convention.

Except this time, he got caught and knocked out again. The punch that felled him wouldn’t have come close at any other time previous to the Tarver KO, but he wasn’t the same man as before.

Now, Silva is saying that he’s not going to change his defensive style; it seems as if he’s going to train like before and fight like he did before, albeit taking Weidman a bit more seriously than before.

Silva has always taken pride in being able to avoid punches in a flamboyant manner, garnering praise and being compared to something magical. After doing it for so long, can he actually change if he needs to?

It’s hard to imagine Silva can’t make adjustments, to be honest. The man has proven to be head and shoulders above the rest, time and time again. But at age 38, and fresh off a hard KO loss, he might want to start making some changes now rather than later.

I know; to even presume to suggest that the great Anderson Silva might want to change his style a bit in order to defend himself is sheer arrogance. Who is anyone to make such an observation?

Well, fans of the man, for one. Silva has always been a treat to watch; he really does do the kinds of things no one else can. But the two things he cannot do are turn back the clock or unring a bell.

Make no mistake about it, the next time Silva steps into the ring, he will not be the same man as before. A knock out loss changes a fighter, just as age does. When the two come together at the same time, it can be a hard thing to deal with.

One of the great things about Methuselah-like Randy Couture, Bernard Hopkins and many others is that they were willing to make adjusts to their games as their careers wore on. They took stock of their abilities, learned from their losses and managed to make the changes needed to compensate for growing older.

What they didn’t do is ignore the impact a KO loss can have on a fighter; they developed a complete game that played to their strengths. In doing so, they protected the chinks in their armor that come with age and battle.

The simple truth is, unless Silva is willing to make some changes, he’s going to suffer more losses on his record before his contract is finished.

The opposition isn’t as scared of Silva anymore; a man looks far more human after he’s been defeated convincingly. They are going to be more daring and aggressive instead of passively waiting for Silva to take them out.

To be quite honest, we really won’t know how much time Silva has left as an elite fighter until we see how the rematch with Weidman unfolds. But the history of combative sports has shown that once a fighter is discovered to have chinks in his armor, future opposition grows bold.

But we do know one thing: nothing is going to be the same for Silva from this point forward.

We have no idea how much damage Weidman did to his psyche. We don’t know if that knockout will make him overly cautious and, thus, a more stationary target. And we don’t know how he’s going to react to facing a string of fighters that think they smell blood in the water.

In the past, when a pound-for-pound king was trounced, there were usually two outcomes. He came back more focused and determined than ever before (not to mention a whole lot wiser), or he simply fell apart.

Jones, with intent on proving himself to be the former, never regained his pre-Tarver edge. Back-to-back knockout losses to Tarver and Johnson signaled the end, although Jones simply refuses to see it.

Hopefully, the same fate will not befall Silva; but if it does, he will not be the first once-great to be pulled back into the fray due to the need of escaping the gravity of defeat, nor will he be the last.

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