Paul Pays Respect To Silva: ‘MMA Strikers Are Also Great Boxers’

Anderson Silva reminded the combat sports world that he’s one of the best fighters of all time after defeating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a boxing match earlier this month (highlights HERE). Almost everyone who witnessed Silva out-box the former WBC champion was left impressed, including social media influencer Jake Paul.

Silva, 46, had won just one MMA fight since 2012 and was entering just his third professional boxing match. Still, the former UFC middleweight champion looked comfortable, mobile, precise, and willing to load up on some of his punches on the inside. It was quite spectacular, especially considering he was a sizeable underdog against Chavez Jr.

Earlier this week, Paul caught up with TMZ to discusses Silva’s performance and pay his respects.

“Anderson’s 46 years old, and I thought he did an incredible job,” said Paul. “He was sticking and moving, bouncing around the ring, having fun, was throwing combos. He’s long and lanky and to come in there and beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who’s what, 50? Wins in the ring, is a world champion … this just goes to show that MMA strikers are also great boxers, and I think a lot of people forget that. That is the first skill that MMA fighters learn if they’re going to learn how to fight, is boxing. So I thought he looked amazing.”

Paul, who is coming off a knockout win over former UFC fighter Ben Askren earlier this year, is scheduled to box former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley this August. The social media star reached out to Silva after his win over Chavez Jr. to recruit him to compete on his undercard against boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. While Silva has been long rumored to box Jones “Spider” also made it known that he’d be interested in mixing it up with the Paul brothers as well.

“Anything is possible,” Paul said. “I didn’t initially think of that, but my saying is ‘Anyone, any time, any place.’ But I think it’ll be more interesting to see Anderson Silva fight Roy Jones Jr. on my undercard, which is what I originally tweeted out there because he beat one legendary boxer, let’s see if he can beat another legendary boxer. Maybe there’s a fight for us down the road. I think there’s talks about him maybe fighting against my brother (Logan Paul). But Anderson’s a nice guy, and I respect him as a legend.”

It’s nice to know that Silva still has a place in combat sports after his storied UFC career came to a close. The pound-for-pound legend clearly has some boxing skills and is not afraid to mix it up with former champions or high-profile YouTube fighters. Let’s hope Silva gets paid well his next time around and is able to showcase the striking he did against Chavez Jr.