Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

James Irvin can’t seem to get any respect.

When the UFC picked up a phone to find a 205-pounder to face pound-for-pound superstar Anderson Silva, he wasn’t the first one they thought of. And when the event’s host, The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas put up the match on their outdoor marquee, the light-heavyweight was angered to hear they’d spelled his name incorrectly, as “Irwin.” Not surprisingly, Irvin is also a major underdog in the betting world despite the fact that Silva is moving up to his weight-class.

To make things worst, the debate in the leadup to the fight has focused on whether Irvin actually has a chance.

He has the forum to avenge all of those perceived slights when he steps in the cage with Silva on Saturday night.

“I could see [the doubt] in people’s faces,” Irvin says. “But I just don’t see myself losing. I’m expecting to take a lot of damage. I know I’m going to have to take some shots to get mine off, but I just don’t think he has the punching power that some of the true 205-ers have.”

You’d be hard-pressed to find too many who agree with Irvin on that assessment. Silva has left a trail of bodies in his wake as he’s blazed through the UFC’s middleweight division in stunning fashion. He’s finished all six of his fights, decimating former champ Rich Franklin twice, submitting the gritty former PRIDE champ Dan Henderson, and filling up highlight reels in the process.

But Irvin has one thing on his side that Silva can’t match: size.

Irvin walks around at about 230 pounds of chiseled muscle, cuts down to around 220 the week of the fight, and works off a couple more pounds in fight-week training before sweating off the last 10 pounds in the final hours before weigh-ins. At fight time, he’s usually re-hydrated to around 220 pounds.

Silva, meanwhile, gets up to about 210 pounds before starting his training camps, meaning this time around he will only have to cut around five pounds instead of the usual deeper cut.

“There are some things on my side in this fight,” Irvin says. “I know how I fight at light-heavyweight. I’ve been making this cut for a while so I know how it affects my body and I know what my optimal weight is for my best performance. But I don’t see how he can be 20 pounds heavier and still be as quick. On the flipside, maybe he’s drawn-out at 185. Maybe at 205, he’ll be a monster.”

The 29-year-old Irvin is much more dangerous than some are giving him credit for, boasting one-punch knockout power that supplied him his nickname “the Sandman.”

At UFC 54, he struggled early against Terry Martin before connecting with a fight-stopping flying knee at the outset of the second round. Against Hector Ramirez at UFC 65, the two fought a close battle until Irvin came over the top of Ramirez’s left hook with an overhand right that ended matters. And in last April, he tied a UFC record when KO’d Houston Alexander with the first punch of the fight.

On the other side of the coin, Silva has a chin of iron. He’s never been KO’d in his 25 pro fights, and he’s been in the ring with heavy-handed fighters like Lee Murray, Chris Leben and Dan Henderson.

How impressive is his chin? In 2005, he fought a match in the UK’s Cage Rage against Jorge Rivera, who has 10 of his 15 career wins via TKO. The two were locked in the clinch when Rivera threw a series of punches that seemed to connect flush with Silva’s jaw, but instead of being dazed, Silva winked at him before turning the tide and knocking out Rivera.

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Irvin also made some waves when he told NBCSports.com that   he would beat Silva in the clinch. Such a declaration is not as far-fetched as some may think. Irvin has trained extensively in Thailand, which is the home of Muay Thai, and his longtime coach, Ganyao, is considered one of the best Muay Thai instructors in the world.

While in the UFC, Irvin hasn’t featured his skills in the clinch, but this could be a case where he surprises Silva with his technique and power.

Of course, Irvin isn’t the first to think he can overpower Silva in the clinch. Rich Franklin had the same idea in his first fight with Silva, who went on to batter him in the position with knees to the body and head in scoring a first-round KO, breaking Franklin’s nose and winning the title.

“I have nothing to lose,” Irvin says. “I’m going to try to take the rifle out of his hands and hold my ground. If he’s in punching range, I’m going to explode. I may have to eat one or two, but I’m going to land my shots.”

Irvin fully admits that Silva is better than him both on the ground and in his standup, but knows that in the MMA game, one single punch can change the course of history, and he has the power to make that happen.

He’s suffered injuries that have sidetracked his career, and now he’s suffering from a lack of respect. Everyone thinks he’s going to lose, the venue misspells his name and he has to step in with the pound-for-pound greatest.

The odds are stacked against him, but the fight is in Las Vegas where the victory is always sweeter when the house is against you.

“It’s humbling for me to get this chance,” he says. “When you watch me practice, maybe you wouldn’t be impressed. For some reason, I’m not a practice guy. But when the lights go on, I bring it. I’ve always been a gamer, and this is a huge opportunity.”

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