Former UFC champion Anderson Silva is transitioning into becoming a pro boxer.
Silva, though, knows that he is still far from being on the same level of the elite fighters.
But “The Spider” also feels the same way about Jake and Logan Paul.
Recently, Jake Paul bested former UFC titleholder Tyron Woodley to improve to 4-0. And while Paul might call himself elite, Silva does not.
“It’s an entertainment game,” said Silva, during a recent appearance on Submission Radio. “It’s not boxing at the same level as the professional, amazing and great boxers. That’s a different level. That’s ranking. You don’t have rankings [here], you don’t have title belt. It’s only for entertaining. And that’s a different sport, that’s a different level.
“It’s boxing, but it’s a different level. It’s not the same level for Canelo or Triple G or Pacquiao. It’s a different. It’s different, it’s completely different. The people need to understand that.”
Silva is set to make his return against Tito Ortiz later this year.
“A fight is a fight. When you go inside the ring, go inside the cage, you need to prepare for war,” Silva said.
“It’s a good challenge, it’s a good challenge. Tito is a legend, he’s got very good striking. And of course it’s boxing, it’s different. But it’s a good challenge and it’s a good experience for me and a good challenge for myself to check out how much everything I learned with my coach worked.
“Normally I walk at 199, 190, and that’s the weight that I think is good for this fight. Because I’m not a big guy, I’m not a heavy guy. And it does not make sense for me to fight with the big guys. And of course I fought [at 205], but it doesn’t make sense.
“And that’s the decision my coach said, ‘that’s the weight we need you to propose for the promotors and that’s the way. Don’t do nothing stupid, you don’t need to prove nothing for nobody. Just work hard and train hard and stay in good weight for you’. And that’s why I accepted the fight in the weight class.”
