MMA fans breathed a collective sign of relief when Anderson Silva recently revealed that he had no intentions of retiring despite suffering a broken leg in his rematch with Chris Weidman at UFC 168, but it turns out that doesn’t mean that the Brazilian superstar can’t wait to get back into the Octagon.
Instead it appears he’s rekindled his interest in a boxing match with another legendary fighter, Roy Jones Jr.
“When I get better, that’s my biggest goal, especially because I won’t be able to fight MMA too soon,” Silva of fighting Jones when asked during a Facebook chat with fans yesterday. “Fighting in boxing is in my plans, yes, as soon as I’m able to fight again. And Roy is a big idol.”
The two men have shown a desire to fight each other for a number of years and up until Silva’s injury momentum had appeared to be growing for it with Jones appearing cage-side at the MMA star’s last two fights, while even UFC president Dana White refused to rule out the possibility of the fight happening.
After watching Silva break his leg, Jones quickly turned his attention to pastures new and rumors emerged that he was now targeting a possible fight with Nick Diaz instead, but so far nothing’s come of it and with Silva apparently now back in the picture that might alter the 45 year old’s plans once again.
It’s all just hypothetical at this stage though – Silva is still very early in his recovery process so there’s going to be a lot of water under the bridge before he’s even at a stage to be able to accept a fight either in the ring or the cage, but for now, despite pressure from his family, he seems to be sticking to the idea that he will fight again.
“I respect and understand their concern,” Silva says of his family’s desire for him to hang up his gloves, “but that’s something that has to come from my heart. That’s not in my plans. I’m focused in my recovery, but I want to get back as soon as possible. That’s who I am, it’s part of my history.”
