Years removed from his career in the UFC, Anderson Silva has defended his old boss Dana White following recent criticism.
This Friday night, former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will take on former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley on the Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua undercard.
The ‘Spider’ Silva was set to take on his longtime UFC rival Chris Weidman this past November, but the fight was canceled after Weidman withdrew due to a torn bicep in training.
And ahead of his clash in Miami on Friday, the Brazilian has defended his old boss, Dana White, after he has recently received a lot of criticism from the boxing world.
Having shared the ring with Jake Paul, do you agree with Anderson Silva’s take?🤔
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Silva defends Dana White over move to boxing
Earlier this year, White announced his move to boxing with TKO boxing, subsequently holding their first event this past September headlined by Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford.
His emergence in the sport has already been somewhat controversial as he is attempting to run TKO boxing without the Muhammad Ali Act, which many have criticized.
However, Silva has defended his former boss, despite the fact that throughout his tenure in the UFC, his relationship with White wasn’t the strongest.
“No (Dana White) hasn’t called me, I haven’t talked to Dana for a long time but you know, a lot of people have been talking about Dana, talking bad about Dana but it’s a business, he’s a business man,” Silva said at the pre-fight press conference ahead of his fight on Friday.
“It’s tough to say something bad about Dana or something good, because it’s only about business. It’s numbers, numbers don’t lie. When you don’t make the same numbers, why should (Dana) keep you? Dana is Dana, he is a boss,” he continued.
“Boxing is a different sport… It’s an old sport. A lot of people need respect, and it’s not about how much money you have to put the best fights together.”
Anderson Silva called out Jake Paul haters
Ahead of ‘The Problem Child’s’ fight against Joshua, Silva went on a passionate rant, calling out Paul’s haters after having spent eight rounds in the boxing ring with him.
The 50-year-old even went on to claim that the 28-year-old has changed the game, labeling him a ‘real fighter’ ahead of what is the biggest fight of his career thus far.
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