Report: Jake Paul and fellow social media star Tommy Fury have agreed to fight on Feb. 25.
Jake Paul and and fellow social media star Tommy Fury reportedly have agreed to fight on Feb. 25.
Ariel Helwani, a combat sports insider, tweeted: “Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury is a done deal for Feb. 25, per sources.” He provided no further details.
Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer, and the half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury were set to meet twice in the past — on Dec. 19, 2021 and Aug. 6 of last year.
Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury is a done deal for Feb. 25, per sources.
The first date fell through after Fury was injured and ill. They didn’t meet last year because Fury was unable to get a visa to enter the U.S. The fight was due to take place in New York.
Paul (6-0, 4 KOs) ended up fighting former MMA star Anderson Silva this past October, winning a wide decision in a 186.1-pound eight-round catch-weight bout.
Fury (8-0, 4 KOs) last took part in a sanctioned bout in April, when he outpointed Daniel Bocianski in a six-round bout. He met Rolly Lambert in an exhibition on the Floyd Mayweather-Deji card on Nov. 13.
Paddy Pimblett respects what Jake Paul has done in the ring but isn’t sold on his recent win over Anderson Silva.
Rising UFC star [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] respects what [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] has done but isn’t sold on his recent win over [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag].
Paul picked up his biggest win to date in October when he defeated former UFC middleweight champion Silva at Desert Diamond Arena in an eight-round boxing match. Not only did Paul beat Silva, he managed to knock him down in the final round.
Pimblett thinks Paul’s knockout over Tyron Woodley was legit but isn’t convinced that the YouTube star actually managed to drop Silva.
“Jake Paul is actually not that bad now, even though I think his fights are fixed,” Pimblett said on Pub Talk.
He continued, “I don’t think the Tyron Woodley knockout was fixed, because when you get knocked out like that and you land face first, if you’re not unconscious you’re going (puts arms out). You can’t help it. It’s a human reaction. But I’ve seen an angle of a punch where he hit Anderson Silva the other day when he sat down, and he didn’t even hit him.”
[lawrence-related id=2593767]
Paul caught wind of Pimblett’s words and took exception to the notion of Silva taking a dive. In response, he issued a challenge on Twitter.
Dear Paddy Pimblett, you claim my fights are rigged? Stop calling the GOAT Anderson Silva a criminal and come spar me.
Pimblett did credit Paul for his work ethic, which has led him to a 6-0 record and finishes over former MMA champs Ben Askren and Woodley.
“I give Jake Paul his due now. He’s training that much, he probably could beat some professional boxers,” Pimblett said. “He’s got unlimited funds, and he hasn’t got to do anything else. He hasn’t got to go and do a job. All he’s got to do is box, and he gets the best coaches in, he gets the best nutritionists in, and stuff like that.”
Joe Rogan has been known to listen to a conspiracy theory or two but isn’t buying it with regard to Jake Paul’s win over Anderson Silva.
[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] has been known to listen to a conspiracy theory or two during his day, but when it comes to anything involving the boxing match between [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] and [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag], the longtime UFC commentator isn’t buying it.
In the aftermath of Paul’s unanimous decision win over former UFC middleweight champion Silva this past Saturday, the underbelly of the internet has attempted to claim the fight wasn’t legit. Specifically, there’s been a dissecting of Paul’s final-round knockdown of Silva that sealed the result on the scorecards.
Rogan, who’s watched countless combat sports fights, said he saw nothing fishy about Paul vs. Silva.
“Some people are trying to say that fight was fixed because of the knockdown,” Rogan said on a recent edition of his “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “I just want to explain to people this is what happened. … Anderson moved forward to Jake Paul, and Jake Paul hit him with sort of a stepping jab and caught him right on the chin. And when he caught him on the chin, Anderson Silva was falling backwards and then he leans away from the right hand, and he goes down. He was down from the punch, but it looks like the right hand doesn’t connect, but the left hand is what’s f*cking him up.
“That dude hits f*cking hard, and for anybody to say he doesn’t hit hard because he’s a YouTube star — if this guy was not a f*cking YouTube star and he was some dude who went out there and flatlined Tyron Woodley with one punch and just knocked down Anderson Silva in the f*cking eighth round … come on, son. That is legit as f*ck. Anybody that says that’s not legitimate is crazy. He cracked him.”
[lawrence-related id=2593660,2593461,2593442]
While many people have tried to discredit Paul and his achievement, Rogan said he’s not one to hate on what the YouTuber-turned-boxer is attempting to do.
“Dude, he can fight,” Rogan said. “Is he the best in the world? No. But is he getting better with every fight? Yes. Is he a 25-year-old guy who’s a legit athlete? Yes. If this is what he wants to do, this guy is making a f*cking insane amount of money, and he f*cking loves it. He’s beating people that everybody says he shouldn’t be in the f*cking ring with.”
For complete coverage of the card, check out MMA Junkie’s event page for Paul vs. Silva.
Silva lost a unanimous decision to Paul in their boxing match this past Saturday at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz. “The Spider” turned it on in the later rounds, but a knockdown in the eighth sealed the fight for Paul.
Cormier lauded Paul for his performance but said Silva had all the ability to win the fight.
“I thought that Jake Paul showed a lot of heart,” Cormier said on his “DC & RC” ESPN show. “I thought Anderson Silva fought valiantly. You know what sucked? I felt like Anderson did what he is known to do, and it’s a bit of his M.O. If he was more active, he would have won, but he just wasn’t. There were a lot spots in the fight where lack of activity cost him.
“He gave away some rounds to Jake Paul early, because he just didn’t do enough. When he put his foot on the gas, you saw that he was the better fighter, Anderson Silva. But he just did not put the gas enough to win the fight, and then he got dropped in the last round.”
[lawrence-related id=2593442,2593325,2593028]
But Cormier also thinks Paul has grown exponentially since his back-to-back wins over former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley last year.
“You know what I think we learned in that fight about Jake Paul was that he can fight,” Cormier said. “If he would have fought Anderson last year, Anderson would have beaten him if Anderson fought the way that he did. But the kid’s improving. The one that beat (Tyron) Woodley would have lost to that Anderson Silva Saturday night.”
Jake Paul says he’s not expecting his fight with Anderson Silva to do huge numbers.
[autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] is not expecting his fight with [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] to do huge numbers.
Paul defeated the UFC legend by unanimous decision in their boxing match this past Saturday at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz., even scoring a knockdown in Round 8. Not only was it Paul’s most impressive win to date, it was an entertaining back-and-forth scrap.
But the YouTube star doesn’t think the pay-per-view numbers will accurately reflect that and explained why.
“The pre-buys were going crazy,” Paul said on a recent episode of IMPAULSIVE. “Up, up, up. And on Wednesday, when the news came out about Anderson saying that he got knocked out or whatever, and the fight was in jeopardy, and all this press came out, the pre-buys tanked all the way down. The general public sees that and is like, ‘Oh, it’s not happening.’ Tommy (Fury) pulled out, Hasim (Rahman Jr.) pulled out, ‘Oh, Jake f*cking Paul can’t get an event together. This is done.’ It killed ticket sales. Boom, boom, boom, we’re still selling tickets that day. Everything went to zero. …
“I think it will probably go around 200 to 300K, which is kind of upsetting.”
[lawrence-related id=2593325,2593123]
Details emerged during fight week that Silva was knocked out while sparring the week before the fight, which “The Spider” later clarified was lost in translation. Paul also said the timing of the fight wasn’t ideal, sharing the same weekend as Halloween and major sporting events.
“Halloween, World Series, Sunday football – this is the worst time in the year to fight,” Paul said. “But guess what: I had to fight. All my fights from now on will be in the summer. There’s no sports. There’s like this perfect gap in July, early August where there’s no sports. And by the way, all my other fights were during COVID when no one had anything to do and anything to watch. … I had to fight this year. I just had to get it f*cking done. I’m sick and tired of waiting around.”
The Arizona Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts Commission has released a list of medical suspensions following the Paul vs. Silva event.
Paul vs. Silva took place this past Saturday at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz., featuring 10 boxing bouts.
In the main event, YouTuber-turned-boxer [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] defeated former UFC champion, [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag], by winning a unanimous decision after a hard-fought eight rounds of action.
After the event, the Arizona Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts Commission issued medical suspensions to seven fighters. MMA Junkie acquired the list from the commissioning body Monday. The list included suspension duration without specifics.
One fighter received an “indefinite” suspension, while six others received durations of 30 days or longer.
Scroll below to see the medical suspensions handed out to each fighter. Fighters may return to competition sooner than the allotted suspension if they are cleared by a doctor.
Join us for this week’s live stream of “Spinning Back Clique” looking at the biggest news and topics in MMA focused around Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Danny Segura and Farah Hannoun will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:
[autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag]’s unanimous decision boxing win over former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag]: How are we feeling about this 36 hours later? Who’s ready to put some respect on Paul’s name?
With Paul now taking care of business against Silva, that clears the way for the matchup that’s been talked about for more than a year: Jake Paul vs. [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag]. Some early odds list Paul as a -260 favorite, with Diaz a +200 underdog. After what we saw from Paul over the weekend, does that make you feel any more or less excited about a fight with Diaz?
The great [autotag]Georges St-Pierre[/autotag] was on hand to call Paul vs. Silva and at the event told MMA Junkie that his UFC contract has expired, making him free to do whatever he wants. At 41, he sounded on the fence about a return to competition. But what’s a realistic matchup we could all buy into should he decide to want to fight?
In an interview with MMA Junkie, American Top Team coach Mike Brown said that a fight between Jorge Masvidal and either UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards or Conor McGregor would give us “one of the biggest pay-per-views of all time.” That might be true, but is either matchup realistic?
We’ve got ourselves an upcoming event to determine MMA promotion supremacy as Bellator and Rizin have come together for Rizin 40 on New Year’s Eve in Japan, which will feature five matchups pitting some of Bellator’s best against some of Rizin’s best. What do we think of this cross-promotional venture?
What about [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] climbing all the way to No. 1 in the official UFC bantamweight rankings after his (questionable) win over Petr Yan? Fair or foul?
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.
How should the combat sports world digest Jake Paul’s win over Anderson Silva? We share some post-fight thoughts.
[autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] moved to 6-0 in his boxing career on Saturday with a unanimous decision win over former UFC champion [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] in Glendale, Ariz.
How should the combat sports world digest the result? We dive in with some key takeaways from the contest.
Good, bad, worse: Saturday was a big night for Vasiliy Lomachenko, Jake Paul and William Zepeda.
A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
Lightweight contender Vasiliy Lomachenko seemed to acknowledge after outpointing Jamaine Ortiz on Saturday night in New York City that it wasn’t his best performance.
The question is, why?
Everyone was looking for signs of age from the 34-year-old. Was that it? Was it the 10-month layoff? Was it the emotional toll of the war in his native Ukraine? Was it Ortiz, who opened eyes with a surprisingly strong performance?
Maybe it was a combination of all of the above.
Lomachenko looked out of sorts early in the fight as he tried to adjust to the speed and tactics of his former sparring partner, which undoubtedly led some to think during those trying moments that he has begun to slip.
However, he found a groove by the middle rounds and took firm control of the fight, looking a lot like the boxing wizard of the past. Maybe the age thing wasn’t a big factor after all.
The layoff? A lot of fighters go long periods of time without fighting these days. It doesn’t help, though. And one must assume his thoughts have been with his people, not on boxing given the war, although Oleksandr Usyk was able to put that aside and perform well against Anthony Joshua.
And Ortiz deserves credit. He didn’t deliver the life-changing performance for which he was hoping but he made a strong statement. He could compete with anyone.
Bottom line: No, Lomachenko didn’t dazzle anyone. At the same time he cleared all the hurdles listed above – plus a natural size disadvantage in the lightweight division – to win a unanimous decision, 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113.
And, in addition to the victory, he realized another goal: His success set up a meeting with undisputed champion Devin Haney.
All in all, Lomachenko had a “good” night.
BAD
This item is filed under “bad” because Jake Paul baffles me.
Former MMA star Anderson Silva defeated genuine boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by a split decision in June of last year, which was surprising enough. Then, on Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona, Paul dropped and outpointed Silva in their eight-round fight.
Huh?
The only conclusion I can come up with: Paul (6-0, 4 KOs) can fight a little.
No, I’m not losing my mind. His skills remain rudimentary, which is expected for someone with only a handful of fights in his life. He clearly is learning, however. That’s a product of natural gifts and hard work.
Of course, Silva is 47 years old. He’s well preserved but certainly not what he used to be.
So how did he beat Chavez? That probably had a lot to do with Junior, who hasn’t always been properly dedicated to the sport. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he didn’t train a day for his meeting with Silva.
And no one should suggest that Paul will be able to take down an elite opponent. Remember, he has beaten a fellow YouTuber, a retired basketball player and former MMA stars. Thus, we can’t get carried away.
Paul called out MMA’s Nate Diaz and boxing star Canelo Alvarez after his victory. Diaz? Makes sense. Alvarez? Uh, no.
Let’s just give Paul some credit for his progress. He’s a good athlete with God-given punching power, which has helped him learn quickly. It makes me wonder what he might’ve accomplished had he started boxing earlier. And he’s obviously a tough guy. Otherwise he wouldn’t have the courage to step through the ropes.
Again, let’s keep this in perspective. Paul isn’t going to beat legitimate contender any time soon. That being said, he’s more than just a social media star and self-marketing whiz.
He wouldn’t be fooling himself or anyone else if he were to call himself a “fighter.”
WORSE
This item is filed under “worse” with Joseph Diaz Jr. in mind: The 2012 U.S. Olympian and former 130-pound titleholder didn’t know what hit him on Saturday night in San Diego.
William Zepeda (27-0, 23 KOs) overwhelmed Diaz (32-3-1, 15 KOs) from the opening bell with relentless, punishing pressure, never giving the loser a chance to get anything going in the one-sided lightweight fight.
In the process, Zepeda sent a message to the top 135-pounders: A new, legitimate threat is on the scene.
The Mexican’s motor was incredible. He threw a lightweight record 1,536 punches (connecting on 398), according to CompuBox. That’s a mind-boggling average of 128 punches thrown per round. Think about that.
And they weren’t pitty-pat shots; almost everything Zepeda throws is meant to hurt his opponents. The fact the naturally smaller Diaz was able to finish the fight on his feet is a testament to his resilience.
Can Zepeda beat the likes of Haney, Lomachenko, Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia? I have my doubts. Haney and Lomachenko are better boxers than Diaz. And Diaz was able to hurt Zepeda at least once, which might not bode well against punchers like Davis and Garcia.
I’ll ask this, though: Who’s going to want to tangle with him after his performance on Saturday? 128 punches per round. Seriously?
Diaz might be at a crossroads.
He’s 1-2-1 in his last four fights, including a draw with Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov, a victory over Javier Fortuna and back-to-back losses to Haney and now Zepeda. That looks bad but he’s only 29 and there’s no shame in those losses. Haney is a brilliant boxer and Zepeda is a force of nature.
Diaz isn’t finished.
RABBIT PUNCHES
The Haney-Lomachenko fight will probably happen next. Haney, a rising star, wants another big fight and Lomachenko’s name on his resume. And Lomachenko wants a chance to reclaim his position at the top of the division after losing to Teofimo Lopez in 2020. Can Lomachenko win? I believe him when he says he’ll be better prepared for Haney than he was for Ortiz but it would be a very difficult fight for him. Haney is one of the most skillful boxers in the world and 11 years younger than Lomachenko. Plus, did you see the size difference when they stood side by side in the ring after the fight Saturday? Lomachenko joked that Haney is a heavyweight, his way of pointing out one of his biggest disadvantages. I believe Lomachenko would have a shot. He will have shed any rust. And he has one obvious advantage over Haney: experience in big fights. I would be a fascinating matchup. … Undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor (22-0, 6 KOs) of Ireland was as impressive as ever Saturday in London, where she easily outpointed previously unbeaten, but limited Karen Elizabeth Carabajal (19-1, 2 KOs) of Argentina. Taylor is now 16-0 in world title fights. A more significant challenge could come next: Taylor will now pursue a rematch with Amanda Serrano, who lost a split decision to Taylor in April. Promoter Eddie Hearn wants to stage Taylor’s next fight in Dublin, where Taylor is an icon. She has never fought professionally in her home country. It’s about time.
Good, bad, worse: Saturday was a big night for Vasiliy Lomachenko, Jake Paul and William Zepeda.
A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
Lightweight contender Vasiliy Lomachenko seemed to acknowledge after outpointing Jamaine Ortiz on Saturday night in New York City that it wasn’t his best performance.
The question is, why?
Everyone was looking for signs of age from the 34-year-old. Was that it? Was it the 10-month layoff? Was it the emotional toll of the war in his native Ukraine? Was it Ortiz, who opened eyes with a surprisingly strong performance?
Maybe it was a combination of all of the above.
Lomachenko looked out of sorts early in the fight as he tried to adjust to the speed and tactics of his former sparring partner, which undoubtedly led some to think during those trying moments that he has begun to slip.
However, he found a groove by the middle rounds and took firm control of the fight, looking a lot like the boxing wizard of the past. Maybe the age thing wasn’t a big factor after all.
The layoff? A lot of fighters go long periods of time without fighting these days. It doesn’t help, though. And one must assume his thoughts have been with his people, not on boxing given the war, although Oleksandr Usyk was able to put that aside and perform well against Anthony Joshua.
And Ortiz deserves credit. He didn’t deliver the life-changing performance for which he was hoping but he made a strong statement. He could compete with anyone.
Bottom line: No, Lomachenko didn’t dazzle anyone. At the same time he cleared all the hurdles listed above – plus a natural size disadvantage in the lightweight division – to win a unanimous decision, 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113.
And, in addition to the victory, he realized another goal: His success set up a meeting with undisputed champion Devin Haney.
All in all, Lomachenko had a “good” night.
BAD
This item is filed under “bad” because Jake Paul baffles me.
Former MMA star Anderson Silva defeated genuine boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by a split decision in June of last year, which was surprising enough. Then, on Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona, Paul dropped and outpointed Silva in their eight-round fight.
Huh?
The only conclusion I can come up with: Paul (6-0, 4 KOs) can fight a little.
No, I’m not losing my mind. His skills remain rudimentary, which is expected for someone with only a handful of fights in his life. He clearly is learning, however. That’s a product of natural gifts and hard work.
Of course, Silva is 47 years old. He’s well preserved but certainly not what he used to be.
So how did he beat Chavez? That probably had a lot to do with Junior, who hasn’t always been properly dedicated to the sport. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he didn’t train a day for his meeting with Silva.
And no one should suggest that Paul will be able to take down an elite opponent. Remember, he has beaten a fellow YouTuber, a retired basketball player and former MMA stars. Thus, we can’t get carried away.
Paul called out MMA’s Nate Diaz and boxing star Canelo Alvarez after his victory. Diaz? Makes sense. Alvarez? Uh, no.
Let’s just give Paul some credit for his progress. He’s a good athlete with God-given punching power, which has helped him learn quickly. It makes me wonder what he might’ve accomplished had he started boxing earlier. And he’s obviously a tough guy. Otherwise he wouldn’t have the courage to step through the ropes.
Again, let’s keep this in perspective. Paul isn’t going to beat legitimate contender any time soon. That being said, he’s more than just a social media star and self-marketing whiz.
He wouldn’t be fooling himself or anyone else if he were to call himself a “fighter.”
WORSE
This item is filed under “worse” with Joseph Diaz Jr. in mind: The 2012 U.S. Olympian and former 130-pound titleholder didn’t know what hit him on Saturday night in San Diego.
William Zepeda (27-0, 23 KOs) overwhelmed Diaz (32-3-1, 15 KOs) from the opening bell with relentless, punishing pressure, never giving the loser a chance to get anything going in the one-sided lightweight fight.
In the process, Zepeda sent a message to the top 135-pounders: A new, legitimate threat is on the scene.
The Mexican’s motor was incredible. He threw a lightweight record 1,536 punches (connecting on 398), according to CompuBox. That’s a mind-boggling average of 128 punches thrown per round. Think about that.
And they weren’t pitty-pat shots; almost everything Zepeda throws is meant to hurt his opponents. The fact the naturally smaller Diaz was able to finish the fight on his feet is a testament to his resilience.
Can Zepeda beat the likes of Haney, Lomachenko, Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia? I have my doubts. Haney and Lomachenko are better boxers than Diaz. And Diaz was able to hurt Zepeda at least once, which might not bode well against punchers like Davis and Garcia.
I’ll ask this, though: Who’s going to want to tangle with him after his performance on Saturday? 128 punches per round. Seriously?
Diaz might be at a crossroads.
He’s 1-2-1 in his last four fights, including a draw with Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov, a victory over Javier Fortuna and back-to-back losses to Haney and now Zepeda. That looks bad but he’s only 29 and there’s no shame in those losses. Haney is a brilliant boxer and Zepeda is a force of nature.
Diaz isn’t finished.
RABBIT PUNCHES
The Haney-Lomachenko fight will probably happen next. Haney, a rising star, wants another big fight and Lomachenko’s name on his resume. And Lomachenko wants a chance to reclaim his position at the top of the division after losing to Teofimo Lopez in 2020. Can Lomachenko win? I believe him when he says he’ll be better prepared for Haney than he was for Ortiz but it would be a very difficult fight for him. Haney is one of the most skillful boxers in the world and 11 years younger than Lomachenko. Plus, did you see the size difference when they stood side by side in the ring after the fight Saturday? Lomachenko joked that Haney is a heavyweight, his way of pointing out one of his biggest disadvantages. I believe Lomachenko would have a shot. He will have shed any rust. And he has one obvious advantage over Haney: experience in big fights. I would be a fascinating matchup. … Undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor (22-0, 6 KOs) of Ireland was as impressive as ever Saturday in London, where she easily outpointed previously unbeaten, but limited Karen Elizabeth Carabajal (19-1, 2 KOs) of Argentina. Taylor is now 16-0 in world title fights. A more significant challenge could come next: Taylor will now pursue a rematch with Amanda Serrano, who lost a split decision to Taylor in April. Promoter Eddie Hearn wants to stage Taylor’s next fight in Dublin, where Taylor is an icon. She has never fought professionally in her home country. It’s about time.
