Anderson Silva and Roy Jones Jr. must be in love with one another.
I can think of no other explanation for things like this:
The 40-year-old Jones, who is coming off a win against game but faded vet Omar Sheika last month, is willing to battle the 34-year-old Silva in the UFC Octagon, adhering to regular UFC rules.
What would make Roy Jones, a man who hasn’t been a relevant boxer in years, believe that stepping in the cage with the man many consider to be a top three pound for pound fighter in the world of mixed martial arts is a good idea?
I can’t figure out what the fixation is between Silva and Jones. Silva may have every intention of fighting out the remainder of his UFC contract and then boxing Jones, but he has to keep in mind that the championship clause in his contract will keep him under contract until he actually loses the middleweight championship. There’s a good chance Silva realizes that the clause is going to keep him around for awhile (for at least three fights after the Griffin fight ends), and thus is exploring other options to make his pugilist fantasy a reality.
I’m also thinking Dana White probably shouldn’t be so adamant about not putting on the fight.
“You won’t see a Silva versus Jones fight while Silva is under contract with me,” White said Tuesday. “I don’t want to say anything bad about Roy Jones, I like Roy Jones and was a fan of his, but he mattered like fifteen years ago. He’s not anywhere near the best boxer in the world. He must’ve spent all his money.”
It’s certainly a freak show fight, but to compare it to PRIDE or K-1 freak shows (as White did later in the CBS piece) is a big of a reach. PRIDE did things like Bob Sapp against a 200 pound middleweight; Jones and Silva are basically the same weight, and if they reached a gentlemen’s agreement that the fight would stay standing and concentrate on boxing, you’d have basically an even, strategical fight.
I’m not saying that it would be an even boxing match, because it wouldn’t – I think Jones would destroy Silva if Silva were limited to just his hands. I’m just saying that I think it would be a lot closer to a legitimate fight than Dana seems to believe.
CBS Sports: Jones agrees to fight Silva in Octagon
