Jake Paul is still undefeated.
Paul defeated UFC legend Anderson Silva by unanimous decision in their eight-round boxing bout at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz.
The win brought Paul to 6-0 in his professional career, with Saturday’s win perhaps being his most impressive.
Silva sat back for most of Round 1, letting Paul do most of the attacking, albeit subtle. Silva went to work in Round 2, throwing some powerful jabs and playing some mind games. Paul wasn’t phased though, and kept his power stroke throughout the round.
Round 3 was a show, with over 80 punches thrown between the two fighters. Silva’s face was bloodied in the round as well. Through four rounds, unofficial scoring had it at 39-37 in favor of Paul, but each round could have gone either way.
Paul predicted a fifth-round knockout, but it was Silva who connected a ton in the round for his best of the night. The end of the sixth round became a street fight as both fighters battled along the ropes, throwing jab after jab for the final 20 seconds, putting the crowd on its feet. Through seven, unofficial scoring had it at 68-65 Paul, so Silva had no choice but to be as aggressive as he had been all night, but Paul was able to knock him down. Silva got up quickly, but no matter what he did the rest of the round, it wasn’t enough.
JAKE PAUL SAYS HE’S BANNED FROM UFC, DANA WHITE’S SON USED ‘RACIAL SLURS AGAINST’ HIM
Paul landed 25% (83 of 336) of his punches, while Silva hit on 31% (79 of 251). However, Paul landed 42% of his power punches, compared to 38% by Silva. Paul also landed 30 body shots – Silva landed just 13.
Despite the loss, Silva deserves a lot of credit – a 47-year-old went toe-to-toe with someone in his athletic prime, lasting all eight rounds. The scorecards say otherwise, but the broadcast noted that the first several rounds were definitely difficult to score.
After the fight, Paul reminded the crowd that Silva was his idol growing up.
“A legend. I have nothing but respect for him,” Paul said.
So what’s next for Paul?
“I want Nate Diaz. Who’s a b—h,” he said. “Stop being a b—h and fight me. And Canelo (Alvarez). You too…Anyone. Anytime. Any place.”
Read the full article here
