The Weekly Wrap: May 2 – May 8

Jones Jr. in MMA

A report from CBS Sports revealed that Roy Jones Jr. had agreed to fight UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva under MMA rules in the UFC’s Octagon. Silva’s manager told CBS Sports the pound-for-pound king wants a fight with Jones because it would be “legendary,” but UFC President Dana White dismissed the idea and said it would never happen while Silva was under UFC contract. Jones Jr. said in interview with the Los Angeles Times two weeks ago that he’s ready to go when Silva’s contract expires.

White compared the fight to an infamous “freak show” mismatch common in Japan and intimated that Jones, on top of his game in 2002, was not a relevant boxer anymore. White has shown interest in the past in matching Floyd Mayweather Jr. in an MMA fight against Sean Sherk.

By week’s end, attention had shifted to Strikeforce fighter Nick Diaz’s expressed interest in facing Jones Jr., either in boxing or MMA. During a conference call, Showtime producer Ken Hershman said he hears from Jones Jr. on a regular basis about such ideas but was not interested in making the fight at this point. However, Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker told Graciefighter.com, the Web site run by Diaz’s camp, that he “would absolutely set this fight up” if it were possible.

Jones has dipped into MMA on the promotional side. In March, he boxed atop a show he promoted in his backyard of Pensacola, Fla. It featured several MMA fights, including Bobby Lashley vs. Jason Guida and Jeff Monson vs. Roy Nelson. Jones Jr. will box Jeff Lacy on another self-promoted card in July in Tampa, Fla. He told the Los Angeles Times the show will include MMA fights on the undercard.