Roy Jones Jr. to Dana White: Let me and Anderson Silva fight in the boxing ring
Roy Jones Jr. says he is in talks with Anderson Silva for a one-off boxing match.
It’s always been Anderson Silva’s dream to step into the boxing ring to fight his longtime idol Roy Jones Jr.
Silva, the former UFC middleweight champion, originally wanted to fight Jones back in 2009. ‘The Spider’ was hoping his boxing masterclass against Forrest Griffin would lure Jones into the ring, but the six-time world champion wasn’t interested.
That was back then, in 2009. But today, in 2018, Jones wants to make Silva’s dream become a reality and urged UFC president Dana White to give them both the green light to enter formal negotiations.
“I know he [Silva] wants to do it and I know it’s something I want to do, so for him I would come out and fight, yes,” Jones told TMZ Sports in a recent interview, per Bleacher Report’s Christopher Simpson.
”Yes we have [talked about making the fight happen], and I had a group of guys from Chicago who told me they want to invest and make it happen as well, so all we need Dana to do is let him go, let him free of his contract and we can make it happen.”
Silva is currently suspended indefinitely due to a potential USADA anti-doping violation but Jones, 49, thinks it’s the ‘perfect opportunity’ to book a boxing match.
“I would say ‘Dana, it’s your boy. When you were a nobody, I treated you like you were somebody, so a favour for a favour you know what I’m saying? Let your boy do what he gotta do to get outta here. It’s a perfect situation, a perfect fight, a perfect opportunity—something all the fans want to see.’”
If Silva does receive a hefty suspension for his failed drug test, it could make sense for the UFC to terminate his contract and allow the former pound-for-pound king to compete in the boxing ring. The 42-year-old is 1-4 in his last five bouts and his 2015 win over Nick Diaz was overturned to a No Contest after it was revealed that Silva tested positive for PEDs.
Although Jones is interested in a fight with Silva, the boxing legend recently announced that he would be retiring after his cruiserweight title bout with Scott Sigmon on Feb. 8.