Anderson Silva set for a return to professional boxing

UFC veteran Anderson Silva will compete in professional boxing for just the third time when he faces Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

The 10-round bout is set to take place on June 19 at Jalisco Stadium in Jalisco, Mexico. It will also reportedly be contested at 180 pounds, as per ESPN.

Anderson Silva gets back into the ring

It’ll mark the first time Silva has boxed professionally since 2005 when he beat Julio Cesar De Jesus via knockout, taking his record to 1-1.

He suffered a first-round TKO loss to Osmar Luiz Teixeira back in 1998 .

On the flip side, Chavez Jr holds a 52–5–1 (1) record and even fought Canelo Alvarez back in May 2017.

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This move seems to confirm that, for now, the 45-year-old is stepping away from mixed martial arts. After he left the UFC there were rumours he could head over to Bellator, but it never came to fruition.

The last time we saw Silva in combat sports was in October 2020. On that night he was beaten by Uriah Hall, marking his seventh loss in his last nine fights.

During a recent interview, Silva spoke about his desire to pursue his boxing dream once again.

“When I look back at my journey, I see that nothing has been in vain,” Silva told TMZ. “I am extremely happy for the opportunity to test my boxing skills with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

“I train continuously, always striving for resilience and to overcome obstacles. Fighting is my everlasting breath.”

The initial plan seemed to be for Anderson Silva to fight Roy Jones Jr. It was a proposed superfight many years ago but neither side seemed able to come to an agreement, but with Jones fighting Mike Tyson recently, it feels as if it could be on the cards somewhere down the road.

But for now, Silva’s priority is with the challenge of tackling Chavez Jr.

Featured image credit: Getty