What would happen if Silva faced Jones?
What would happen if you matched up a mixed martial artist and a boxer? The recent talk of an Anderson Silva-Roy Jones Jr. boxing match has revived an old question.
It was actually Silva, the UFC middleweight champion and top ranked pound-for-pound fighter, who came up with the idea of fighting Jones, one of his idols, under Jones' rules. Jones, the former top pound-for-pound boxer, was up for the challenge, even talking about it on an HBO boxing broadcast last weekend.
And why wouldn't he be? Under boxing rules, Jones would be a prohibitive favorite. It's a fight that would garner far more interest than a past-his-prime Jones bout at this point could with an opponent who, based on Silva's 1-1 pro boxing record record, would appear to pose less of a threat.
Why Silva, with far more to risk by going into someone else's game, would ask for this fight is a bigger question.
Ed Soares, the Brazilian Silva's interpreter, claimed Silva and his boxing coaches believe that with five months of intense boxing training, he could be competitive. Silva, arguably the best striker in MMA, gets tired of hearing about how mixed martial artists lack the skills with their fists that boxers have. But the key to Silva's striking skills is a multi-pronged attack of knees from the clinch, and kicks, as well as the punches.
Jones has made it clear doesn't have the background to do MMA, Muay Thai, or even kickboxing. Under any of those scenarios, Silva would be a huge favorite.
Longshot
The fight isn't going to happen any time soon. Silva has an exclusive contract with UFC, and it's really a no-brainer for UFC president Dana White to not allow the match. Besides the obvious of not wanting one of his top fighters to fight outside the organization, it's a clear case of the risk not being worth the reward.
Even if Silva is competitive, those defending boxing will note that it's UFC's best striker against a boxer who is past his prime. If Jones were to win, and by all rights he should, to the general public, it would be viewed, even though it's a wrong perception, that even the best fighter in UFC is not at the level of fighter as a name pro boxer.
On the remote chance Silva could win, it's not like he beat the current widely recognized world champion. But for White and UFC, it's only the latter remote chance scenario that doesn't come across as a negative to the company in the eyes of the average sports fan. The odds are strong this would be a setback for MMA in general.
Anyone who has followed both sports closely, or is involved in both sports, will tell you the truth that the idea of the Superman fighter was always a myth. But there is a generation that grew up on the idea that the heavyweight boxing champ, from Joe Louis to Mike Tyson, was the baddest man on the planet. But the truth is, and always was, when you have top athletes from different fighting disciplines competing, the outcome will largely be determined based on who the rules favor.
"For me, it's a circus," said Gary Shaw, who promotes both sports. "I love boxing and I consider myself an expert in boxing and I'm a lot newer to MMA, but there's no way any pure boxer can compete in MMA with someone with equal skills in his sport as the boxer."
At the same point, a honed pure top-level boxer under his specific rules is going to be far more skilled than even an MMA fighter whose fists are his best weapon and even trains with boxers, because it's a different game.
MMA gloves are smaller, so a mixed martial artist isn't going to have the defensive capabilities of blocking a boxer's punches. Stances are also different as the MMA fighter, even if you see him win with punches standing, has to be able to constantly defend takedowns and low kicks, which are not a consideration in boxing.
But in a fight, nothing is 100 percent certain. Years ago in Japan, current UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was offered up as a sacrificial lamb for kickboxer Cyril Abidi under kickboxing rules.
Abidi was well known in his sport, but not a top level guy. Jackson overwhelmed Abidi early and knocked him out, and even won a decision in a rematch. It is highly unlikely, but possible a boxer in an MMA match could get in the right punch in an before a clinch or takedown and do damage. It's possible a boxer could fight an MMA striker in a boxing match, perhaps come in overconfident and get caught.
Shaw said he would bet everything he owns on the MMA fighter if the fight is held under MMA rules.
Shaw did say he'd love to promote a name vs. name MMA vs. boxer fight, but also felt the idea you could do huge business based on getting the MMA fan base and boxing fan base both buying the show may not be the case. He also said his ultimate goal for his biggest MMA start, Kimbo Slice, was to first make him a name in MMA, and then cross him over to boxing with the idea he'd draw from both fan bases.
"As a promoter, while I will always love boxing, for sure the MMA fans will be interested (in a star vs. star mixed match)," he said. "But I don't think the boxing fans would be as interested."
War of words
When UFC started gaining popularity, the sport of boxing felt threatened, which is a good thing, because the result has been the making of more high-quality boxing matches the past few years.
It was inevitable that challenges would be thrown between the two sports, and the first verbal volley came from Floyd Mayweather Jr., who ran down MMA while building up the Oscar De La Hoya fight last year. The idea was probably as much to get press as being serious. Since that period of time, Mayweather has teased fighting MMA for Mark Cuban, which will probably never happen, done pro wrestling, and even appeared as an MMA team owner and got into an argument with MMA fighter Shonie Carter on BET's "Iron Ring," claiming boxing was better because they have to go 12 rounds instead of three to five.
White tried to take advantage of the press by having his lightweight champion at the time Sean Sherk, challenge Mayweather, which went unanswered. Kermit Cintron, a top-level boxer who had a good high school wrestling background, was interested in doing an MMA match, but White felt Cintron was hardly Mayweather-level as far as promoting a big fight as he had no fame outside the boxing hardcore fan base.
Wayne McCullough, a former WBC bantamweight champion in boxing, who now trains with UFC fighter Martin Kampmann and does public relations work for the company, said his feeling is neutral rules would be kickboxing rules, because you eliminate the MMA fighters beat weapon against a boxer, which is taking him down and working for submissions.
"But once you get hit with a knee, it'll be over quick," he said.
