Jake Paul will have an opportunity that many fighters would like to have, or not- to come face-to-face with Anderson Silva.
The 25-year-old American YouTuber, who a few years ago decided to venture into professional boxing and has done so successfully so far, faces the former UFC Middleweight Champion next Saturday, 29th October, and wants to beat the legendary figure to become one of them, revealing the way he has evolved for the toughest challenge of his career yet.
“It’s always good to face a big challenge because it drives you to be perfect,” Paul spoke to the media on Friday, “There’s no room for lack of motivation or down time or complaining or anything like that. I know that in the history books myself This is a great opportunity to mold it. To be a legend you have to beat a legend and I have got the opportunity to do that here.”
It’s been a constant evolution: Jake Paul
While Jake Paul has less than three years as a professional fighter, having won all five of his fights so far, which includes former UFC fighters, Anderson Silva has a career spanning more than 24 years in MMA and 45 fights in mixed martial arts. The American remembers that Spider was always his idol and that’s why he only has respect before the fight between them.
“It’s interesting to have respect for my opponent, where all the others we were talking trash to each other. But it’s super cool. He was my idol growing up and it’s a nice change of pace. I have nothing but love for him, but I’m going to reciprocate him respectfully,” he added.
In 2020, his first year in the ring, Paul defeated fellow YouTuber Ali Loui Al-Fakhri aka AnEsonGib and former basketball player Nate Robinson, both by knockout. Last year, he knocked out Ben Askren and beat Tyron Woodley twice, once by KO. Paul guarantees that he is evolving and will be a new fighter when he faces Silva.
“It’s about getting those 10,000 reps in to become a master,” the 25-year-old went on, “And so the technique is continuing to improve. Bringing my hips and my legs into the punches more and more. Even just growing my stamina to throw more punches. It’s been a constant evolution, and my power has increased dramatically, which is scary for Anderson.”
“So many things are clicking with it being my third year of being a professional boxer. I’ve improved drastically and exponentially. People are going to see a different fighter in the ring. I think people are going to be shocked. It’s been amazing, and we’ve really caught a stride and a rhythm with the training camp this year,” added Paul. [H/T The Sun]
