Jake Paul set to fight Anderson Silva in Showtime PPV main event in Glendale, Ariz.
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Novice boxer and social media influencer Jake Paul’s next boxing match is set and it will come against the biggest name yet of his brief career — Anderson Silva, the MMA legend who also has professional boxing experience.
The fight, which Fight Freaks United reported last week was being finalized, will take place on Oct. 29 and headline a Showtime PPV event at Gila River Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona, Showtime and MVP Promotions announced on Tuesday.
The cruiserweight bout is scheduled for eight rounds at a contract weight of 187 pounds. The fighters will meet at a kickoff news conference on Monday in Los Angeles.
The fight was announced about a month after Paul canceled an Aug. 6 Showtime PPV main event at Madison Square Garden in New York a week beforehand when opponent Hasim Rahman Jr. (12-1, 6 KOs), the son of the former heavyweight champion, indicated that he would not come close to making the already amended contract weight of 205 pounds.
Rahman had replaced Tommy Fury (8-0, 4 KOs), the half-brother of reigning heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who for the second time pulled out against Paul, who has insisted he wanted to finally face a boxer rather than a series of opponents that were either MMA fighters or non-boxers altogether.
Paul (5-0, 4 KOs), 25, of Cleveland is coming off a ruthless sixth-round knockout of former MMA star Tyron Woodley in their December Showtime PPV rematch.
While Silva is known for his MMA exploits, he has had four official boxing matches. Silva (3-1, 2 KOs), 47, had two of those fights in 2021, scoring a highlight-reel knockout of fellow former UFC champion Tito Ortiz with a huge right hand in 81 seconds of a 200-pound fight on Sept. 11 and, more notably as far as his boxing resume goes, taking an eight-round split decision over former middleweight world titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on his turf in Mexico weighting 174.25 pounds in June.
Silva also had two boxing matches years ago in his native Brazil — a second-round knockout win in 2005 and a first-round knockout loss in 1998.
“Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva is the most versatile fighter the world has ever seen,” Paul said. “Just a year ago he outclassed boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and showed the world why he is often referred to as the greatest fighter of all time. Every expert, from MMA to boxing, has said Jake Paul won’t fight Anderson Silva. They said Jake Paul is afraid of Anderson Silva, and Jake Paul would lose to Anderson Silva. Well, to all the non-believers – Jake Paul is fighting Anderson Silva.
“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to share the ring with the greatest UFC striker of all time. On Saturday, Oct. 29, I will walk humbly into the ring, touch gloves with a living legend and do my best to exterminate ‘The Spider.’”
Silva (34-11 in MMA) is one of the most revered MMA fighters of all time and known for his punching ability. He holds the UFC record for the longest title reign in the organization’s history at 2,457 days; has the most consecutive UFC victories (16) and the most finishes in UFC title fights (9).
“I know that in life everything has its purpose,” Silva said. “Nothing comes just by chance. So, I thank God for my health, my family and my team for providing me with this opportunity to continue doing the thing that I love the most. I believe this will be the biggest combat event of the year and will truly make history in the sport forever,” Silva said. “See you on Oct. 29.”
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How old is Silva. he needs to retire and stay retired the glory days are long gone.
Kind of a bold scheduling move. The PPV calendar in the fall is getting pretty crowded, especially assuming Crawford-Spence happens in November (which maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to do).