The boxer vs. mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter potential match-ups have been discussed ad nauseum, and to very little avail.
(Click here, here, here and here for a few instances.)
Aside from James Toney getting tapped by Randy Couture with relative ease at UFC 118, there hasn't been a professional boxer willing to lace up a pair of MMA gloves to step inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Octagon.
And vice versa.
Heavyweight boxing contender Tyson Fury received an open invite from UFC President Dana White to step into the cage to challenge current division kingpin Cain Velasquez after Fury decided to verbally bash the 265-pound champ.
But, that too was all for naught as Tyson wants the "price to be right" before he steps inside the Octagon.
Perhaps the most talked about crossover fight is one that involves former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva taking on former multi-division champion, Roy Jones Jr. While some of that talk may have cooled off after Chris Weidman upset "The Spider'" at UFC 162 earlier this year; Jones, for one, still has his sights set on Anderson.
Apparently, the Brazilian bomber does as well, according to Jones, as he recently revealed to Boxing News Online. But before that fight comes to be, Jones wants a "tune up" fight against former cruiserweight champ, Bobby Gunn.
"If he (Silva) beats Weidman, then we'll do a boxing match, which is what he wants to do. The Gunn fight would give me a tune-up, so I'm ready for the fight in case he beats Weidman. So if he beats Weidman, I've got to be ready for it because he's going to be coming for me and I want to be ready when he comes for me. I want to give him what he wants. He said that's his lifelong dream. We've got to make that happen. He's a great striker and a great defender."
Of course, the other piece of the puzzle falls squarely on Silva's hands, as he still has to beat Weidman when the two rematch at UFC 168 on Dec. 28, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Even if Silva gets revenge on Weidman, the much-talked about boxing match between he and Jones will likely still be stuck in fantasy land as Dana White isn't too keen on letting his stars -- especially one as big as Silva - wander over to the "sweet science."
Regardless of the tight friendship White shares with Jones.
Of course, should Silva come up short against "All-American" (again), then maybe the possibility of MMA retirement might start creeping into Silva's mind, which will perhaps enable the fantasy boxing match become a reality.
But, then again, there's this whole 10-fight contract that Silva is adamant he will fulfill.
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