Jake Paul seals win vs. Anderson Silva with final-round knockdown
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When Jake Paul was 14 years old, he said he met a celebrity for the first time. It was MMA legend Anderson Silva, whom he idolized, and he had his picture taken with him.
On Saturday night, Paul knocked Silva down and won an eight-round decision in a crowd-pleasing cruiserweight fight contracted at 187 pounds in the main event of a Showtime PPV card before 14,430 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Paul, a social media influencer and YouTube personality, who turned professional as a boxer in 2020 after one amateur fight, beat Silva 78-73, 78-73 and 77-74 for easily the most notable victory of his brief career.
“It’s a surreal moment,” Paul said. “Hard work pays off. First and foremost, I want to say thank you to Anderson. He was my idol growing up. He inspired me to be great. He was the first celebrity I ever met. Without him, we wouldn’t have had a fight this year. He’s a tough mofo. A legend. I have nothing but respect for him.
“This just goes to show that anyone watching at home, chase your dreams. It’s never too late. I started boxing 2½ years ago as a pro and just beat one of the greatest ever because I’m obsessed with this.”
Paul (6-0, 4 KOs) relied heavily on his jab but also landed many right hands. He outworked, outhustled and outpunched Silva, the former longtime UFC champion considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. However, Silva came into the fight with boxing experience and having trained seriously in it in recent years.
Last year, Silva scored two boxing victories, a decision against former middleweight titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and a first-round destruction of fellow former UFC champion Tito Ortiz, who was making his boxing debut.
Silva was competitive with 25-year-old Paul, of Cleveland, but if there was any doubt about the winner that was put to rest in the eighth and final round when Paul nailed Silva with a lopping overhand right — his best punch — to drop him with 40 seconds left in the fight.
Silva, whose face was bloody, rose and finished the fight but Paul had beaten his idol.
“We were just fighting in the clinch, and he got caught on the way out,” Paul said of the knockdown. “He took so many hard shots throughout the whole fight. The dude is a real dog. You see what happens to everyone else that gets hit with that. He’s the toughest guy in the world but I just wanted it more. I’m a real dog and I left it all in the ring.”
Silva (3-2, 2 KO), of Brazil, gave Paul credit for his performance but said he would continue to fight on despite being 47.
“That’s the game. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But nothing will change in my life,” Silva said. “I’ll continue training hard because I’m born for this. Now, I go back home, continue training and see the next challenge.
“I think the judges got it right. Listen, it’s tough to come inside here and fight a young kid. I tried to do my best. I trained 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. I trained hard. I’m a warrior. Absolutely, I’m going to continue fighting. Nobody can stop me except God.”
According to CompuBox statistics, Paul landed 83 of 336 punches (25 percent), including connecting with 30 body shots, and Silva landed 79 of 251 blows (32 percent).
Paul still has yet to face a full-time boxer, though he has tried only to have Tommy Fury pull out on him twice as well as Hasim Rahman Jr., both undefeated pros.
Paul only went for the Silva fight after Fury pulled out for the second time when they were supposed to meet on Aug. 6 and his replacement, Rahman, ultimately refused to make the contracted weight limit he had agreed to and the fight was canceled.
“They’re going to find something to say. ‘Fight a real boxer.’ I tried,” Paul said. “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 an everyday part of life if you’re doing something and being successful. I don’t worry about it. This is just the start.”
Paul then called out UFC star Nate Diaz and undisputed boxing super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
“I want Nate Diaz. Nate Diaz, stop being a bitch and fight me,” Paul said. “Canelo, you too. You guys said, ‘You can’t beat a striker, you can’t beat a legend like Anderson Silva.’ I just did it. So why can’t I beat Canelo?”
Showtime will replay the bout on Nov. 5 (8 p.m. ET/PT) before the start of its “Showtime Championship Boxing” tripleheader (9 p.m. ET) headlined by secondary super middleweight titlist David Morrell making a mandatory defense against Aidos Yerbossynuly.
Hall shuts out Bell
MMA fighter Uriah Hall won a shutout decision over former star NFL running back Le’Veon Bell as each man made their professional boxing debut in a cruiserweight bout on the pay-per-view undercard.
Hall won 40-36 on all three scorecards in a dominant showing in which landed many jabs and right hands.
Hall forced the fight from the outset, applying constant pressure to Bell, whose only previous combat sports experience was a one-punch knockout win over fellow NFL star running back Adrian Peterson in the fifth round of an exhibition bout in September.
Hall, 38, a former UFC and Bellator standout from Jamaica and fighting out of New York, stunned Bell several times during the fight, particularly with his right hand. Afterward said he planned to keep boxing.
“I want Jake Paul,” Hall said. “I’m the dude that’s going to come out here and expose him. If Anderson doesn’t do it (in the main event), I’m going to be the one to fuck you up.”
Despite the lopsided scores, Hall gave Bell credit for making it tough on him.
“He definitely surprised me,” Hall said. “He’s pretty good. I do think he has a spot in this career. Obviously, this sport is mental. But for him to stick with his jab to the body, I didn’t know if he was trying to set me up, but he was very consistent with it. He was strong, man. I got cracked a couple times and I was like, ‘Holy shit!’ But I had to keep it together. I’m proud of him, man.”
Bell, 30, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, native, couldn’t argue with the scores.
“I thought I did OK. That’s a great fighter right there. I think he got the best of me,” said Bell, who starred for the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets. “All the credit goes to him. I watched film and I think there are some things I would do differently now like following up with my hands a little more. But he did a great job.”
Photos: Esther Lin/Showtime
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Dan — I am so glad you started this newsletter, and follow you and your articles closely. ESPN’s loss is our gain.
Perhaps the only issue where I have not agreed with you is the Jake Paul thing. While his sideshow does put ‘boxing’ in front of a larger audience, I believe he and his ilk cheapen and dilute the product. I do not argue with the issue of him doing well against his chosen opponents, but this is such rudimentary stuff that many dedicated technicians who train for years might never reach the level of exposure which they more appropriately deserve; and to me, the sideshow and circus atmosphere surrounding the Paul brothers purports to give legitimacy to that which is not truly professionally legitimate.
As perhaps the most important journalist covering boxing, you, through your endorsement, further legitimize the not-legitimate stage upon which these guys dance. We can all see amateur fights and tough man contests, but that is not the professional rank which most of us wish to support. I find these social media antics tiresome and distracting, having to wade through media and listings only to find spotlights on the Paul’s as much as, or more than, on top level talent. I boxed amateur for years, and while super dedicated, I acknowledge that only friends, family, and teammates actually would want to see my fights. They were not TV worthy, and I am confident that many of my amateur peers were far more skilled than the Paul’s. Spotlighting the Pauls makes no sense when we have the professional talent in the ring who actually captivate committed boxing cognoscenti. I welcome your thoughts.
Otherwise, you are on my regular reading list and I thank you for your commitment to our sport.
Dan - enough with the Jake Paull crap. Nobody cares. Do you think people who are boxing fans that pay for your newsletter give a shit about jake paul?