How Anderson Silva's win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. changes the boxing vs MMA narrative?
Anderson Silva vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was the latest installment of the boxing vs. MMA trend. What started out as a part-experimental, part-cash grab thought exercise has turned into somewhat of a staple in the combat sports world.
Nowadays, mixed martial artists leaving the cage to fight their boxing counterparts in a squared circle is common practice. In recent months, several boxing cards have featured crossover bouts with a combination of MMA fighters, boxers and YouTube celebrities (they somehow found themselves in the middle of this circus).
Naturally, an obvious question arose out of these exhibitions: Which sport is superior, boxing or MMA? After all, that's kind of the main point of doing crossover bouts in the first place (aside from millions of dollars to be made).
The sins of Ben Askren
The MMA community got the short end of the stick when Ben Askren took it upon himself to represent the sport of mixed martial arts. His opponent? A YouTube celebrity-turned-professional boxer by the name of Jake Paul.
"I’m not gonna be a world-class boxer, but I don’t gotta be a world-class boxer. I just gotta beat up Jake freaking Paul. That ain’t gonna be that hard, guys,” Askren said.
As a former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight champion, Askren should've easily handled a guy who made a living out of making videos, right? Wrong!
The rest is history, of course. It only took Paul several seconds to put Askren away, knocking him out at the 1:59 mark of the opening round.
And just like that, Askren had dragged the reputation of MMA as a sport into the mud with him. If a former champion can't even beat a YouTuber, then an average boxer would fare tremendously against an average MMA fighter.
Of course, that was an unfair assessment as Askren was never a striker to begin with. Not to mention that he was way past his prime when he fought Paul. Nonetheless, that's how the narrative went.
Anderson Silva's course correction
With his recent return to pro-boxing, Anderson Silva proved that great MMA strikers can find success in the ring. The former longtime middleweight champ brought his patented swagger against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the son and namesake of Mexico's biggest boxing legend.
'The Spider' turned in a vintage performance. He dropped his hands down and dared his opponent to strike – a familiar sight to those who have followed him during his UFC heyday. As the fight continued, Anderson Silva's confidence grew more and more as he started turning up the pressure on Chavez Jr.
Once the dust had settled Silva claimed a clearcut victory, outlanding his foe 99-53 in total punches and 60-41 in powerpunches.
Coming in as a heavy underdog, Anderson Silva had not competed in pro-boxing since 2005 before his clash with Chavez Jr. The 46-year-old also hadn't won a fight in the UFC since 2017, leading many to believe he wouldn't stand a chance against the former WBC middleweight champion.
Then again, Anderson Silva has made a career out of defying what's deemed impossible, and his latest conquest of Chavez Jr. was just a reminder of why he's a true combat sports legend.
Also read: 5 ideal opponents for Anderson Silva's next boxing match
Although this may appear to be just one win for the sport of MMA, the hope will be that Silva's victory will inspire future crossover stars and begin a more competitive era in the boxing vs. MMA trend. With Tyron Woodley set to face Jake Paul on August 28, only time will tell if that's the case.