Anderson Silva Upsets Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. By Way Of Split Decision

Anderson Silva has been a prominent face for electrifying victories in the MMA – now, he is doing it again, this time in the boxing ring.

Silva defeated a well-trained boxer in Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. via a split decision card, the final line being 75-77, 77-75, 77-75. The last time Silva boxed was over a decade ago in 2005. This didn’t slow the career fighter, who took down the previous WBC middleweight champion. The loss inverses the proverbial “adding insult to injury” for Chavez Jr., who – prior to a defeat at the hands of Silva – was forced to relinquish $100,000 of his purse due to missing weigh-in requirements.

Silva had to shake off the rust in the first few rounds, gaining great confidence as the match moved along. He gained enough swagger to visibly taunt Chavez Jr., dropping his hands and mocking the former titleholder. Silva’s southpaw was deadly all night, throwing haymakers that had Chavez Jr. on defense for multiple rounds. Outside of a cut eye on the face of Silva, Chavez Jr. failed to land any truly devastating blows.

The final stat line favored Silva, who outpunched Chavez Jr. 99-53 overall and 60-41 in power punches. That power is no surprise coming from a seven-year UFC middleweight titleholder in Silva. The heavy hitter also holds the record for the most consecutive wins in the UFC (16), a feat that should not be taken lightly.

Conversely, Chavez Jr. has never lived up to the hype that comes with his family name, with this loss being his fourth in his past six fights. While Silva celebrates a hard-earned victory, Chavez Jr. has major issues that he will need to go back to the drawing board to address.

Article by David Metzger