What will they say about Jake Paul now?
Heading into Saturday night’s Showtime headliner, the prevailing notion was that the YouTube star-turned-boxer would face his toughest challenge in former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. The fight was more action-packed than anyone could’ve expected, with Silva pushing Paul as much as he could. In the end, Paul outlasted Silva and won a unanimous decision at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz., with the judges scoring the fight 77-74, 78-73, 78-73 in his favor.
“They’re going to find something to say, ‘Fight a real boxer,”‘ Paul said afterward. “B*tch, I tried. Hey, if I were walking on water, people would say that I can’t swim. There’s always going to be haters. There’s always going to be critics. It’s there. It’s everyday, part of life if you’re doing something and being successful. So I don’t worry about that sh*t. This is just the start, baby.”
Based on the first round alone, the fight should’ve been slow and calculated as Silva came out relaxed and didn’t throw a lot while Paul pushed the action. That all changed in Round 2, though, when Silva ramped things up to another level and took Paul out of his comfort zone. The mental warfare was on, with Silva landing and taunting Paul on more than one occasion.
As the fight wore on, the brutality increased. At times, Paul and Silva fought in a phone booth, something Paul hadn’t done in his previous fights with former MMA champions Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.
Silva’s best punch of the night was his inside uppercut, while Paul found success with three-punch combos upstairs and downstairs and continuously looked to a land a big overhand right – which he did a few times, but Silva was able to take them.
That is, until the eighth and final round. Silva came out with a sense of urgency, blitzing and throwing in bunches. But 30 seconds in, Paul finally found his big punch and dropped Silva to the canvas. Even after the knockdown, Silva still plodded forward. As much as he pushed, Silva couldn’t find his one punch in the final frame.
.@jakepaul sends Silva to the canvas in the final round 😮#PaulSilva pic.twitter.com/mO6Tdw4wy1
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) October 30, 2022
It wasn’t a bad showing for the 47-year-old Silva. But the 25-year-old Paul was just better.
“Listen, it’s tough to come inside here and fight with a young kid,” Silva said. “I tried to do my best. I’m training hard every day. Jake is better than me today. I don’t have anything bad to say about my opponent. I think everybody needs to respect this kid, because he’s doing the best job.”
And now Paul can look toward a showdown with former UFC star Nate Diaz, which has been talked about for months and is cleared to happen now that Diaz is a free agent.
“I want Nate Diaz, who’s a b*tch,” Paul said. “He tried to come into my locker room. He tried to cause some sh*t. Then he always leaves the f*cking arena. So Nate Diaz, stop being a b*tch and fight me.”
For complete coverage of the card, check out MMA Junkie’s event page for Paul vs. Silva.