MMA legend Anderson Silva believes the recent influx of YouTubers coming into boxing are disrespecting the sport.
The former UFC middleweight champion was speaking with AgFight’s Carlos Antunes about seeing influencers like Jake Paul crossover into the squared circle and hopes that they will start showing more respect for the sport of boxing going forward.
“We see a lot of YouTubers disrespecting an old, traditional sport,” Silva said (h/t BJPenn.com). “Athletes take years to conquer their space and have made history to make what this sport is today. I started training boxing at Corinthians, many years ago. I went to do a soccer test, I was late and a boxing training was going on. I went there to attend the class and Professor Vitor Ribeiro asked me if I was training something, gave me the equipment, and had it trained. I started training, then I participated in the Open Games in Bragança Paulista. It has a history and reference behind it. In addition to going there and fighting, testing myself, it is like boxing. It’s the most important thing.”
Silva is 1-1 as a pro boxer himself and will make his return to the sport for the first time since August 2005 when he takes on former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on June 19 in a 10-round catchweight bout at 180-pounds.
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