Long before Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather was even a thought of a possibility, former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva had lobbied for a boxing bout of his own against former heavyweight boxing champion Roy Jones Jr.
Silva is currently in some hot water as it pertains to his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, having failed his second United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug test of his career.
The first came after his unanimous decision win over Nick Diaz back in 2015 (which was later overturned to a No Contest), and the second came just several weeks ago prior to his scheduled match-up with Kelvin Gastelum in China.
Due to his failed test, the Brazilian was removed from the fight against Gastelum and was replaced by Michael Bisping on short-notice. Now that the 42-year-old's MMA career is in doubt after his second failed test, he can now focus his attention on attempting to fight Jones Jr.
Recently Jones was a guest on The Ask Gary Vee Show and revealed he's still trying to fight Silva inside the ring (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“I’m still trying to fight Anderson Silva right now. Me and Anderson Silva have been trying to fight way before Floyd Mayweather and McGregor ever thought about this.
"We’ve been trying to fight for nine years now and they would not let him get free to fight me. . .
"Me and him could have did this a long time ago and we were at the pinnacle of our careers when we first started talking about it so why they still won’t let us fight right now, I don’t know.
“He still wants to fight me and I still want to fight him,” said Jones Jr.
“He has 14 professional boxing matches so the different thing about it is, he has boxing experience. So it’s conceivable that he could do it.
“Both of us want to fight right now still and the UFC won’t let him free to fight.
"I’m 48, going on 49 in January, and because of how big it is, and how big of an event it is, and I know what it means to him, I’m still willing to fight Anderson Silva tomorrow if he was free to do it.”
Silva responded to Jones' comments on Instagram and claimed that he still wants to fight as well:
“Ok Roy Jr this is everything I've wanted for years, long before all this happened, it will be a pleasure to step into the ring with you.
"I have great respect and admiration for everything you've done in boxing and everyone knows that this has always been my great dream. Let's make this event happen.
"I think we have this right, in fact this is something that both You and I are willing to do. So. Let's make it happen, Mr. Roy.”
What are your thoughts on Silva still attempting to pursue a boxing match against Roy Jones Jr. despite his recent drug test failure in the UFC? Do you think that this fight is a legitimate possibility and could happen down the road? Or was Mayweather vs. McGregor the final MMA vs. Boxing type of bout fight fans will see for quite some time? Let us know your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below!
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