In an eight-round professional boxing fight, former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. via split decision in the main card of Tribute to the Kings with the judges scoring 75-77, 77-75 and 77-75.
The fight started in Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s favor as we saw him pile on the pressure on Anderson Silva who took to the outside of the ring. This was pretty much the case for the first three rounds of the fight. Silva kept using his footwork to move around the ring and strike Chavez Jr whenever possible, but the Mexican boxer held his ground and landed more punches in the first three rounds of the fight.
Things changed their course from round four of the fight. Silva picked up his pace and started to push towards his opponent and then kept landing heavy strikes on Chavez. There was a point in the fight where Silva trapped Chevez Jr. against the ropes and started pounding on him in the finals stages of the fight which played a key factor in Silva’s split decision victory.
This fight gave Silva his third professional boxing fight in his long career in combat sports. His previous two fights go back to the year 1998 against Osmar Luiz Teixeira where he lost via corner retirement, and in 2005 where he won via a second-round KO. This means that the Brazilian is now 2 – 1 as a professional boxer.
In the post-fight interview, Silva said, “I love fighting, Boxing was my dream for many years, I needed to show my respect for boxing, I need to come here and do my best”
What’s next for Anderson Silva?
Logan Paul is on the top of the list to take on Anderson Silva in boxing. In an interview, Silva said, “I respect both. I have a great relationship with the brothers (Jake Paul and Logan) and I think this is possible, you know. That’s entertaining. His fight was entertaining and Logan and his brother are amazing guys. People say they talk a lot about the guys but they are good people and I respect them both. Everything is possible and I think the next fight is maybe, with Logan Paul.”
[Header Image Credit: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr]
Shashank Iyer