UFC icon Anderson Silva was called by legendary boxing champion Canelo Alvarez after it was confirmed he would be facing Jake Paul this month.
The Brazilian is one of the greatest strikers in the history of combat sports, with a renowned record and level of respect from all involved in boxing and MMA. And even Alvarez, one of the modern greats in boxing, has taken time out to show his appreciation, getting in touch with Silva ahead of his massive boxing bout with Paul.
Silva is Paul's first opponent who is bigger, longer and most importantly has a winning professional boxing record. He made his debut in 1998 before a brief return in 2005, but has made an impressive transition since leaving the UFC in 2020, picking up a win over ex-MMA champion Tito Ortiz as well as a stunning scalp over boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
And he says he has been in contact with Alvarez since signing to fight Paul, telling the Full Send Podcast : "I received a phone call from Canelo to say 'continue, I know you respect the boxing,' and that's what I needed to do; prove my respect for boxing. Boxing is very interesting because without disrespecting other sports, in boxing a lot of people died to make the sport huge.
"A lot of people lost everything to make this sport huge and I can't come inside the sport and not do my best. I need to show respect for the sport of boxing, it's not about knocking out Jake Paul or knocking out another opponent, it's just go inside and prove your respect for boxing."
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Alvarez first met with Silva when he was preparing for his fight with Chavez Jr in Mexico last year, with the MMA legend admitting that he was star-struck by the encounter. At the time, Alvarez was about to become undisputed at super-middleweight, and watched on from the stands as Silva made his triumphant return to the ring.
"It's funny because I was in Mexico with my coach and I was warming up and then Canelo comes to talk to me," he explained. "I was like 'oh my God, no way, Canelo bro?' That's serious. He came to talk to me, his brother too, and I was so happy because when the fight was done he came and talked to me and said 'you're doing the best'.
"He told me to continue doing my best, continue working because I was doing something very special - he didn't give me tips but he gave me a glove and I was like 'wow, I have Canelo's glove'. It was amazing."
