Jake Paul ratified his next fight after missing out three times on facing a recognized professional boxer. The YouTuber made a point of branding him as such.
Anderson Silva, a UFC legend who has fought one bonafide [half-retired for years] boxer in Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., got the label from Paul and his team.
They firmly believe Silva counts as a professional boxer despite his lack of activity against actual fighters in our code.
Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva
However, Jake Paul is not pulling any punches in the game of pugilistic clout and respect when he’s losing badly.
The Tommy Fury and Hasim Rahman Jr. farces further stained Paul’s attempts to break into the boxing world. His reputation. to those in the know, is as flatlined as it was when he first entered the sport.
But reading through some of the official information released by Showtime on Tuesday does make for eye-watering reading.
Paul is called a “serial risk-taker” by the network. Silva is apparently “often compared to the Muhammad Ali and Pelé of mixed martial arts.”
If he is, that certainly doesn’t count for diddly squat in boxing.
Showtime does say that Paul “will face the biggest challenge of his career at Gila River Arena in Phoenix, Ariz., on Saturday, October 29.”
If the fight happens, this will be true. The toughest of a sub-par bunch that Paul has shared the ring with is Silva.
Again, they try to gain some traction with a sanctioned boxing match. Showtime had to point to the MMA record, which means zero when in the squared circle.
“Silva authored one of the strongest resumes of any MMA fighter before returning to pro boxing in 2021.
“Silva holds the UFC record for the longest title reign in the organization’s history: 2,457 days; the most consecutive UFC victories: 16 and the most finishes in UFC title fights: nine.
“Known for his superb striking ability in the cage, Silva (34-11, 1 NC in mixed martial arts) has found success. He’s transitioned to boxing in a remarkable second career act.”
World-class boxer
Now here’s where it gets crazier as the release says, “the Brazilian announced his return as a world-class boxer in June 2021. He soundly defeated former middleweight boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., via split decision that wasn’t as close as the scores indicated.”
I’m not sure anyone with solid boxing knowledge would agree that a win over Chavez Jr. at this stage in his career makes anybody “world-class.”
But here were are with another extension of Paul playing boxing. The lack of fights in 2023 and the lack of opponents with a pulse continue the charade into another year.
They even state that Paul “will square off against arguably a far tougher opponent.” If that’s the case, why didn’t they go for Silva from the get-go if he’s a world-class boxer and a far more formidable opponent?
It doesn’t make sense and doesn’t add up. It is what it is, and the game continues.
Paul vs Silva catchweight
The Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva bout will be over eight rounds at an agreed catchweight of 187 pounds.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay.
WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
