Free of his UFC contract, Anderson Silva finally got the chance to return to the boxing ring this month. There, on June 19, he met former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
In Guadalajara ‘The Spider’ surprised and impressed many by thoroughly out-boxing Chavez for the duration of their four round exhibition.
Chavez, who is 11 years younger than Silva, badly missed weight for the contest, too. That cost him a $100,000.
The fight with Silva was supposed to mark a Chavez family celebration. However, the festivities were dampened thanks to Chavez’s performance. Chavez’s younger brother Omar Chavez also fought on the card, losing to Canelo Alvarez’s younger brother Ramon Alvarez.
Chavez family patriarch Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., a boxing icon who was regarded as one of the very best pound-for-pound fighters in the 1990s, was less than impressed with his sons’ performances.
“I prefer that they retire if they are not going to prepare correctly,” he said (per BoxingScene). “They do not prepare in the best way possible to fight.”
Chavez Sr. fought from 1980 to 2005 and amassed an incredible 107-6-2 record with 86 KOs. Among his belt collection were the WBC super featherweight, WBA lightweight, and WBA light welterweight titles.
Chavez Jr. has a 53-6-1 (1 NC) record. Prior to facing Silva he had a 2-3 record in his last five contests, which includes a unanimous decision loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2017 and a retirement to Daniel Jacobs in 2019.
Omar Chavez has a 38-6-1 record and is currently on a three fight losing skid. He is a former WBC Youth Intercontinental welterweight champion.
After beating Chavez Jr. Silva reportedly has a number of interesting options on the table. His boxing coach Luiz Dorea recently revealed “we have lots of proposals” and promised that his charge would bring people “a lot of joy” in the boxing ring.
Silva himself also hinted at a bout with YouTuber and recent Mayweather opponent Logan Paul.
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