Former UFC champion Anderson Silva defeated former WBC boxing champion Julio Caesar Chavez Jr by majority decision at Tribute to the Kings.
On a night fittingly titled “Tribute to the Kings,” former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva topped former WBC middleweight champion Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. by split decision on Saturday night.
.@SpiderAnderson doing #AndersonSilva things!#TributeToTheKings
PPV: https://t.co/cUFR9Hvg9P pic.twitter.com/OM4sVY3iLY
— FITE (@FiteTV) June 20, 2021
In his first bout since parting ways with the UFC last year, Silva impressed fans and pundits alike in going the distance with championship tested, lifelong boxer in Chavez Jr. “The Spider” was more active and precise with his punches throughout the bout, working behind his jab and avoiding counters with an ease that was reminiscent of his UFC title reign from 2006 to 2013. Despite only being 1-1 as a boxer going into the match and not having been in the ring since 2005, Silva was in such control of the fight that on multiple occasions he dropped his hands and let himself get backed into the corner in order to entice more action from Chavez. When the scorecards were read, two judges scored the fight for Silva and one controversially scored the fight in favor of Chavez.
After the bout, boxing superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez came to the ring to congratulate Silva and pay respect to his career. In his post-fight interview, Silva admitted to being star struck by the boxer. He went on to say he was happy and that it was possible that he competes in boxing again. He finished by saying was focused on helping his son prepare for his own upcoming fight.
Julio Cesar Chavez had enough with the exhibition rules and tried to remove his headgear mid-fight 😅@Jcchavez115 pic.twitter.com/wbMXR36WJw
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) June 20, 2021
The night was topped by the final exhibition bout in the career of boxing legend Julio Caesar Chavez Sr who fought Hector Camacho Jr. The undercard saw Ramon Alvarez, the older brother of Canelo, defeat Chavez Sr’s other son, Omar Chavez. In the most controversial decision of the night, Damian Sosa defeated Abel Mina in a fight many felt was one-sided in the favor of Mina.
