Real estate mogul Donald Trump, who recently partnered with Affliction Clothing to create Affliction Entertainment, and heavyweight fighter Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia (Pictures), held a media conference call Thursday to promote the July 19 Affliction Banned pay-per-view card, headlined by Sylvia's title fight with top-ranked heavyweight Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko (Pictures).
While not exactly on point about his fight with Fedor, perhaps Sylvia's most interesting remark was that if the money was right, he would like to become a professional boxer.
"I believe I can beat any heavyweight boxer in the world," said Sylvia, a former UFC heavyweight champion who competed in the Octagon for years before moving on to Affliction.
Neither Trump nor Sylvia took reporters' bait to bash the UFC, which decided several weeks ago to go head-to-head with the Affliction Banned pay-per-view by broadcasting a card of free fights on Spike TV, headlined by UFC middleweight champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva vs. James Irvin (Pictures).
Even so, Trump said, "I think it's probably not great for the sport -- although a lot of people are going to be watching, but I have a feeling we will top them because we have the better fighters. I don't know if it's a good business strategy. How about if I answer that question on Monday" following the competing July 19 cards?
Asked by one reporter to react to UFC President Dana White reportedly calling Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio (Pictures) a "T-shirt guy," Trump rose to Atencio's defense, but refused to attack White in the process.
"Tom's done an amazing job," Trump said. "And so has Dana White as far as I'm concerned. Dana's been very respectful of me and very nice to me. And I will always be of him."
Trump said entering the MMA world by partnering with Affliction is a natural move for him, noting that he has promoted many boxing matches over the years, including several of Mike Tyson's fights, and that his Atlantic City, N.J. hotel, the Taj Mahal, has staged numerous MMA events.
"I happen to enjoy it," Trump said. "I watch it. I like the MMA stuff. It's the new wave. … And I don't know that it takes over for boxing, but a lot of people are watching and I think that it is sort of taking over for boxing.
"I think my partners are fantastic. We have a very well-capitalized company. … We've sold out the arena very quickly. And you know, it's just something that I do. I mean obviously, I'm not gonna give up the real estate business."
For his part, asked if he could reveal his game plan for Fedor, Sylvia said, "I don't think my game plan has ever been much of a secret: stand up and brawl. Defend the takedown at all costs and try to knock him out.
"I don't see many weaknesses in Fedor's game at all," Sylvia continued. "I mean, he's one of the most rounded persons out there. One of the best in the world. I mean, you know, I think my size and reach is going to play a factor in this fight absolutely."
Sylvia said he does not think that Fedor is overrated.
"He's beat every one else they've put in front of him, so how could he be overrated? … But it's going to be awesome coming away on the 19th with a win," Sylvia said. "That's what I plan on doing. I wouldn't be taking this fight if I didn't think I could beat him. I believe I'm that one style that he's going to have problems with and give him fits."
Fighting for Affliction, does he feel he's competing with the UFC?
"The Affliction guys have no interest in competing with the UFC," Sylvia said. "They're not out there to take over the business of the UFC."
Other matches on the stacked July 19 card at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., include Andrei Arlovski (Pictures) vs. Ben Rothwell (Pictures), Josh Barnett (Pictures) vs. Pedro Rizzo (Pictures), Matt Lindland (Pictures) vs. Fabio Negao (Pictures), Renato Sobral (Pictures) vs. Mike Whitehead (Pictures) and Mike Pyle (Pictures) vs. JJ Ambrose (Pictures). Several other undercard matches, including Fedor's younger brother Aleksander Emelianenko (Pictures) vs. Paul Buentello (Pictures), will be broadcast for free on Fox Sports Network prior to the pay-per-view event.