(Still waiting on that Affliction tracksuit.)

Former Elite XC honcho Gary Shaw dropped by Steve Cofield’s radio show to discuss the Affliction/Golden Boy partnership — something he is actually uniquely qualified to do as one of the few people who has experience promoting boxing and MMA with varying levels of success. His forecast for the partnership’s chances was grim, to say the least, and he doesn’t think much of Affliction’s plan to get into the boxing apparel biz, either:

Golden Boy’s doing a very good job in boxing. There’s nobody there who knows MMA. …I don’t think it’s going to work out… They’re talking about Affliction doing all the boxing gear, and I was looking around the room while they were doing the press conference, there wasn’t one person in the whole press conference wearing anything of a shirt, hat, or pants, having to do with boxing. And if you go to an MMA event, it’s a lifestyle, everybody’s in MMA clothing. And I think it’s going to be a lesson to both. I think they’re in for some surprises.

I don’t think they can build the market. I think it’s a good t-shirt. I love their line. I like all their MMA stuff. But boxing people, they come to an event, it’s not a lifestyle. The next day they’re not training. A lot of people in MMA train. It’s a cult, it’s a lifestyle, it’s different. They’ll learn.

If you’re wondering whether Gary Shaw’s doom and gloom attitude regarding the “cult” of MMA might be due in part to his failed attempts at trying to get them to believe any manner of bullshit, you just may be on to something. The frosty reception he got from fans, journalists, and other promoters seems to have had a lasting effect on Shaw’s fragile psyche:

(‘How’s taste my co-promotion clusterfuck?’)

The more we hear about the Affliction/Golden Boy partnership, the stranger it begins to sound. First there was the official press release, which seemed to put more emphasis on “signature shirts” and apparel than on fights. It’s almost as if Affliction is looking for a way to retreat with dignity from the money-sucking void of fight promotion and get back to what they do best: selling overpriced, hyper-stylized clothing.

But aside from their own line of skull-themed t-shirts, what does Golden Boy get out of it? According to CEO Richard Schaefer, they hope to siphon off some of MMA’s young fan base and bring them back into the boxing fold:

“We believe Affliction and the relationships they have with that demographic, the identification they have within that demographic group I think will help bring boxing to these people,” said the Golden Boy CEO. “We think as well, many of the mixed martial arts fans are fans of combat sports, and what they’ve seen of boxing is a very exciting sport as well that maybe they will discover their love for the sport of boxing.”

Naturally, Affliction VP Tom Atencio hopes for the same thing in the other direction, which should tell Golden Boy something (as should those Vegas ticket sales) about just how much of an MMA fan base they may have to draw from. But in theory, at least, it sounds like an idea that can work. That is, if you get the right fights in front of the right audiences. Already things are off to a slow start.

ESPN.com reports that Golden Boy tried to sell HBO on the idea of adding the original “Day of Reckoning” main event — Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett — to the Oct. 18 pay-per-view boxing bout between Kelly Pavlik and Bernard Hopkins. HBO “respectfully declined.”

(No homo. Photo courtesy of MLive.com.)

From a press release distributed late yesterday:

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (September 13, 2008) – Golden Boy Promotions and Affliction Clothing today announced a strategic, multi-level partnership between the two companies that will bring the popular Affliction-brand to the world of boxing and entertainment.

“We have been talking to Affliction over the past several months to figure out a partnership that will take advantage of the expertise of both of our companies,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. “We have found the solution and are extremely excited about starting this partnership immediately.”

“Golden Boy Promotions is the top boxing promoter in the world and we look forward to working with them on future projects,” said Tom Atencio, Vice President, Affliction. “With our companies working together, it gives Affliction another vehicle to deliver our products to our core customers, as well as utilizing Golden Boy’s promotional expertise to further our efforts in Mixed Martial Arts.”

The partnership includes:

(Golden Boy. Yippee.)

Seems like some of our half-baked speculatin’ was right for a change. MMA Weekly is reporting that Affliction’s partnership with Golden Boy is all but official and this is the huge announcement that we were promised would change the world forever.

Maybe it’s just the way I’m feeling on this sleepy Saturday morning, but it seems like maybe someone exaggerated a little in order to draw attention away from the “Day of Reckoning” cancellation, er, rescheduling.

Affliction VP Tom Atencio and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer are expected to announce the deal at the Ricky Hatton-Pauly Malignaggi press conference in Vegas, which, if true, completely contradicts what Affliction COO Michael Cohen said about announcing the deal at a big-shot press conference in Trump Towers. This causes me to wonder, do these guys ever talk to each other? Do they even read what the other is telling the press, or are they like independently operating terrorist cells at this point?

If you’re wondering what exactly Affliction and Golden Boy will be doing once they become partners, it’s sounding more and more like the big plan is to put on events that feature both boxing matches and MMA bouts. This, apparently, is expected to rock our world. Maybe if they also added guys on motorcycles jumping through flaming hoops, maybe someone fighting a bear, then, perhaps then, all this hype about the spectacular announcement would seem justified. As of right now, it seems interesting, though hardly earth-shattering.

Hits – Watch more free videos

This, believe it or not, is an actual ad for Elite XC and Showtime boxing put together by the clever jerks over at Showtime Sports. I like to think that the moment the song “Hits & Chicks” was written, somewhere Glenn Danzig suddenly felt like killing himself, even more than usual, and he didn’t know why. I also like to think that after the song was set to this video montage of both hits and chicks, one of the advertising executives at Showtime watched it and said, “I don’t know, you think it’s too subtle?”

That’s when they added the phrase “Jugs and Pugs.” Just because they wanted to make sure that they were reaching the all-important ‘morons aged 14-54′ demographic. And here we were thinking that Elite XC wasn’t doing enough to promote this event.

Is it too much to hope that “Busted Ears, Bodacious Boobs” will become Elite XC’s new tagline?

(Props: Bloody Elbow)

(Is Golden Boy ready to get in the game?)

The trouble with announcing that you’re about to make a big announcement is that people start chipping away at it, trying to spoil your surprise. It’s been less than twenty-four hours since Affliction “rescheduled” its October 11 event, and the rumors are flying. COO Michael Cohen told NBC Sports that he expected Fedor Emelianenko to be added to the event, now back at the Honda Center in January, but who would he face?

Reached for comment earlier today, Cohen told me he wasn’t sure yet whether Fedor would face “Andrei Arlovski or someone else.” When asked where that left Josh Barnett, he replied, “or Josh Barnett.”

In other words, Fedor will fight the always-formidable ‘TBA’ for Affliction in January, but that’s obviously not the big announcement. Rumor has it that it more likely involves a partnership of some sort with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. You may recall that Golden Boy was said to be on board back in the beginning, but supposedly dropped out after the announcement was made prematurely before issues of control were completely ironed out.

Affliction isn’t making that mistake again. When asked about a potential Golden Boy partnership or co-promotion, Cohen said he could not “confirm or deny” those rumors. He offered the same response when asked whether this might open the door for them to land a deal with HBO, although HBO seems to be rejecting that notion outright, according to Director of Media Relations, Kevin Flaherty:

“HBO is not in discussions with any MMA organization presently. Our sports programming plate is full.”

For now Golden Boy seems like the frontrunner for this big announcement, but what will that mean for Affliction? A possible MMA/boxing venture, or just some promotional and financial aid? Affliction is tight-lipped for the moment, not wanting to ruin the surprise, but Cohen assured us, ““When we make the announcement the reasons for this will all be self-evident.”

MMA fans have heard that one before, as Cohen acknowledged.

“The difference is,” he said, “we’re not just announcing a toy line.”

KJ Noons became the latest Elite XC fighter to release an official statement, as he finally dished on what’s been keeping him from taking a fight with Nick Diaz on the October 4 CBS show. Noons sent his screed to MMANews.com, and it is full of fun little quips and nuggets about life in Elite XC. Noons’ grievances range from the financial to the probably merely perceived to the petty, but he puts it all out there with enough attitude and anger to make up for all the time he let Jared Shaw run his mouth without consequences. Among his complaints:

In the Elite XC’s DVD where Diaz and I fought there are two (2) baseball cards of Diaz and Kimbo. Hello! I won the fight and Elite XC’s promoting Diaz after I beat him? Or how about the day Elite XC flew Diaz in to do a signing on the DVD where he lost. Wow, that must have been uncomfortable Nick? Signing a DVD, and it is a fight that you lost. Why wasn’t I flown in for the signing?

[...]

Consider when Elite XC gives a couple thousand tickets away at their CBS show in Stockton.
Elite XC gives me a hard time about comping me one extra ticket for my cousin that helped me train for my fight. I only get four tickets per show. I am the main event in Honolulu, my home town! I did not ask for any tickets for my family and friends and they gave me a hard time about one extra ticket!

Or how about when Elite XC brought Diaz into the ring after my last victory in Hawaii to disrespect me and my family.

Chuck Champion (President Elite XC) threatens me, my family and my manager with lawsuits and how he’s going to sue me. HAHA. Pretty hard to sue a guy who does not make jack with your company. I’m glad $kala disclosed how much I make, which breached the confidentiality clause of the contract. I will break down the real numbers for you. I am the defending world champ, I have been the main event for Elite XC three out of four times on Showtime. In almost two years I have made approximately $83,000?

Of course, Noons then goes on to tread familiar ground for fighters, explaining that he has to pay his trainers and managers and (gasp!) taxes with that money, so he figures he’s really only making around $300 a week, and his friends who are bus boys make more than that (he really said that).

The Diaz situation rears its ugly head in all of this, and it seems that their request to have Noons face him in a rematch on CBS was what really set “King Karl” off:

Dana White’s UFC 87 Video Blog – Watch more free videos

Dana White’s video blog is back, and it picks up steam around the 3:34 mark when he sits down to dinner with Rampage Jackson, who is totally “not crazy”. Just suffering from some “delirium”, as it turns out, but otherwise seems to be back to his old self. But don’t worry, the Dana White news update doesn’t stop there.

White appeared on a radio show recently (download the full version here, via Bloody Elbow) in which he has some sharp words for Roger Huerta. As you might have guessed, he is not pleased with Huerta’s comments bashing the organization’s treatment of him, and White responds by painting Huerta as an overhyped prima dona. And who overhyped him? The UFC, of course. But that doesn’t mean he should believe it, according to White:

“Roger Huerta’s a guy who’s been reading the headlines a little too much. You get out there and promote the guy and he’s like, “Look at all the papers I’m in, look at all the promotion I’m getting, I want a lot more money.’ Well he hasn’t fought anybody to get the money yet. He beats Kenny Florian, that’s a whole different ballgame.”

“Roger Huerta has contract problems? What’s his contract problem? He signed a contract, he’s under contract, when his contract is up he’ll renegotiate a new one. …What he was bitching about was doing PR. In his thing he said, ‘They got me out there doing PR.’ Yeah, moron. How do you think you make money? You don’t make money unless people know who you are and want to see you fight. Am I supposed to pay Roger Huerta to go out and do PR? Is that how it works?”

“That’s not how it works. When Oscar De La Hoya fights, he’s on Leno and Letterman. The night before his fight, he weighs in in Las Vegas, and then flies to Los Angeles to do PR for the fight. Because he makes more money. Because he becomes more popular and more people want to see him fight. …What happens is these guys turn into pussies, is what happens.”

(The continued search for the elusive ‘back of the head’.)

The California State Athletic Commission takes a lot of heat for its handling of MMA affairs, on every topic from fighter licensing to drug testing. Executive Officer Armando Garcia, the head honcho over there, spoke with BoxingInsider.com about some of the big issues in MMA these days, including the disputed region known as the back of the head. So where does Garcia stand? Mohawk rule? Earphones?

Armando Garcia: That is easy. The same as boxing. From the back of one ear to the back of the other ear. I’m in complete opposition to the ‘mohawk’ concept for back of the head fouls. Our Physicians support our position.

Illegal blows to the head are devastating. Ask Gerald McClelland.

For those of you who don’t know, he’s talking about this Gerald McClelland.

This is an interesting insight into how Garcia views MMA and its rules, coming from a background as boxing referee. The ‘headphones’ definition works well for boxing, because there’s no situation where you naturally end up behind an opponent without the fight being halted and restarted. Not so in MMA, where taking an opponent’s back is fairly common. Apparently that difference between the two sports doesn’t matter in California.

Garcia also discusses his views on how the ten-point must scoring system works in MMA, and what about it might be reworked to fit the unique demands of the sport:

(‘You’re looking at Don King’s hair behind me, aren’t you? Man, every damn time.’)

In an interview with MMAmemories.com, Winky Wright diagnoses boxing’s problem by contrasting it with what MMA is doing right:

“When I was coming up, more top fighters fought each other. They all wanted to prove they were the best in their weight class, not in the WBA, the IBF, but the best, period. But now the promoters and the networks get in the way and we’re losing a lot of fans because of it. The promoters milk the prospects, they don’t match them against top fighters. The networks allow too many easy fights.”

“I would definitely say (boxing is) declining as the best are not fighting the best. In the NBA they don’t just cancel the playoffs and have the Lakers against some sorry team. No one would watch. That’s why the UFC is gaining so much in popularity. The best fight the best and the fans love to see it.”

Winky is spot on, here. It just makes you wonder if we shouldn’t be interpreting this as a cautionary tale.

- In other news, Sherdog.com is reporting that Chris Horodecki has been officially released from the IFL, at his request, and is entertaining a couple different offers at the moment. The cockeyed financial optimists at the AFL have supposedly made a “very generous offer” (they know he’s not a woman, right?), but Affliction has said they’ll beat it in order to get “The Polish Hammer” on their October 11 show. The clock’s ticking…

Check out this preview clip from Countdown to UFC 87, which starts off with Roger Huerta recounting his awful childhood. Kenny, Heath, Brock, Jon and Georges also stop by to say hello. Props to Bloody Elbow.

From MMA Scraps, here’s the video of Anderson Silva’s boxing debut against Julio Cesar, which took place in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, on 8/6/05. Fight starts at the 10:02 remaining mark, and the inevitable TKO comes just two rounds later. Plus: Some showboatin’ footwork, extreme ring girl ass, and a cameo by the Nogueira brothers.

After the jump: One of the greatest MMA highlight videos you’ll ever see.

Of all the factors that could have contributed to EliteXC’s sharp decline in network ratings, one we haven’t touched on is the fact that a minor classic in the world of boxing was happening the same night. On Saturday, Antonio Margarito ripped the WBA welterweight (147 pounds) title from the grip of the undefeated Miguel Cotto, in a back-and-forth war that ended with an 11th-round TKO victory for the Mexican fighter. If you have the time/interest, check out the video above. If you only have a little bit of time and interest, skip to the 44:54 mark, where Margarito weathers a fist-storm in the beginning of the tenth frame before turning the tide for good.

(Props: MMA Scraps)

In the lead-up to Affliction’s Andrei Arlovski-Ben Rothwell fight I’ve heard the same question from MMA fans and analysts again and again: how much of a difference will Freddie Roach make for Andrei Arlovski? For those of you unfamiliar with Roach, he’s a former pro boxer and world-renowned boxing trainer who has recently begun working with Arlovski and who will corner “The Pitbull” on Saturday night. Naturally, it’s got to be a help to have someone like that working with you on your striking, but is it really the difference-maker many people think it is?

In order to get on board with that thinking you have to go along with two basic assumptions: 1) MMA fighters are generally far behind boxers in their technical striking ability, and 2) what a boxing trainer knows about striking is relevant and translatable for an MMA fight.

The first point is mostly valid. Because boxers only use their fists and only fight using a limited array of options, they’re probably going to be better at using them, if for no other reason than the fact that they can afford to spend more time on it. Just like a decathlete can do a lot of things well, he still can’t throw a discus better than the guys who do nothing else.

But it’s the transition to the second point that gets me. Boxing is a different sport. Some of the conventional wisdom in boxing — even basic fundamentals regarding stance, hand positioning, and defense — don’t necessarily work for MMA because of the threat of takedowns, kicks and knees, and the size difference in the gloves. So why is it necessarily so great to be coached by a boxing trainer?

Props: Five Ounces of Pain

It’s great when former pro athletes and celebrities (or in this case, pseudo-celebrities) think that they can fight just as long as their opponent is another celebrity. Baseball’s public enemy number one, Jose Canseco, found out the hard way over the weekend that it doesn’t always work that way.

You have to love the commentary from Stephen A. Smith here, who seems just a little biased in his take on the match. His description of Canseco as a rat and of former Philadelphia Eagles player Vai Sikahema as a man who “knows what he’s doing with those fists of his” (hurling them at Canseco’s head?) is pretty great.

(Rodriguez and Davis. Photo courtesy of the Las Vegas Sun.)

Sad news coming out of Las Vegas today: Apparently, former UFC heavyweight champ/Celebrity Rehab star Ricco Rodriguez competed in a pro boxing match last night at the Las Vegas Hilton, losing a slow-paced four-round decision to a gentleman named Chad Davis. Punishing the scales at 270 pounds, Rodriguez was heckled by boxing legend/rapist Mike Tyson, who was sitting ringside, and who had clearly paid to see blood:

“Are you going to throw some punches or what?” he asked in the first round.

Ricco’s opponent, Chad Davis, from Phoenix, taunted the former UFC champ at the end of the first with a little hip gyration maneuver.

“Come on,” Tyson implored. “Try to hurt each other.”

Rodriguez has one other boxing match under his belt — an October 2006 KO of Brandon Baker — while Davis came into the fight with an 0-1 record (thanks boxrec.com!). The match took place just two weeks after Rodriguez’s last MMA bout, a submission win over Chris Guillen at an Ultimate Combat Experience event.

Related: Mike Tyson’s Brunch-Out!!

(I still refuse to believe that Tim Sylvia is banging her.)

It looks like Andrei Arlovski is taking advantage of the competitive freedom that comes from not being under contract with the UFC. According to ESPN.com, the former UFC heavyweight champ will make his professional boxing debut on September 13th in Las Vegas, in the opening fight on the Joel Casamayor vs. Juan Manuel Marquez card, which will be shown live on HBO PPV; an opponent hasn’t been announced yet.

Previously, we reported that Arlovski has been training with Freddie Roach at Wild Card Gym in L.A., and that Roach would be cornering Arlovski during his Affliction: Banned bout against Ben Rothwell on July 19th. We’re curious to see if their partnership is more than just a one-off, and if Arlovski tries to maintain careers in both MMA and boxing simultaneously. With world-class training from Roach, along with Arlovski’s natural abilities, the Pitbull could potentially become a two-sport star. Stay tuned…

As you may or may not know, tonight in Las Vegas the Thomas and Mack Center is putting on a boxing/MMA event, for which they gave away tickets for free in order to drum up interest.

Fighting on the MMA portion of that event is John Alessio, who will be facing Pete Spratt. If you’re wondering whether Alessio has moved past his DQ loss against Brock Larson in the WEC, the short answer is no. The long answer, which can be found in the above video from MMA Rated, is that Alessio thinks Larson is a “fucking pussy.” So there you go.

It should be interesting to see where this zany idea of putting boxing and MMA together goes from here. As anyone who’s ever been to a show that combined MMA fights with “submission grappling” matches can tell you, the response to the thing that is not MMA is often very, very negative. And very, very drunk.

But that could be different when the other option is boxing, because at least that still involves punching people in the face. Or this could all be a ruse to try and trick boxing fans into watching MMA. If that’s the case, expect a lot of hilarious comments equating ground fighting with gay male sex. That never gets old.

Legendary boxing guru Freddie Roach — who has trained a long list of superstars including Oscar De La Hoya, Mike Tyson, Bernard Hopkins, and James Toney — will enter the world of mixed martial arts on July 19th, when he’ll be working the corner of Andrei Arlovski at Affliction: Banned. According to Fighthype, Arlovski has been developing his hands at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, in preparation for his bout against Miletich-trained bruiser Ben Rothwell.

Roach fought as a pro boxer from 1978-1986, beginning his career on a 26-1 run before retiring with a 39-13 record. Casual boxing fans may know him best from his appearances on De La Hoya/Mayweather 24/7, the HBO documentary series that followed his training of the Golden Boy. For your viewing pleasure, here’s a short HBO feature on Roach, which details his rough upbringing, boxing career, transition to training, and recent battle against Parkinson’s disease.

(It was either this or a dude wearing underwear from a GIS for “boxer”.)

— Roy Jones, Jr. has spoken out again about Dana White’s expected block of the proposed boxing match between Jones and Anderson Silva. Jones was on Sherdog’s “Beatdown” recently and discussed his side of the Silva vs. Jones, Jr. boxing match-that’ll-never-happen debacle. As mentioned by BloodyElbow, “selfish” and “cheat” were words tossed around by Jones when talking about Dana and the UFC’s block. At this point, it’s beating a dead horse — the fight isn’t going to happen, Dana will always be a cock, and Anderson Silva would have lost in a boxing match against Roy Jones, Jr. Let this be the last of this talk, please.

— Chicago native Terry Martin was dropped from the UFC recently for sucking ass in the organization. So now he’s decided to try his hand at boxing. Martin will fight Ricardo Upchurch this Friday in a cruiserweight match — aka, 190 lbs, not that pesky 185 he had trouble with in the UFC. Here’s what Martin had to say about the move to the Chicago Sun-Times:

“Boxing was my first love…I started in mixed martial arts after wrestling in college at Northern Illinois University.

“It was a logical progression, but I’ve always had boxing in the back of my mind to get back to. Now’s a good time to get back to boxing, my training and sparring have been very good and I have no problem making weight. At this point I’m more excited about boxing than I am in MMA.’”

The fighter is not forever turning his back on MMA, though — according to his grappling coach, via BloodyElbow:

“I have been the grappling/MMA coach for Terry Martin for the last 2 and a half years. Terry wants everybody to know that he is training full time in MMA getting ready for his May 17th fight in Newcastle England against THE CROW and that boxing is only a way for him to stay active .His goal is to win a few fights outside the UFC and return to compete for the 185 lb title.

To compete for the 185 lb. title, huh? Well, let’s not go crazy here. Sure, some boxing experience would be good for Martin, but challenging Anderson Silva is…well, a death wish, right?

— And finally, David Haye, the current WBA, WBC, and WBO World Cruiserweight title holder, is considering a move to MMA. He’s the undisputed cruiserweight champ and is planning a move to the heavyweight division. Then, it might be onto MMA.

As told to The Southwark News:

“I’d probably have to train for a year and try and make that fight because I definitely feel that my reactions are good enough – and if I can get my ground game to a reasonable level… Obviously, I’m not going to be able to catch up with these guys who have been doing jiu-jitsu their whole lives.

“Believe it or not, I come from a martial arts background, my father was a karate teacher, so I’ve got good legs. I’ve done judo, so I know what I’m doing. I train at a gym called the Third Space in Piccadilly which has a jiu-jitsu dojo and I get in there from time to time and have a roll around with the guys. They tell me I’m at a decent level, if I put some focus into it and put some time and effort into it… I’m a natural athlete, I can do anything that I want to do and I think that it would be definitely worth my while getting in to do it.”

“I used to fight in the street, I used to be a street fighter, so I’m not a traditional boxer, I’ve done martial arts since the age of three. I might surprise a few people with my ground game.”

The “Hayemaker” is reportedly a big fan of MMA, but we’ve heard this kind of chatter from boxers before, so the jury is still out.

Last week, it was revealed that Dana White put the official kibosh on the proposed boxing match between Anderson Silva and Roy Jones Jr., due to its conflict with Silva’s UFC contract. In a new interview with the New York Daily News, Jones expressed disappointment at the way things were handled:

“I don’t see how it could discredit the UFC,” Jones said. “The guy has boxed before and he’s a tall, slick, left handed fighter. That gives everybody problems. It would be a good fight. As fighters we’re supposed to be trying to do things that amaze people and make history. This could have been something that people really wanted to see. I just think it’s wrong not to allow him (Silva) to get the opportunity to live out his fantasy to be in the ring with one of his heroes.”

Jones also added:

“If I had a high school wrestling background, I’d be willing to try that stuff (mixed martial arts),” Jones said. “But I’m lost on the ground.”

I’m still not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, Silva would get schooled in a boxing match with RJJ, and it would absolutely discredit UFC fighters in the eyes of the casual sports fan — many of whom already believe mixed martial artists are talentless brawlers who lack the skill of pro boxers. But then again, isn’t this the kind of thing that would help spread awareness of MMA and its stars on a worldwide level? And wouldn’t Dana White benefit from giving his stars a longer leash so they don’t all become disgruntled and leave the Octagon for freer pastures?

Your thoughts?

(Props: MMAMania)

(Anderson working the hands.)

By CagePotato Guest Contributor Ben Fowlkes

Roy Jones Jr. refuses to let go of the idea of a boxing match with Anderson Silva. Ed Soares, Silva’s manager, says that he spoke with Jones personally on Easter Sunday and Jones expressed serious interest in the fight.

“He told me that he thought that this was a good fight and he wanted to make it happen,” said Soares. “I restated the situation we’re in, that at this moment we have a contract with the UFC, an MMA fight contract, but if there’s a way to make this happen we would love to.”

Now that it’s clear both Silva and Jones want the fight, there’s just one question: What does the UFC think? Turns out, they’re not so crazy about it. Not yet, anyway.

“We’ve spoken about it,” Soares said. “At first, I think there was a lot of resistance. They don’t seem too into it, to be honest with you. We’ve heard from certain people that there’s just no way that this can happen. But never say never, you know.”

Recently the jokesters over at Bodog went ahead and handicapped the bout, despite the fact that it’s only talk at this point, and they pegged Jones as a heavy favorite with a -2800 line. Silva is going off at +1400, which is understandable since he’s never had a real pro boxing match and Jones, you know, has had a few.

Soares, who may well be biased, warns us against underestimating Silva.

So this thing might actually happen. Seriously. That is if NBCSports can be believed. Then again, some writers over there have been trying to sell me on buying some lunar property — which I would if the plumbing wasn’t so shitty. Anyway, back to what I was saying. We promised we’d keep tabs on this and now NBCSports is reporting that boxing great Roy Jones, Jr. and Anderson Silva’s people are “actively engaging in talks” for the two fighters to duke it out in the boxing ring. the PR director for Don King Productions, Alan Hopper, confirmed the negotiations.

Check it:

“Roy likes the idea and is up for it,” Hopper said. “It’s being discussed. Roy will only agree if the match takes place under the rules of boxing, and UFC would have to clear Silva’s participation.”

Ah, that little “UFC clearing Silva’s participation” thing will almost certainly derail this. If Anderson Silva gets pissed enough when the UFC refuses to let him do it, maybe he’ll go the way of Tito and Randy Couture. I hate to mention such a thing, but if history serves as a guide…

I’m not sure how I feel about this. Boxing’s yawn-inducing stretch in the last decade and MMA’s many dimensions is why I haven’t dropped a dime on boxing pay-per-view events since before Monica “did not have sexual relations” with Bill. And let’s face it, Anderson Silva will likely lose. It’d be a big money-maker for both fighters and I’d probably still watch it, but I also don’t want this sort of thing setting a precedent. Next think you know, Tank Abbott will be challenging Big Sven, the German beer drinking champion, to a beer-off. Actually, Tank would probably win that one.

Not a giant parade-style announcement, but the reported date for the EliteXC’s first event on CBS is May 31st. Ads are supposed to begin during tomorrow’s coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament (go Big Blue, by the way).

And now for some more news from the afternoon:

— Anderson Silva recently stated he wanted a new challenge — specifically to box mega-star Roy Jones, Jr. Jones has now addressed Silva’s goal to take him on outside the MMA world. The former boxing champ was interviewed about his next fight and “Spider” Silva’s name came up. From MMAFightline:

“The trip was great. The fans over there seemed highly interested in having me go over there to showcase my talents and put on a show with him. They know if I’m there it’s guaranteed to be a good show. Right now I’m also hearing that this guy Silva is really talking about fighting me in a boxing match and I think that’s bigger than Beyer. If he comes up again, I mean he got on his website that he wants Roy Jones Jr, if he’s serious that might mean more to me than going to Germany and fighting Beyer. In Germany I know I’m going to knock Beyer out because that’s the way I have to win over there. But with Silva, I know I can outbox him and be good. It would be smarter for me to fight I don’t know his first name, but Silva first and then Beyer or the winner of Bernard and Calzaghe.”

We’ll monitor this one closely and keep ya’ posted if it looks like this thing might actually happen.

— Although he sometimes sounds like a moron, Bill Goldberg’s latest “Toe-to-Toe” is below for your viewing pleasure. This enstallment features Frank Shamrock and Cung Le training for their March 29th fight. We learn that Cung Le employs some kind of witchcraft smoke remedy to help his muscles recover, and am I crazy or does Frank Shamrock occasionally exhibit the same kind of manic energy as this dude? Check it out:

(That doesn’t look too pleasant.)

Having cleared out the UFC’s middleweight division in scorched-earth fashion, Anderson Silva is looking ahead to new challenges — specifically, taking on Roy Jones Jr. in a boxing match. As Silva’s manager Ed Soares told MMAWeekly:

“It’s not just talk, we really would like to put that fight together…We respect Jones’ boxing ability and think he’s one of the best. but we’re tired of different boxers saying that MMA fighters aren’t technical. Anderson would love to fight Roy Jones in a boxing match under boxing rules to prove that MMA fighters are technical, too.”

Once considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, Jones (now 39 years old) has won championship belts as a middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight, and once held seven different light heavyweight (169-175 pounds) titles at the same time. Besides a disqualification loss to Montell Griffin in 1997, Jones went undefeated in his first 50 fights before losing three straight in 2004-2005. His last fight was a unanimous decision victory over Felix Trinidad in January.

If Anderson Silva is actually considering a temporary switch to boxing, he should probably aim a little lower for his first opponent, lest he go out like Brock Lesnar. And taking some time off from MMA feels a little premature anyway — it’s not like there are literally no challenges left for Silva in the UFC. For one thing, there’s Yushin Okami, the impossible-to-finish contender who previously “beat” Silva through an illegal upkick DQ in January 2006; it would be nice to settle that score. I also think Silva should have to take on Michael Bisping, Patrick Cote, and Demian Maia in the same night. What, you wouldn’t pay $44.95 to see that?

Dave Meltzer over at Yahoo! Sports has his own version of FMK today. The contestants being MMA, boxing and pro wrestling (okay, it’s impossible to properly play FMK with an entire sport, but go with it). He rambles on for what seems like hours and covers much of what we already know – that MMA is growing rapidly, but douches like Mayweather and De La Hoya keep boxing at the forefront with their hordes of mindless fans. And rednecks keep procreating at a rapid pace, thus keeping pro wrestling afloat.

However, he does a decent job of breaking down the numbers, mainly the TV stats. While the PPV numbers are not yet available for UFC 78 and 79 (how long does it take them to print out their numbers anyway?), the expectations are that both events will be in the top 15 PPV events of the year. Why top 15, you ask? Because that’s what Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer gave us:

1. Boxing: Oscar De La Hoya/Floyd Mayweather, May 5: 2,400,000
2. Boxing: Mayweather/Ricky Hatton, December 8: 850,000
3. WWE: Wrestlemania, April 1: 760,000
4. UFC: Chuck Liddell/Quinton Jackson, May 26: 675,000
5. UFC: Tim Sylvia/Randy Couture, March 3: 540,000
6. UFC: Couture/Gabriel Gonzaga, August 24: 520,000
7. UFC: Liddell/Keith Jardine, September 22: 475,000
8. UFC: Tito Ortiz/Rashad Evans, July 7: 425,000
9. UFC: Anderson Silva/Travis Lutter, Feb. 2: 400,000
10. UFC: Georges St. Pierre/Matt Serra, April 7: 400,000
11. Boxing: Manny Pacquiao/Marco Antonio Barrera, October 6: 350,000
12. WWE: Summerslam, August 26: 344,000
13. Boxing: Miguel Cotto/Shane Mosley, November 10: 340,000
14. UFC: Anderson Silva/Rich Franklin, October 20: 325,000
15. WWE: Royal Rumble, January. 28: 314,000

(Jr. and Sr., in happier times.)

Well, we already have a candidate for interview of the year. In this Q+A with FightHype.com, Floyd Mayweather Sr. — estranged father of the undefeated boxing champ who’s been hinting that he wants to compete in MMA — tells Percy Crawford what he really thinks about his son’s possible new money-making scheme. And it’s totally fucking amazing. To wit:

PC: I don’t know if you read yet, but Lil Floyd has been talking to Mark Cuban about fighting in mixed martial arts?
FM: He needs to leave that shit alone. He’s going to get the same fucking thing Vince Phillips got; leg broke, arm broke or whatever. Vince Phillips got his arm broke. You can’t mess with that…that’s what they do. You can’t beat nobody at their own game…All of this he talking about right now, this martial arts shit, I’m telling you, he about to get broke the fuck up right now. I’m telling you, he could forget all of that stuff being cute and how you supposed to hit somebody with a check hook. Man, them motherfucker’s going to take that check hook motherfucker and squeeze your guts out. I’m just being real with you man…If he ever want to take a motherfuckin’ loss, you bout to take one right now motherfucker. Go ahead and try that. One of them motherfuckers grab you and bing, bing…hit the floor twice motherfucker and it’s over with….Lil Floyd about to get his ass tore up man. He ain’t about to whoop them motherfuckers. He can forget that shit!

This holiday season I am thankful for friends with real jobs, nice apartments, four-foot HDTV’s, and pay-per view. Aside from TUF’s finale, there was a quaint little boxing match between the infinitely humble Floyd Mayweather and Bedazzled British brawler-slash-sequin-model Ricky Hatton. Pretty much everybody I talked with wanted to see Floyd shitting his teeth out by the 6th round. But he fought a great match, paced himself, and proved that he is (unfortunately) the best. I know, this is an MMA blog. But we have to admit that the sports coincide. Here’s some topical analysis from Bloody Elbow.

MMA is vying for the space that boxing has occupied for years. The popularity of TUF proves that it’s only going to be more and more mainstreamed. Rumors have even popped up that CBS might be airing UFC81.

In other news, don’t forget that Versus is taking time out of their stellar line up to give us this one. Should be good. I envison a future where the popularity of MMA yields to a sport that involves clones of Randy Couture in unarmed combat against 1500 pound amphetamine-fueled bulls. Ultimate Bull Fighting Championships. We’re going to copyright that.