Two weeks ago, Cesar Garcia of Sherdog.com reported that UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva might be interested in trying his hand at boxing if he defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 82. Well, Silva successfully defended his title and now, with no real challengers left in the middleweight division, Silva's manager Ed Soares has come on record to make it clear that they're seriously interested in boxing Roy Jones Jr.
"Anderson really would love to fight Roy Jones, Jr. in a boxing match," Soares informed Ken Pishna of MMAWeekly.com. "It's not just talk, we really would like to put that fight together. We respect Jones' boxing ability and think he's one of the best, but we're tired of different boxers saying that MMA fighters aren't technical. Anderson would love to fight Roy Jones in a boxing match under boxing rules to prove that MMA fighters are technical, too." After the announcement, both the MMA and boxing world were abuzz with the thought of the current MMA pound-for-pound fighter facing the former boxing pound-for-pound king.
Shortly after the announcement was made, what initially started off as a passing thought got one step closer to becoming a reality as Soares again spoke with Ken Pishna of MMAWeekly.com to inform him that they had been contacted by representatives of Jones.
"I just spoke with Roy Jones' management and they are very interested in it," Soares confirmed. They think it would break all kinds of pay-per-view records. It all kind of started as a dream of Anderson's, but if the UFC would back it, it is something that we really would like to pursue."
Ah, but there in lies the question...would the UFC back it?
Don't hold your breath!
First and foremost, as Roy would say, ya'll musta forgot that the main reason why Fedor Emelianenko, arguably the best heavyweight mixed martial artist in the world, hasn't already fought estranged UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture is simply because the UFC was unwilling to restructure their strict contract limitations to allow Fedor to compete just once a year in the Russian sport of Combat Sambo. If they weren't willing to give just an inch to make the biggest fight in their own sport, it's highly unlikely that they'll be anxious to lend a helping hand to boxing. As they once told Fedor, "you are either in or you're out" and my guess is that Dana White would prefer to keep Silva IN the UFC and OUT of boxing.
Second, even if they did back it, who's going to pay Jones? While UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva can make anywhere from $100,000-$300,000 with a successful title defense, Roy Jones Jr., on the other hand, is accustomed to making MILLIONS! More than likely, at a minimun, Jones would demand at least the same amount of money he was guaranteed ($10 million) when he fought then heavyweight champion John Ruiz. If that's the case, exactly how much money would Anderson Silva get? Who gets more? Who gets less? What kind of a problem would that cause the UFC if Silva were to win and then come back demanding more money? Those are all questions, or should I say headaches, that Dana White probably isn't quite ready to deal with.
Regardless, Roy Jones Jr., who dropped off most P4P lists after sufferring back-to-back knockout losses to Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson, isn't the same fighter he once was, despite his dominant performance against Felix Trinidad, who was more than two years removed from his second retirement. If Silva really wants to prove that MMA fighters are technical too, he should be calling out the current master of technical execution in lthe ight heavyweight division...Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins!
While the thought of a showdown between Silva and Jones certainly is appealing, it's doubtful that the fight will ever come to fruition. Truth be told, there's a much better chance of Kimbo Slice facing Wladimir Klitschko for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. Laugh if you will, but the notion isn't as far-fetched as you may think. After all, Gary Shaw, president of EliteXC's Live Events division, is a boxing promoter as well. Although he's new to the world of MMA, Shaw has a history of putting together compelling boxing matchups, like the recent Vazquez-Marquez trilogy as well as the the two wars between Jose Luis Castillo and the late, great Diego Corrales. Given the lack of excitement in the heavyweight division, Kimbo Slice would bring the type of in-your-face attitude and edge-of-your-seat energy that's currently missing. Judging from his two fights in the cage and his numerous videos on YouTube, it's clear that Slice has some boxing skills as evidenced by his ability to bob and weave similar to Mike Tyson. With only two professional MMA fights under his belt, a move to boxing, even if he were to lose, would do little to tarnish Slice's reputation as a mixed martial artist. Free of the restrictions that are found in UFC contracts, EliteXC fighters are already allowed to fight in other organizations so a move to boxing should be fairly easy. In fact, the more I write about it, the more I'm wondering why Shaw hasn't already told Slice to start calling out the IBF & WBO heavyweight champion Klitschko, who looks as timid as a field mouse whenever he steps into the ring. As has already been proven, one punch is all it takes to melt Dr. Steelhammer and Slice certainly possesses the type of one-punch knockout power to do it.
Worst case scenario, Kimbo gets knocked out, takes his first loss as a professional boxer and returns to MMA still undefeated. Best case scenario, Kimbo wins, becomes the undefeated (1-0) heavyweight champion of the world and Gary Shaw will have a bonafide star in BOTH sports. Plus, after securing the landmark television deal with CBS, it would be one more opportunity for Gary Shaw to one-up Dana White. Imagine...from street to cage to heavyweight champion of the world. Not only is that a storybook ending, that's a movie! Yo Gary...Icey Mike...hit me up so we can do this. There's a lot more bread in boxing...let's make some sandwhiches so we can all eat.
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