The spectacular boxing match between Jake Paul and Anderson Silva this weekend couldn’t possibly go off without a hitch, could it?
Former UFC middleweight champion Silva has been successful in boxing in the past few years. He said in a recent interview with MMA Weekly that he was knocked out twice while sparring in preparation for this weekend’s boxing bout with Paul.
Naturally, this worries a lot of people, including the Arizona Department of Gaming. The match between Silva and Paul comes under their jurisdiction.
Silva stated in the interview,
“I’m training hard for win. I’m training with the good boxers, high-level, and five guys come to help me. And the last sparring with my partner, he knocked me out two times, and when I finished the training, I talked to my coach and I said, ‘Coach, let me tell you something, why the guys knock me out two times?’ And the coach said, ‘You need [to] prepare for war, and you prepare for war.’”
Athletic commissions dislike hearing statements like that since it puts a boxer’s health at risk and might result in their license being revoked. However, Silva’s trainer Luiz Carlos Dorea disputed that Silva had been knocked out.
Dorea told MMA Fighting: “What I can say is that didn’t happen. Thank God we follow all the steps in training and Anderson did excellent sparring [sessions]. He’s 100 percent ”
The Arizona Department of Gaming stated:
“We are looking into the matter and have no further comment at this time.”
Since switching to boxing after UFC released him following a loss to Uriah Hall in October 2020 and quitting mixed martial arts, Silva has participated in three boxing bouts, a mix of professional and exhibition contests. His most recent was in Abu Dhabi against Bruno Machado. No winner was announced in the exhibition match but Silva did manage to knock down Machado.