Former Brazilian UFC champion Anderson Silva will step into the ring for a boxing match with former Mexican middleweight champion Julio César Chávez Jr. this summer, according to ESPN. The 10-round fight will take place on June 19 at Jalisco Stadium in Jalisco, Mexico.
This will mark Silva’s third professional boxing match of his career. He lost in 1998 to Osmar Luiz Teixeira and won a match in 2005 against Julio Cesar De Jesus. With the UFC, Silva has lost five of his last six fights going back to 2016. After his last fight last October, which ended in a TKO loss to Uriah Hall, Silva was released from his contract by the UFC.
Chávez Jr. (52-5-1) won his last fight against Jeyson Minda last November. Before that, he had lost a match against Mario Abel Cazares the month prior and another to Daniel Jacobs in late 2019.
“I have rededicated myself to the sport that I love, and I will be ready to face anyone in the Light Heavyweight division starting with Silva,” Chávez Jr. said in a statement. “I will be prepared to be victorious on June 19.”
Silva told TMZ that he was “extremely happy for the opportunity to test my boxing skills” against Chávez Jr.
“When I look back at my journey, I see that nothing has been in vain,” Silva said. “I train continuously, always striving for resilience and to overcome obstacles. Fighting is my everlasting breath.”
There will be another Chávez fighting on the same night. Julio César Chávez Sr. (107-6-2) will step into the ring a month before his 59th birthday to fight an exhibition match with Hector Camacho Jr., (58-7-1-1) the son of his archnemesis, the late Hector “Macho” Camacho.