Roy Jones Jr. vs. Anderson Silva in a boxing ring. It’s been one of the most ridiculous–and resilient–topics in modern MMA history.
Silva has repeatedly expressed a desire to box Jones, a personal hero of his, and Jones has always claimed a mutual interest. This is, no doubt, because Jones is far removed from his prime and can’t even draw well in Florida, let alone sell a fight for TV.
Jones has been reduced to winning paper titles, like his currently held German version of the World Boxing Union cruiserweight title, fighting in Russia and Latvia where they seem fond of Roy’s “Y’all Must’ve Forgot” rap song.
With Silva on the comeback from back-to-back losses to Chris Weidman, including a horrific leg break in the rematch, and a new fifteen fight deal in place with the UFC, it looks like the twisted dream of Jones vs. Silva with the big gloves has finally died.
Jones talked to MMA Fight Corner about the situation:
“But on his downside, the UFC won’t allow him to fulfill his dream and get in the ring and enjoy a night of sharing the ring with the great Roy Jones, Jr. It’s such a pity. It’s such a shame because it’s a night that I’m sure people from both worlds would really admire, and would love to see, and would get a lot from because of two legends in the ring at once. Although it’s boxing, we could share the ring together because Anderson can box. He’s a professional fighter too, and he’s an entertainer just as myself.
“I feel really solid that [the UFC] won’t allow him to do that. But as a fighter, I think he’s a phenomenal fighter and I think he’s probably going to be one of the best UFC fighters to ever touch the planet.”
I don’t imagine that there’s really any interest left for the fight, but Roy is probably looking to make a little extra money before he has to hang up the gloves for good.
Silva returns to action against Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in January while Jones will probably be fighting someone you’ve never heard of in Russia in early 2015.