"Luke can box"- Coach Javier Mendez talks about Luke Rockhold calling for a boxing match with Anderson Silva
Javier Mendez backed up Luke Rockhold’s boxing skills in an interview with The Schmo.
Rockhold retired from MMA after losing to Paulo Costa at UFC 278. Although he’s done fighting MMA, the 38-year-old has potentially teased a crossover into boxing. After watching Anderson Silva lose to Jake Paul, the former UFC champion had this to say on Twitter:
"I beat Silva in boxing. Bet the house"
American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez, who trained Rockhold for most of his career, was asked about the tweet shown above. He responded by saying:
"He can box. Luke can box."
The era of celebrity boxing has provided promising opportunities for retired or semi-retired fighters. For instance, Tyron Woodley pocketed $2 million for his first fight against ‘The Problem Child.’
Whether the former UFC middleweight champion is serious about boxing is unknown, but a matchup against Silva is possible. If Rockhold plays his cards right, he could find himself boxing 'The Spider' or another big name in combat sports.
Watch Javier Mendez get interviewed by The Schmo and Helen Yee below:
Javier Mendez advocates for Nate Diaz to be Jake Paul's next boxing opponent
Now that Jake Paul has passed the Anderson Silva test, fans and haters have discussed what could be next. The most common answers seem to be either Nate Daiz or Tommy Fury. During the same interview, Javier Mendez had this to say about who ‘The Problem Child’ should fight next:
"Nate Diaz. Biggest eyeballs to the screen. Nate Diaz. They already fought each other. Nate already slapped somebody from his entourage, corner guys, in the back of the fight. I heard they got into it. So, Nate Diaz. Nate Diaz. Nate Diaz. Nate Diaz. There's nobody else for him to fight that's going to get as much attention than Nate Diaz."
Paul continues to conquer the attention of combat sports fans with every win. The question is, what’s the end game? If ‘The Problem Child’ is trying to make money, fighting Diaz is the obvious choice. If he wants to become a world champion, getting a win against a boxer like Fury makes more sense. Only time will tell who’s next for the social media icon.