There comes only a few times in a fighters career where a potential match up brings the opportunity to elevate them from great to legendary. “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, “Sugar” Ray Robinson are fighters who participated in match ups that not only defined them as legends but many times saw them as undersized or with a significant disadvantage against them. These fighters and many others took those risks and it paid off big for them, as now they are revered for the chances they took and have clearly cemented themselves as special. It is for this same reason that at times it irks me to hear fighters say a certain potential foe is too big for them or they do not want to be the man to beat a certain fighter.
It is these very match ups and challenges that a fighter must undertake in terms of crossing the threshold into legendary…truly legendary. Imagine if “Sugar” Ray Leonard would of said Marvin Hagler was too big for him and moving to middleweight was too much? Imagine the tremendous fight we would of missed out on; Imagine if Muhammad Ali after not having fought three years said he did not want to be the one who beat Joe Frazier, and that he needed some tune up matches because of his layoff?
So when I hear comments from Anderson Silva say that he does not want to be the one to beat Jon Jones, or Georges St-Pierre say Anderson Silva is too big for him, I think of the fighters I mentioned above and see how both St-Pierre and Silva could learn a thing or two about what it means take that all aside and just fight for the sake of fighting for a truly legendary legacy.
With that said, hear what Silva’s manager has to say about his fighter being matched up against Jon Jones as he makes his argument that Silva is actually closer to size and weight to current UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
