Many combat sports fans don’t consider Jake Paul a legitimate fighter, but he still is undefeated.
The 25-year-old Paul, a YouTube and social media influencer who has now become a pro boxer, defeated UFC legend Anderson Silva in an eight-round unanimous decision on Saturday night in the main event of a Showtime pay-per-view card from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz.
“It’s a surreal moment. Hard work pays off,” Paul said after his win. “I want to say thank you to Anderson. He was my idol growing up and he inspired me to be great. Without him, we wouldn’t have a fight this year. He’s a tough mofo, like for real. I have a lot of respect for him.”
Paul, who knocked down the 47-year-old Silva in the final round, won by scores of 77-74 and 78-73 (twice). Paul is now 6-0 with four KOs, while Silva, a former UFC middleweight champion, fell to 3-2 in boxing with two KOs.
Silva, a native of Brazil, had his moments in the bout and landed his fair share of power shots, according to CBS Sports, but in the end, Paul’s youth was too much for the veteran combat fighter.
Jake Paul lands a punch on Anderson Silva during his unanimous decision victory. USA TODAY Sports“I worked hard to do a special show for everybody here,” Silva said. “I say thank you for everyone to come. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose but I continue training hard because I was born for this.”
Paul, who also is a relentless self-promoter, immediately called out Nate Diaz and Canelo Alvarez, yes that Canelo Alvarez, after the match. But a match with Diaz, who is set to be a free agent after his UFC deal ends is much more likely.
According to CBS Sports, seeds already have been planted as members of Paul and Diaz’s team engaged in a scuffle backstage shortly after Diaz’s teammate, Chris Avila, scored a victory to open the PPV card.
“Nate Diaz is a bitch. He tried to fight me in my locker room and then left the arena,” Paul said of the 37-year-old fighter. “So Nate Diaz, don’t be a bitch. Come fight me.
“Anyone, anytime, any place. Anyone! Anytime! Any place!”
Jake’s brother, Logan, also has a big match of his own coming up, a showdown with WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns on Nov. 5 at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia,
Le’Veon Bell, the former Pittsburgh Steelers and Jets running back, lost by unanimous decision in his first fight as a pro against former UFC fighter Uriah Hall in one of the undercard matches.
The three judges each scored the four-round bout 40-36 for Hall, meaning Bell unanimously lost every round he was in the ring.
In another undercard match, Avila battered “Doctor” Mike Varshavski for much of their four-round cruiserweight fight Saturday night. The three judges all scored their bout 40-36 for Avila.
The 29-year-old Avila landed numerous clean punches during the final three rounds for an easy unanimous decison over Varshavski, a medical doctor who made his professional boxing debut
The 32-year-old Varshavski, known commonly as Dr. Mike, is a practicing family medicine physician who also has amassed more than 10 million YouTube subscribers and four million Instagram followers.
