Julio Cesar Chavez Jr vs Anderson Silva: Predictions and preview for Tribute to the Kings fight

Scott Christ (36-10-2)

My scouting for this fight involved watching no fight footage whatsoever. I know what this mentally finished version of Junior Chavez brings to the table, and I know how far past his prime Silva is, and that even in his prime a halfway decent pro boxer in a pro boxing match would have been too much for his boxing skills. (MMA people like to say their fighters can box, and some can — by MMA standards. This is not The MMA. The vast majority of even the best MMA boxers have high club-level skills in actual pro boxing.)

Instead, I tried to look up what might be on TV around the time Chavez and Silva hit the ring, before Julio’s old man and Hector Camacho’s kid go out for their exhibition. If something really good is on, will Julio try to end it early, and if that fails, feign an injury or something to just get out of there? Maybe his favorite “X-Files” will be on. “Mulder y Scully son metas,” he will be thinking as he walks to the ring, knowing he has about three rounds counting the overdone introductions to get back before “The Post-Modern Prometheus” starts. Chavez TKO-5, but I will be 0% surprised if Silva wins because you should not be any % surprised by anything that happens in a Chavez fight, and if you can get a prop bet on a no decision it might be worth a few bucks

How to Watch Chavez vs Silva

Date: Saturday, June 19 | Start Time: 9:00 pm ET
Location: Estadio Jalisco - Guadalajara, Mexico
Streaming: PPV (Buy Here!) | TV: PPV
Online Coverage: BadLeftHook.com

Wil Esco (38-8-2)

It pains me that Scott threw this fight in with this week’s staff picks. Like, it really pains me to have to pick between a man who trains in his living room in pink briefs going against an old legend in an entirely different sport. I want to be clear, I don’t think Chavez has the heart nor desire to honestly compete in world-level boxing, but against Anderson Silva in a boxing match, I suspect he really won’t even need to dig that deep. I remember Roy Jones Jr and Anderson Silva often talking about a potential fight between them, and it pains me even more that when Silva actually steps in the ring it’ll be against this guy. I don’t want to put any legitimate thought into this, so I’ll just take the boxer to beat the MMA fighter in the boxing match. Chavez UD-8

Patrick L. Stumberg (37-9-2)

There was a time when you could have potentially sold me on Silva having a shot here. On paper, Chavez is the exact sort of big galoot that Silva’s sublime counter-striking feasted upon, and it’s easy to imagine a prime Silva frustrating Chavez so badly that the hulking failson takes his ball and goes home.

But we’re not in Silva’s prime anymore; hell, we’re not even close to it. It’s been more than five years since Silva genuinely beat someone and more than eight since he actually looked like the terror of old. He’s 46 years old, has lost most of his legendary speed and reflexes, and has maybe 40% of his arsenal at his disposal here. He’s naturally bigger than Chavez and he’s not going to quit no matter how tough the going gets, but even Chavez’s legendary incompetence isn’t enough for me to pick the MMA legend. Chavez walks the aging “Spider” down and batters him to a mercy stoppage. Chavez TKO-7

And the staff winner is...

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (3-0, this will be the only time this happens)!