Hacking is a Felony

ANDERSON SILVA DOES WANT TO BOX ROY JONES, JR.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - by Ken Pishna - MMAWeekly



Since joining the ranks of the Ultimate Fighting Championship less than two years ago, middleweight champion Anderson Silva has all but cleaned house. He debuted with a dismantling of highly touted Ultimate Fighter alumnus Chris Leben, immediately captured the title from then-champion Rich Franklin, and hasn’t looked back since.

He fended off challenges by Ultimate Fighter season four winner Travis Lutter and seven-time King of Pancrase Nate Marquardt, before once again stopping Franklin. Most recently, at UFC 82, he submitted former Pride champion Dan Henderson to solidify his position as the No. 1 middleweight in the world.

In short, Silva appears unstoppable.

There are still challenges for him to face in the Octagon – Yushin Okami springs immediately to mind and a much touted drop to welterweight to challenge Georges St. Pierre – but he may soon be looking to another challenge, outside of his chosen sport.

“Anderson really would love to fight Roy Jones, Jr. in a boxing match,” says his manager, Ed Soares, confirming recent speculation. “It’s not just talk, we really would like to put that fight together.”

That’s not to say the Silva discounts Jones’ abilities. Both he and Jones, at times, have been regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in their respective sports. But Silva feels that fighters in mixed martial arts are often unjustly criticized as not being as technically proficient as their boxing counterparts, a misconception that he would like to dispel.

“We respect Jones’ boxing ability and think he’s one of the best,” said Soares, “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.”

There has been much chatter in the past about Jones stepping into the Octagon to fight; something that he spoke to BoxingScene.com’s Mark Vester about last year, saying, “Now, I can't get on the ground and start wrestling because I know nothing about that. But if I hit him before he gets to the ground, he's not going to get up and have the chance to wrestle."

Unlike many boxers, Jones has actually had a lot of positives to say about the sport, as he told Vester, “UFC is the best fighting the best and that’s what boxing has to do. If you are an ultimate fighter, you are going to fight someone who is going to fight. In UFC, if you lose to a good fighter, you lost, you still know you are good fighter, and you come back the next day and fight again. In boxing, if you lose and that's it. You are done. I lose a few fights, they want to tell me I'm washed up and I don't have it no more."

Thus far though, Jones hasn’t commented about fighting a mixed martial artist on his terms, in his ring. Whether it ever becomes a reality or not, it is a fight that would surely be marquee both for boxing aficionados and mixed martial arts purists alike.

Hacking is a Felony

SILVA BOXING JONES A STEP CLOSER TO REALITY?
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - by Ken Pishna

Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva recently indicated that he would like to challenge Roy Jones, Jr. – once regarded as one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world – to a boxing match.

“Anderson really would love to fight Roy Jones, Jr. in a boxing match,” said Ed Soares, Silva’s manager. “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.”

It now appears that what started out as a dream bout may actually have some merit to it.

Even nationally syndicated sports talk host Jim Rome, on his Rome Is Burning television show on ESPN2, has picked up on the story. He isn’t a big proponent of the bout happening though, saying, “Silva should not box Roy Jones. Where’s the intrigue in that? The whole ‘would MMA beat boxing’ argument is a big waste of time; it’s irrelevant. Silva, the best MMAer in the world would get schooled, even by a way past his prime Roy Jones, if he ever did boxing. He can’t fight his way off the ropes with his knees, just as Jones wouldn’t last a minute with Silva in his cage.”

According to Soares, however, there are other people who think there might be some merit to putting Silva up against Jones in a boxing ring.

“I just spoke with Roy Jones’ management and they are very interested in it. 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.”

Jones’ management indicated that this could be a fight that would bring together the fractured factions of boxing and mixed martial arts. “They think it will actually bring together the boxing and MMA communities,” said Soares.

And that would have to be a big part of it, as he continued, “Anderson looks up to Roy Jones, and he would love to test his skills against him. At the same time, we are very loyal to the UFC and would love to represent the UFC in a boxing match with Jones.”

UFC president Dana White has been vocal in the past about a boxer stepping into MMA to challenge his fighters. Prior to his fight with Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. commented, “(the UFC) ain’t nothing but a fad… These are guys that couldn’t do boxing.” White fired back offering up then lightweight champion Sean Sherk in the Octagon as a proving ground for Mayweather, who then retracted much of what he said.

It is unclear, however, if White is willing to put up Silva in a boxing match, as he was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

Jones is currently headed out of the country until next week, but his management told Soares that he was “flattered and excited” by Silva’s interest in a boxing match with him. The parties are expected to talk again once Jones returns.

powerman2000

Don't hold your breath if you think Jones will fight Silva.

I'd rather see Silva fight Rampage.

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