Jake Paul Outslugs Anderson Silva in 8-Round Thriller

Jake Paul has just earned some respect on his name.

The main attraction of the MVP and Showtime pay-per-view boxing card came in a 187-pound cruiserweight affair, one in which Paul (6-0, 4 KO) proved he has the wherewithal to stand and trade with a legendary striker in the boxing ring. “The Problem Child” picked up a decision victory over the ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship great Anderson Silva (3-2, 2 KO). Paul vs. Silva began with a tentative first round, one where the two engaged in practically three minutes of a feeling-out process, led to Silva landing two punches – although one made Paul lick his gloves and demand more. After downloading data in the opening minutes, Silva picked things up in the second frame, backing Paul up with several powerful blows. Paul responded with a few clean right hooks, but Silva barely registered their landing. Although Silva pressed forward aggressively in Round 3, Paul showed a composure beyond his years by scoring several heavy, looping punches while Silva kept him honest by slugging right back.

Related » Paul vs. Silva Round-by-Round Scoring

Even at the age of 47, Silva still displayed plenty of the footwork and elusiveness that made him one of the all-time greats in MMA. A bloody nose from the Paul shots did not deter or slow him, even as Paul continued to load up and swing with bad intentions as the close fight progressed through the fourth round. The youngster maintained an even clip while not punching himself out despite missing frequently with haymakers. After the midpoint of the match, Silva turned up the volume, where he started backing Paul up to the corner and working the body and head indiscriminately. In the sixth stanza, the action slowed significantly as the pace seemed to get the better of the two, and they remained largely relegated to short bursts of activity followed by lengthy lulls. The waning seconds brought a sudden flurry from Silva, with the uppercuts of “The Spider” his best weapons.

.@jakepaul sends Silva to the canvas in the final round 😮#PaulSilva pic.twitter.com/mO6Tdw4wy1

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) October 30, 2022

The penultimate round seemed to be where the 47-year-old hit a wall, as his work rate fell significantly while Paul’s youthful exuberance was on full display. The body shots from Paul began to pay off, as Silva – who had not acknowledged many absorbed blows earlier in the match – started to visibly react to them. Sensing he might be down on the scorecards, Silva came out in Round 8 with a vengeance, chasing Paul down and throwing hammers. Paul sat down on one crisp counter right hand, dropping Silva in the most significant moment of the fight. Silva beat the count from referee Wes Melton and looked no worse for wear, and he went back to pushing the action. The work Silva did could not make up for the knockdown as time expired, sealing the likely victory for the unbeaten 25-year-old. The three ringside judges issued scores of 77-74, 78-73 and 78-73, with Paul earning the hard-fought unanimous decision win. Six bouts into his professional boxing career, Paul has topped two UFC champs in the ring as well as a former Bellator MMA titleholder, and he subsequently called for a matchup against another UFC name in fan-favorite Nate Diaz.

Flurry at the end of #HallBell 🔥

Order #PaulSilva: https://t.co/O9cjsgnpf0 pic.twitter.com/Vuwr3rwPXS

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) October 30, 2022

Former UFC middleweight contender Uriah Hall left the sport of MMA to test the waters in boxing, and he met former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell in a cruiserweight match between crossover boxing debutants. Ultimately, Hall (1-0, 0 KO) landed the heavier blows to outwork Bell (0-1, 0 KO) across four slow, plodding rounds. The first two frames played out remarkably similar, with Bell drifting in and out with herky-jerky movement and ducking down to jab the body repeatedly. Hall slowly walked Bell down during those rounds, landing the occasional power punch while ignoring anything that came his way.

In Round 3, Hall picked things up in the early stages of the period, only for the ex-NFL star to shock him with a few overhand rights that forced Hall to clinch up. Neither man could completely shed their past disciplines, as Hall received multiple warnings by referee Tony Zaino for elbows, while Bell used multiple shoulder checks to ram himself into the chest of his opponent. The fatigued men threw down in the final minute of their four-round affair, silencing the boo birds that had echoed throughout the building for most of their encounter. Hall secured three 40-36 scorecards to claim the unanimous decision and earn his first pro boxing victory. Like most former MMA fighters in searching of a money fight, Hall called out Paul in his post-fight interview.

Elsewhere on the main card, Ashton Sylve (8-0, 8 KO) blew through Braulio Rodriguez (20-5, 17 KO) in 61 seconds to put a stamp on their lightweight co-main event match; Alejandro Santiago (27-3-5, 14 KO) forced Antonio Nieves’ (20-4-2, 11 KO) corner to step in and halt their bantamweight rematch at the conclusion of Round 7; the pay-per-view opened with former UFC featherweight Chris Avila (2-1, 0 KO) moving all the way up to cruiserweight, where he shut out YouTuber “Dr. Mike” Mikhail Varshavski (0-1, 0 KO) across four one-sided rounds and earning three matching 40-36 scores.