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Anderson 'The Spider' Silva rekindled his combat sports career last Saturday by dominating former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a professional boxing match. Silva won this fight by the judges' decision.
By winning this match, Silva has managed to spark a new life into a career that saw itself go into a downward spiral with seven losses in the UFC, starting with his first loss to Chris Weidman.
In the rematch with Weidman, Silva threw a hard leg kick that Weidman checked. Silva suffered a gruesome injury as the fibula and tibia bones in his left leg snapped after Weidman checked the kick.
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In the matches that came in Silva's MMA career after this injury, 'The Spider' was seen relying a lot more on his punches than in his previous fights where he was seen using a lot of kicks.
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Due to limitations on Silva's kicking skills from the injury, he was not able to be at his best in the latter stages of his UFC career. His game in MMA was never the same.
However, given that the sport of boxing has less strain on the legs as compared to MMA, Silva was seen being his old self in the ring against Chavez jr where he was bobbing, weaving, and showboating against the former middleweight champion.
The fact that Chavez is a former champion who has had 50 professional fights and that he belongs to a boxing family makes Silva's victorious return to combat sports all the more triumphant.
Although he is 42 years old, it would seem that he still has a lot of fight left in him. He intends to continue his combat sports career as a boxer.
On that note, here are 5 ideal opponents for Anderson Silva's next boxing match:
5) One of the Paul brothers
The 26-year-old Youtuber Logan Paul had an exhibition fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. where no winner was declared. Even after delivering a lackluster performance in this fight against a much smaller opponent in Mayweather, Paul claims that he would have won the fight had it been a professional bout.
His younger brother Jake Paul agrees. Jake Paul is scheduled to fight former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in a professional boxing match on August 28, 2021. In his previous outing, he knocked out former UFC welterweight Ben Askren.
Fight fans would love to see one of the Paul brothers face the prolific striker in 'The Spider' after all the tall claims that they make.
To the delight of fans, in an interview with FightHub TV after his fight against Chavez, Silva was asked if he would like to fight one of the Paul brothers. Silva said:
"Absolutely, that's the goal"
4) Roy Jones Jr.
In the aforementioned interview, Silva was asked if he would like to fight the legendary Roy Jones Jr. while referring to a tweet made by Jake Paul. In the tweet, Paul asked for a fight between Silva and Jones on the same card as him and Tyron Woodley.
Silva suggested that he definitely wouldn't mind facing Jones.
"I respect Roy Jones a lot, Roy Jones is my hero. The last night I was watching videos of Roy Jones and I'm so happy now, everything is possible."
Former three-division champion Jones was recently seen in an exhibition match against Mike Tyson on November 28, 2020 which ended in a draw.
3) Silva's former UFC opponent, Vitor Belfort
'The Phenom' Vitor Belfort is about to join the bandwagon of crossover fights between boxing and MMA. The former UFC light heavyweight champion is set to fight former six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya in an exhibition bout on September 11, 2021.
Going back to his UFC days, 'The Phenom' faced 'Spider' at UFC 126 where he was handed his first knockout loss in his MMA career. Silva knocked Belfort out with a front kick to his chin. Belfort went on to get knocked out in the same manner by former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.
If Belfort seeks vengeance from Silva, being 'The Spider's next opponent in a boxing match would be his best chance. Because unlike their last bout against each other, Silva would not be allowed to throw any kicks.
2) Oscar De La Hoya
Given that 'The Golden Boy' is about to face a former UFC star, it is evident that he is also seeking to take part in crossover fights between MMA and boxing. He has been linked with potential fights with UFC veterans Eddie Alvarez and Anthony Pettis in the past.
In the past couple of months, he sought a fight against former two-division UFC champion George St. Pierre, the idea of which was turned down by UFC President Dana White as claimed by De La Hoya himself.
De La Hoya claimed that White kept the fight from happening because St.Pierre was still under contract with the UFC.
Now that Silva is not under any UFC contract, he freely expressed his distaste for the UFC President's actions by saying:
"I think it don't make sense, specially because George has done a lot for the sport, especially for UFC and.. why hold the guy?"
He went on to add:
"George is a fighter, you can't hold the fighter, it's the same as you take a lion in the jungle and put it inside the cage, the lion will die. You can't do that. Nobody can do that. It no makes sense, this completely terrible., terrible."
Well, if GSP can't give 'Golden Boy' a legend vs legend fight, only another legend can fill those shoes. 'Spider' can definitely fill that space now that he has been released from the UFC.
1) Mike Tyson
If there was any other boxer compared to Muhammad Ali in terms of greatness, it was 'Iron' Mike Tyson.
Although Mike Tyson started boxing after Ali retired, the question of how a fight between the two boxing legends would turn out has been around since the 80s.
While the opinions of fans on who would win have been divided, the closest we would get to the answer to this question is by seeing how a fight between Tyson and Silva pans out.
It is a known fact that Muhammad Ali has been one of 'Spider's greatest inspirations. Silva pays a big tribute to Ali's legacy by emulating not only his defensive movement but also his strikes and taunting mannerisms, including the Ali shuffle and anchor punch to name a few. Silva has successfully brought this style to the octagon and now to the boxing ring.
Tyson has returned to the boxing ring to face Roy Jones Jr. even though he is past his prime. Tyson needs to pull another fight out of himself with the 'Spider' to end the four-decade-long question of who will win in a fight between him and Ali.
