Jake Paul is well aware of the criticism coming his way in the wake of the most important victory of his boxing career, but has his own way of receiving them, including the accusations that the Anderson Silva fight was “fixed”.
I think smart people with intelligence are giving me props and respect: Jake Paul
‘The Problem Child’ faced the MMA legend in the squared circle last Saturday at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, when he defeated ‘The Spider’ via an eight-round unanimous decision victory, while keeping his undefeated record intact.
As expected by the fans, the fight did turn out to be Paul’s toughest endeavour in the ring, with the fight being very close, until the last round when Paul knocked the Brazilian down. However, several eyebrows have been raised since the fight.
A TikTok video that went viral, suggested that Silva actually took a dive in the eighth round as Paul had supposedly missed the right hook before Silva went down to the canvas. Since then, criticisms have flown in, claiming that the fight was fixed.
Anderson took the bag 💰 pic.twitter.com/iCpHkPcGyB
— Rhys_MMA 🇦🇺x🏴 (@RW805_) October 30, 2022
While making an appearance on The MMA Hour, Paul responded to the accusations.
“I think smart people with intelligence are giving me props and respect,” said Paul, “Like the WBC President [Mauricio Sulaimán] saying that anyone who says Jake is not a real boxer is just bitter and is a hater. People like Teddy Atlas showing me mad respect, a lot of fighters showing me mad respect, a lot of MMA guys texting me saying, ‘You look really sharp, that was the best you’ve fought,’ Ryan Garcia showing me respect. So, the smart people who I care about are showing that love. There are the people who will always be there in my career who are discrediting it. Now, they’re saying it was rigged. It went from, ‘Jake’s going to get knocked out by Anderson,’ to, ‘Oh, that was rigged.’”
“I lose faith in my generation and my peers, and us as a society and a world when I see that type of stuff and that type of stupidity. It just sucks. It sucks because I worked so hard for this. I dedicate everything, sacrifice everything, every single day, bust my balls, have a 15-person team working around the clock to help me become the best boxer possible, and when I do something like beating Anderson Silva, they try to take it away from me. But I know deep down, and I guess that’s all that really matters.” [H/T MMA Fighting]
Do you think Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva was a legit fight or was it fixed? Let us know in the comments below.
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