lol at them saying jones is washed up as a excuse... white is just scared silvia will get hurt lol
Roy Jones, who enjoyed a long run as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world in the 1990s, has issued a challenge to the best mixed martial artist in the world, Anderson Silva.
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.
CBS spoke to Silva's manager, Ed Soares, who told us that Silva (24-4, 14 KOs) is keen on meeting Jones (53-5, 39 KOs) in the Octagon, or even in a boxing ring. So, will the first mega-crossover boxing/MMA battle take place?
"That's a question you have to ask Dana White," Soares told us. "We'd love to fight Roy Jones. Anderson wants to challenge himself, he wants legendary fights."
So, how about it, Dana? Should fans of both disciplines get geared up for the crossover clash?
"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."
Silva is still seemingly at his earning peak; he will step up to light heavyweight to beef with fan favorite Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 in August, a challenge he is embracing after a run of less than dramatic title defenses against sub-superstar level athletes. Silva has four fights remaining on his UFC deal, White told CBS, which should have him fighting under the UFC banner for another year-and-a-half or so.
The fighter could then decide to jump ship, and do the Jones scrap, or re-sign with White and company, and likely shelve the Jones contest concept once and for all.
Fans of both sports have expressed interest in a crossover match that didn't feature a faded boxer, like former heavyweight titlist Ray Mercer, against a younger mixed martial artist, like Kimbo Slice, looking to add a recognizable name to his resume. Boxers like former welterweight crown holder Kermit Cintron, and Floyd Mayweather have contemplated learning a ground game to go with their standup skills to compete in MMA. But so far, it's been a case of all talk, next to no follow through. Jones, though, is ready to match the walk with the talk -- he is willing to train in MMA for a several months and tangle with Silva in late 2009 or early 2010.
Last year, Silva expressed heavy interest in testing his standup game; the Brazilian technician, nicknamed "The Spider" for his long limbs, which can turn a foe into a pretzel quicker than White can drop an F-bomb, said he'd love to box Jones after he choked out Dan Henderson at UFC 82 in March 2008.
Talks between the Jones and Silva camps lost steam, though, as Silva was booked into three UFC events in 2008. White spoke up and said that he didn't want Silva to box Jones. An impasse loomed.
So Jones' manager, McGee Wright, approached Jones a few weeks ago, and asked him if he'd consider fighting Silva on his turf, in an Octagon.
Jones agreed, McGee told CBS. So a pumped-up McGee reached out to Silva's manager, Soares, and Soares was excited as well.
"He said Silva would do it, fight Roy in an MMA fight," Wright said.
Soares then contacted White, and from there, Wright says, the plan for a boxing/MMA crossover megafight was derailed. Late last week, Wright says, he and Soares touched base and Soares reported that White wasn't keen on a Silva vs. Jones MMA tussle.
Wright is slightly perplexed. "I would've though Dana would've been happy to do it, after last year he said he wanted Sean Sherk to fight Floyd Mayweather," Wright said. "The pay per view of Jones against Silva would be in line with the results from the (May 2008) De La Hoya/Floyd Mayweather fight," he says of the showdown which broke buys and revenue records.
Jones, a Florida resident, is tentatively slated to take on fellow Floridian Jeff Lacy in July, as he tries to make it two wins in a row after his disappointing loss to Scot Joe Calzaghe in November. Jones scintillated fight fans with his blinding hand speed and footwork when he gobbled up titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight an even at heavyweight, in 2002. His reflexes have diminished some, but his status as a lockdown Hall of Famer would still speak to fight fans. White even concedes that he could make money with the crossover event.
"I could do it, make it huge, make money, but I could have done a fight like this when we were bleeding money (in the early 2000s)," White said. "The fight would make some money, but it hurts MMA in the long term. We don't do that because we love the sport. That's a Pride or K-1 matchup. It's not what we do."
That sound you hear? That's cold water, splashing.
For now, those lusting for a boxer/MMAer clash will have to make do with a May 30 faceoff between the 48-year-old Mercer and former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. They'll get in on, using the unified rules of boxing, in New Jersey.
http://www.cbssports.co
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05-05-2009, 07:46 PM #1
Jones agrees to fight Silva in Octagon, UFC prez White says no
Stickam: ronniecoleman22
"One morning I woke up and found my favorite pigeon, Julius, had died I was devastated and was gonna use his crate as my stickball bat to honor him. I left the crate on my stoop and went in to get something and I returned to see the sanitation man put the crate into the crusher. I rushed him and caught him flush on the temple with a titanic right hand he was out cold, convulsing on the floor like an infantile retard." -Mike Tyson
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05-05-2009, 07:52 PM #2
Just leave it to Dana to put the kibosh on something that would make more money for the UFC than ever before. Dana really isn't as smart as he's cracked up to be. I gotta' think there's ulterior motives here. Like: He doesn't want Anderson Silva to somehow get beat at his own game, and get exposed. That's the only viable reason I can think of. Otherwise, this fight would make the UFC A TON of money. I can't see why he'd be against it.
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05-05-2009, 07:52 PM #3
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05-05-2009, 07:56 PM #4Stickam: ronniecoleman22
"One morning I woke up and found my favorite pigeon, Julius, had died I was devastated and was gonna use his crate as my stickball bat to honor him. I left the crate on my stoop and went in to get something and I returned to see the sanitation man put the crate into the crusher. I rushed him and caught him flush on the temple with a titanic right hand he was out cold, convulsing on the floor like an infantile retard." -Mike Tyson
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05-05-2009, 07:56 PM #5
Exactly. He's shot, and Dana STILL won't let him fight Anderson Silva at his OWN GAME! WTF? Dana seriously needs to reconsider his stance on this subject. This is easy money for everyone involved. Roy goes in, gets worked, and everyone gets paid. Seems pretty simple to me. There's gotta' be more to it.
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05-05-2009, 07:57 PM #6
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05-05-2009, 07:57 PM #7
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05-05-2009, 07:58 PM #8
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05-05-2009, 08:01 PM #9
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05-05-2009, 08:04 PM #10
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05-05-2009, 08:04 PM #11
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05-05-2009, 08:06 PM #12
i got it off CBS's website...
http://www.cbssports.com/mma/story/11712445Stickam: ronniecoleman22
"One morning I woke up and found my favorite pigeon, Julius, had died I was devastated and was gonna use his crate as my stickball bat to honor him. I left the crate on my stoop and went in to get something and I returned to see the sanitation man put the crate into the crusher. I rushed him and caught him flush on the temple with a titanic right hand he was out cold, convulsing on the floor like an infantile retard." -Mike Tyson
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05-05-2009, 08:08 PM #13
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05-05-2009, 08:09 PM #14
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05-05-2009, 08:11 PM #15
Exactly. That's what I'm thinking here. He's afraid Anderson would get beat by a badly faded 40 year old Roy Jones Jr. and that would not look good for MMA's credibility at all. (Assuming of course, the fight was fought under MMA rules.) That being said, I think the reward constitutes the risk. Huge money is at stake here, and the fans want this fight. Dana needs to give the people what they want. (Like he always claims he does. And for the most part, he's good about it. So I fail to see why he isn't doing this.)
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05-05-2009, 08:13 PM #16
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05-05-2009, 08:15 PM #17
So essentially, what you're saying is this: Dana White and the UFC have backed themselves into a corner. If they don't make the fight, they will be looked down upon. If they take the fight, and lose, it REALLY looks bad for UFC. If they take the fight and win Anderson beat a washed up Roy Jones. So no matter what, the situation isn't going to be good for UFC here. Therefore, I say make the fight! At least you'll make money in that circumstance! And tons of it to boot!
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05-05-2009, 08:17 PM #18
If this article is true, then this doesn't make much sense money wise. I mean, Dana White would allow Brock Lesnar to fight but not RJJ? That doesn't make sense to me. The chances of RJJ beating Silva are pretty low, so I have no idea why Dana White would not take this.
I can see Silva trying to out box Jones though. So I guess there is some concern in that manner.Access the gun's off the earth axis
Axis of evil, the eagle will leave your hat split
Ruck flow is like "**** you, Gawd"
I don't wanna rhyme, I need a construction job
- Sean Price
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05-05-2009, 08:19 PM #19
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05-05-2009, 08:20 PM #20"I would fight anyone of the UFC LW's, but the problem is that I will never put my foot in the octagon after they (UFC) tried to be funny, I would rather have bleeding hemorrhoids than fight for the UFC. I would rather have one true Japanese MMA supporter than one million fake mainstream supporters that will turn their back on you as soon as you lose a fight. - Joachim Hansen
“I would feel like a coward, like I’m running away,” - Mirko Crocop on moving to the 205lb LHW division
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05-05-2009, 08:20 PM #21
I'm sure there is much more to this.
But as for the fight there is a risk. Think about Silvas personality. I doubt that Silva would even use kicks against RJJ. I'm sure that the suits in UFC are not that trusting of Silva. If Silva were to go all out and fight like a normal MMA match, he would dominate RJJ. But if he's fighting like he's fighting his idol, well - Silva might not stand as good of a chance in a straight boxing type of fight.Access the gun's off the earth axis
Axis of evil, the eagle will leave your hat split
Ruck flow is like "**** you, Gawd"
I don't wanna rhyme, I need a construction job
- Sean Price
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05-05-2009, 08:20 PM #22
how have they backed themselves into a corner? they never said they WOULD make the fight, so they didnt back anything
if they lose it really looks bad for UFC and MMA in general
the risk > reward. it doesnt make sense. it makes more sense to allow lesnar to fight fedor under WAMMA while under contract than to allow this.
now if floyd wanted to come fight a gatekeeper, or pacman wanted to step up weight and fight a LW gatekeeper...thats a dif story
Brock trained for over a year with Militich before fighting, and wasnt given the P4P #1 on his first fight
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05-05-2009, 08:22 PM #23
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05-05-2009, 08:23 PM #24
DW has a good point
i still would love to see it though
why do you always bring up peoples sex lives??
it has nothing to do with anyones opinion on MMA and you sound like a retard (mainly since your posting on the same forum as much as the people your trying to insult)Last edited by Coach McGuirk; 05-05-2009 at 08:25 PM.
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05-05-2009, 08:25 PM #25
What? Sure they did, and I've already went over why I feel that way. Evidently, you didn't read my post, or your reading comprehension skills are under the gun tonight.
By not taking the fight, whether they've already agreed to or not, they are making themselves look WEAK! It's basically like saying: We're worried one of our top fighters can't take a forty year old RJJ. What's so hard for you to understand about that? I thought it was pretty obvious, but I guess not.
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05-05-2009, 08:26 PM #26
Brock trained for over a year with Militich before fighting, and wasnt given the P4P #1 on his first fight
RJJ on the other hand was one of the greatest fighters of all time (keep in mind that in the 90s, boxers were rated as the best fighters by the general public). He is out of his prime, but not only is he a massive draw but he is still a pretty highly rated boxer though not top tier obviously. He would still have the best hands to step into the Octagon.
Now, Lesnar didn't fight arguably the best fighter his first day in the UFC. But he did fight a former HW champion who was a submission ace. Lesnar had never been in a fight in his life by then. I would say that Lesnar and RJJ would be comparable to some degree.
In terms of drawing, RJJ far out trumps Brock Lesnar. Even by wrestling standards, Brock Lesnar wasn't even in the top 10 most recognizable wrestlers, where people who don't even watch boxing would know who Roy Jones JR is.Last edited by Mrs Grudge; 05-05-2009 at 08:28 PM.
Access the gun's off the earth axis
Axis of evil, the eagle will leave your hat split
Ruck flow is like "**** you, Gawd"
I don't wanna rhyme, I need a construction job
- Sean Price
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05-05-2009, 08:26 PM #27
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05-05-2009, 08:27 PM #28
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05-05-2009, 08:28 PM #29
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05-05-2009, 08:29 PM #30
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