On March 1, 2003, in Las Vegas, Roy Jones Jr. defeated John Ruiz by a 12-round unanimous decision for the WBA heavyweight championship.
Jones officially weighed in at 193 pounds (88 kilograms) and Ruiz at 226 pounds (103 kilos).
Jones became the first former middleweight title holder to win a heavyweight title in 106 years.
Jones also became the first fighter to start his career as a junior middleweight and win a heavyweight title.
Jones decided to keep campaigning as a light heavyweight and eventually relinquished the WBA heavyweight title without ever defending it. (Source: wikipedia.com.)
Today, the latest rumor circulating the many MMA sites—which seem to pop up overnight like bad weeds—is that UFC superstar Anderson Silva is contemplating a foray into the deep and murky waters of the heavyweight division.
Apparently, he first wants to fight Frank Mir. However, I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping that he also gets a crack at Brock Lesnar.
Lets face it, Silva would no doubt eventually get smothered and suffocated in the same fashion as Mir did, but wouldn't it be fun to see him use Brock's big head as a speed bag?
Even if it only lasts for just a few seconds.
Just long enough to witness him throw off a five-punch combo in rapid machine gun-like succession, ultimately cutting the big 300-pound Lesnar down to size and possibly bloodying up that big ugly mouth of his.
That, in itself, would be worth the $49.50.
Maybe that's why the great overrated bald guy of Russian decent, whose name I don't care to mention here, decided he was safer fighting the best that Strikeforce had to offer—instead of the top-level-heavy's of the UFC variety.
Maybe he smelled a rat, he would be murdered if he ever faced Silva, and I would take tremendous pleasure in witnessing the destruction of the over-hyped clown.
Anyhow, it's not official as yet, but here comes Silva, and he is a real threat to any fighter in any combat sport, including boxing; in fact, his hero is none other than Roy Jones Jr.
Also, even though his career consists of only a few bouts, he's a boxer—with an actual pro record, no less.
When discussing the future of MMA superstars, one cannot help to ponder the future of Anderson Silva.
He has cleaned out whole divisions single-handedly and is now, seemingly, at a crossroads.
The following is an excerpt from an article written on this Web site, in July of 2008, where I predicted Anderson Silva would eventually move to the UFC heavyweight division.
Recently, I was asked if I thought Silva would ever become a heavyweight in the UFC?
I thought about it for a moment, "Well, yeah, the guy is 6'2", and walks around at close to 220 pounds; it's not a big stretch from 205 to heavyweight, so yeah...it's definitely possible."
Anderson in addition to his BJJ black belt and his Muay Thai skills is also a well-trained pro boxer, if he moved up to heavy and brought that speed and skill with him, what other fighter could touch him?
Silva is simply not there to be hit, if he was, then Rich Franklin—who has decent hands—would have done it, or Henderson, or Gump-Griffin, all of which are stand-up-style fighters.
The slick moving Brazilian's pinpoint accurate striking ability, along with his perfect lateral movement, make him a very elusive target.
Anderson uses the ring or (octagon) to stay out of danger, and waits for the right moment to make his move, then, like a cobra snake he uncoils striking his prey.
From that point on, it is certain death for whoever the unlucky opponent would be.
And it isn't long before the fight has ended.
My prediction is that this fight with Irvin won't last long either.
Anderson does well against strikers, and he has knocked out far better strikers than James Irvin.
My prediction is that Anderson Silva will win by TKO in the first round.
"The heights by great men reached and kept, were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
47 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete