Anderson Silva’s second boxing match of the year felt like a backwards step on paper. In execution, it very likely earned him a shot at bigger things moving forward.
After defeating a former champion a decade his junior in Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., “The Spider” stepped into the ring with… “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz at Triller Fight Club’s Legends II event on Saturday.
Legends both men are. But Silva’s striking has always been miles ahead of his fellow former UFC champion. With the match set at a 195lb catchweight, which Ortiz missed by a full five pounds, Tito was always the underdog.
We found out just how much of an underdog on Saturday.
As he had against Chavez, Silva looked calm and comfortable, easily ducking what little offense Ortiz could muster. With his back to the ring post, Silva then landed a right hook, nicely placed on the chin of Ortiz. Tito was already going down, spinning half around as he did; that allowed Silva to land a left hook as well, which put him down for good.
There was no answering the count for Tito Ortiz.
A PERFECT RIGHT HOOK 😯 #SilvaOrtiz
(via @FiteTV) pic.twitter.com/oPrZt2ExUh
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) September 12, 2021
Had Silva labored against Ortiz, the commentary following the fight would have been that his last moment of glory had come against Chavez. And Chavez, as boxing fans well know, isn’t the fighter he once was. But in two fights, Anderson Silva at age 46 has had exactly the sort of performances he needs to continue fighting.
Logan Paul? Jake Paul? He’s a bad match-up for either, frankly. But that might just be what’s next, if either steps up to the plate. If not, there are plenty of legitimate boxers in Silva’s age range that could make for very interesting match-ups.
With the victory, Silva moves to 3-1 in his professional boxing career. In MMA, the former middleweight champion also posted a 34-11, 1NC record.
Official Result: Anderson Silva def. Tito Ortiz by knockout, Round 1, 1:21
