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Since entering the world of professional boxing, Jake Paul has not attracted attention. Now set to face off against UFC legend Anderson Silva on Saturday night, Paul faces what should be the ultimate test of his youth (9 p.m. ET, Showtime PPV).
Silva is Paul’s first opponent against a professional boxer — not counting Paul’s fight with Tyron Woodley. In fact, Silva defeated former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez, which showed how the former UFC middleweight champion uses unconventional moves to defeat opponents in boxing.
Paul is coming off a bad fight with Woodley. He was then set to face Tommy Fury only to drop that fight a second time.
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Many thought Paul’s management would try to keep him away from Silva, who is bigger, slicker and better than anyone Paul has faced today. But the risk was taken and now Paul will try to take the next big step and ensure that he continues to develop the skills needed to make noise as a serious boxer.
Elsewhere on the card, 18-year-old Ashton Sylve returned to action when he defeated Braulio Rodriguez at featherweight. Sylve was undefeated 7-0 with all seven ends in strikeouts. He recently turned down some big promotions to join Paul’s Big Promotions in a bit of a surprise to the boxing community. Now, he’s looking to take the next step in his development against Rodriguez, who is 20-4 as a pro but hasn’t fought since 2019.
Additionally, two more celebrity-level professionals filled out the rest of the undercard. Former UFC middleweight — and Silva’s opponent — Uriah Hall made his boxing debut when he took on former NFL player Le’Veon Bell. Hall, 38, was cut by the UFC after a decision in July. Now, he takes on Bell, who is coming off a TKO victory over Adrian Peterson in an exhibition match in September. Other highlights saw Nick and Nate Diaz’s co-star Chris Avila take on social media star “Dr. Mike” Varshavski.
Below is the full fight card with the latest odds from Caesars Sportsbook before we get our predictions and picks for the main event.
Card fight, odds
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
- Jake Paul -230 vs. Anderson Silva +190, cruiserweights (eight rounds)
- Ashton Sylve vs. Braulio Rodriguez, featherweight (eight rounds)
- Alexander Santiago vs. Antonio Nieves, bantamweights (10 rounds)
- Uriah Hall vs. Le’Veon Bell, cruiserweights (four rounds)
- Chris Avila vs. Dr. Mike Varshavski, cruiserweights (four rounds)
Hypothesis
Brent Brookhouse: I was one of those who thought Paul should be kept away from Silva. But there are a lot of little things that start to stand out when you really look at the fight. Paul was clearly victorious after the battle, there was no way anyone could argue with the truth and be taken seriously. Like almost every young fighter he has only five fights in his career, there are still many areas in his game that still need work, but he appears to be very coachable.
Paul also has one of those “you either have it or you don’t” qualities in his hitting ability. You can see it in the fights and the boxers who worked with him also said the same. Paul can jump.
It is possible that Silva will play slick against Paul, but I think that Silva will fall into his character to get a good look with his defense, which can work and weaken the opponents. But with Paul, I think he will catch himself with the ropes and Paul has the discipline to work for the body instead of head hunting. This will, in turn, open up some of the sharper images to the core that is not what it used to be. Look for Paul’s finish in the middle round Pick: Jake Paul by OR Rounds 4-6
Brian Campbell: If Silva is not starting to feel his age tonight in ways he has yet to show us in this twilight of one of the best fighting careers in the history of combat sports, this is the fight he has to win in almost every field. Yes, Paul was young and he had great power. But the gap in experience and skill should show a lot if Silva can keep up with whatever level his opponent has set. Not only did Silva adapt flawlessly to the major differences between boxing and MMA (including footwork), he proved that in a number of fights – including the 2021 bout of former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in Mexico – that he is an athlete. The right threat hit Paul with a shot that he didn’t see coming. Silva is similar to Paul and may be faster in terms of hand speed. Paul’s main point is that if he looks to take the fight to Silva, he can find himself in the web of the “Spider,” who excels in destroying the prey in the defenseless front. faced with the strange. Pick: Anderson Silva via TKO6
Shakiel Mahjouri: Silva presented many problems to Paul. Silva has great size, stamina, head movement, feints, footwork, movement, combinations and ability to kick from angles. Paul, understandably, uses a core game built around his jab. A focused Silva should be able to roll with the shots and separate Paul.
Of course, Silva’s age is a concern and the knock must be low at the age of 47, but those concerns are palpable. He’s had two head-to-head fights in his 46-fight MMA career: once against Chris Weidman with his hands down and once against the hard-hitting Uriah Hall. His nose may be a problem, but it’s not Kryptonite.
Paul’s chances of actually winning the battle by decision were very low. He had to rely on his ability to wave “Spider.” Silva has many years of boxing experience over Paul, even if he is primarily trained for MMA. An early knockout, TKO and a tired Paul or decision are all in play for Silva. Pick: Anderson Silva by KO4
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