Boxing results, takeaways: Anderson Silva shines in return while Naoya Inoue, Jermall Charlo handle business

Silva turned back the clock to score a massive upset while a pair of champions kept things moving in title defenses

Saturday was a fight-filled night in the boxing world, with three cards all taking place at roughly the same time. The featured bouts ranged from world championship fights to an odd clash between a 46-year-old MMA legend and a former boxing world champion when Anderson Silva took on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

While Jermall Charlo and Naoya Inoue took care of business as heavy favorites in their main event fights, Chavez found himself on the losing side of a huge upset as Silva outworked him to take a split decision victory in a fight where Chavez had no business winning on one of the official scorecards.

Let's take a look at the big takeaways from a wild night of boxing action.

Silva shines while Chavez disappoints yet again

Mixed martial artists making their way to the boxing ring for a big payday has become something of a trend in 2021. While Ben Askren was knocked out by Jake Paul in a fight that exposed a bad MMA striker can't beat a YouTuber-turned-boxer, Silva showed that great strikers can find some success. That success is a little easier to come by when facing someone who has made a career of being a disappointment.

Chavez missed weight for the fight and claimed he didn't actually miss weight because he thought the fight was supposed to be at 185 pounds, the weight where Silva fought in the UFC, despite that there was a real-life contract with the weight limit on it, as with any fight. It was another in a long line of stumbles for Chavez, who has become prone to making bizarre mistakes, excuses and bad decisions. That continued through the fight where Chavez repeatedly looked to the referee to bail him out of a rapidly worsening situation -- and into the post-fight where Chavez said he thought the fight should have been scored a draw.

In the end, Silva showed up in shape and ready to fight. Chavez did not and now has to own an embarrassing loss, and not for the first time in his career.

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Champs take care of business

Jermall Charlo was never in anything resembling real trouble against Juan Macias Montiel. That said, some may be disappointed in Charlo's performance, failing to get Montiel out before the final bell when Jaime Munguia knocked out Montiel in the second round. Montiel showed good heart and a frustrating style through the fight, managing to survive some close calls and continuing to fight on as Charlo took round after round on the scorecards. It wasn't a perfect night, but Charlo did his primary job and held onto his middleweight championship.

Inoue had a far less frustrating experience with Michael Dasmarinas, scoring a third-round TKO. That's what has come to be expected from Inoue, who is officially starting to break out as a real star in the sport. There's not much to say when a champion beats a heavy underdog in the expected ways, but again, winning is always the priority, no matter how heavily a fighter is favored.

Big fights on the horizon

Inoue made a clear call for a huge fight in his next outing, pushing for a fight with the winner of the Aug. 14 fight between John Riel Casimero and Nonito Donaire. That fight would determine an undisputed champion at bantamweight. Donaire and Inoue fought in the 2019 Fight of the Year, with Inoue taking the decision victory and either a rematch or a showdown with Casimero would be a much more appropriate fight than a bout with anyone on Dasmarinas' level.

Charlo made an even bigger callout, once again invoking Canelo Alvarez's name. The two have danced around a potential clash for some time now and both sides are interested, though Alvarez's primary focus is unifying the super middleweight titles in a bout with Caleb Plant. It may be more of a longshot than Donaire's desired fight, but Charlo is also in need of much higher quality of opponent if he's going to be the star many feel he's capable of being.

CBS Sports was with you throughout the entire way on Saturday for all three events, so check out all the results and highlights below. 

Results, highlights

• Naoya Inoue (c) def. Michael Dasmarinas via third-round TKO
  
• Anderson Silva def. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. via split decision (77-75, 75-77, 77-75) 
• Jermall Charlo (c) def. Juan Macias Montiel via unanimous decision (118-109, 119-109, 120-108)

[Jun 20, 2021 at 12:44 am ET · Brian Campbell]

Top Rank: Two more body-shot knockdowns for Inoue in Round 3 and that will do it. A ruthless finish for "The Monster."

[Jun 20, 2021 at 12:39 am ET · Brian Campbell]

Top Rank: Down goes Michael Dasmarinas in Round 2 on a left hook to the liver from Inoue.

[Jun 20, 2021 at 12:35 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Anderson Silva has officially defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.! The official scorecards read 77-75, 75-77, 77-75. Silva certainly deserved the unanimous decision, but he still gets the win in the end.

A tremendous performance from the UFC legend in his return to boxing.

[Jun 20, 2021 at 12:31 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Chavez vs. Silva: Silva went right back to what he'd done so effectively the past several rounds to begin Round 8. Silva continued landing while Chavez appealed to the ref about something. The action was briefly stopped to check Chavez's cut but the fight continued, with Chavez finally flurrying with a combination. Silva kept going back to the jab, and landed an uppercut as Chaves tried to come forward along the ropes before the fight ended. It should be a clear Silva win on the cards.

[Jun 20, 2021 at 12:27 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Chavez vs. Silva: Chavez continued to look gassed as Round 7 began. Silva popped the jab over and over. Chavez threw a few good punches, but primarily stuck to one punch at a time while Silva worked off combinations. Chavez suffered a cut over his right eye as Silva kept winging hooks and uppercuts.

[Jun 20, 2021 at 12:23 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Chavez vs. Silva: Silva opened Round 6 with a big left and then a right hand behind it. Chavez landed a right hand of his own and a jab but Silva charged forward, landing some more good combinations. Chavez fought back inside, working to the head and body. Chavez continued finding himself along the ropes, which allowed Silva to open up without much concern of return fire.

[Jun 20, 2021 at 12:19 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Chavez vs. Silva: Silva pressed the action again to start Round 5 and Chavez did not look comfortable with how the fight was playing out. Silva was caught by a clean right from Chavez and fired back with an uppercut and a few jabs. Chavez looked badly gassed as Silva continued to pop him and bully him around the ring. A bizarre fight that Silva seems to be in control of.

[Jun 20, 2021 at 12:15 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Chavez vs. Silva: Round 4 started with Silva landing a good uppercut and forcing Chavez back into the ropes. Silva continued to press the action but was warned again for using his elbow. Silva went back to the jab, starting to trouble Chavez a bit with his odd timing. Silva trapped Chavez against the ropes again and did good work before landing a heavy left late. A huge round for Silva.

[Jun 20, 2021 at 12:11 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Chavez vs. Silva: Silva started working off the jab a bit in the third round, continuing to move well around the ring. Chavez landed his own jab and then a two-punch combo before Silva charged forward trying to get off his own combination against the ropes, but missed with the shots. Silva landed an elbow, which is a no-no in boxing, obviously, and received a warning. Chavez started digging to the body and then landed a big right hand as Silva told him to bring it and posed as Chavez landed more shots. Silva backed himself into the corner and dared Chavez to come forward, which Chavez did before the end of the round.

[Jun 20, 2021 at 12:08 am ET · Brian Campbell]

PBC: It's a wide UD12 for Jermall Charlo by scores of 118-109, 119-109, 120-108.

[Jun 20, 2021 at 12:07 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Chavez vs. Silva: Chavez got in with an early combination at the start of Round 2. Silva scored with an uppercut and popped off a jab, starting to get into the flow of the fight a bit. Chavez landed a few of his own shots before Silva clinched and held on for an extended period. Silva got loose in the round, but likely didn't win it.

[Jun 20, 2021 at 12:06 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Top Rank: Mayer managed to come back from some early trouble against Farias to earn a valid decision victory by scores of 97-93, 98-92, 98-92