Now I am a HUGE fan of Anderson Silva, but I think you guys are putting a dub on his boxing skill. He is a "natural" though and I don't doubt that he could have been an elite boxer. He looks solid/decent, but that dude looked like a solid weekend warrior not a "pro" sparring partner. He was gassed halfway through the first. I am sure even gassed an active fighter will put the mitts on the Average Joe. No way in hell he was an active fighter gassed in two rounds. Anderson was letting that guy make the fight then taking advantage of his conditioning and countering/flurrying. A guy following you will eat a few more shots and gas faster. In that situation you should be $*1tting on him. He wasn't. Last... Dude he had a face-bar and the other guy didn't. Nothing is worse than working with a guy with a facebar and you don't have one. Dude walking through all types of stiff jabs like he is "working". That ish is annoying.
I don't like MMA a lot but what's with the hate? This dude has to practice a lot more than just boxing, no **** he's not as skilled as good fighters who exclusively train for boxing. Sigh.
He's no elite level fighter, but he's good for an MMA guy. MMA guys tend to be pretty stiff in a boxing gym, from my experience. Although watching GSP is different, that guy has a jab that even boxing purists must enjoy.
Its not hate, The thread title is boy can anderson silva box.... And its been getting appropriate responses..... If the thread title was, Anderson has some of the best hands in MMA, it would be different
Um, no hate, but you can't post this guy in a boxing forum, hailing his boxing skills, and not expect him to get clowned a bit. I am a big fan of his, but dude this wasn't that great.
You are going a little far with the dissing. He looked decent. He wasn't stiff. He was VERY fluid. Fluid almost to the point of being "sloppy/cocky". That is probably because he is used to huge hand speed advantages, 4oz gloves, and having his whole body as a weapon. As fast and natural as he is I am sure that he could make a dude pay in seconds. He also never went to the body with the jab although he had the reach and speed advantage. That dude was turtling up and facing NO danger to the body.
MMA is a completely different beast though, I don't think we can take much from that. Even in fights in which he's largely upright and punching, his opponents still have to be weary of his legs and takedowns at all times, so they can't focus completely on his punches.
Silva certainly has skills in the boxing ring. Nope - he won't be a boxing champ anytime soon, but he certainly has the reflexes and natural fighting ability. Certainly some of the best hands MMA has ever seen.
I'm not saying he looked stiff, I'm saying he is a stiff. When it comes to boxing. Looking moderately impressive in a training video and actually competing with a legit boxer are different ball games. I'd be shocked if he didn't embarrass himself in a boxing ring.