Jake Paul To Return Against Anderson Silva October 29th?

Social media influencer and novice cruiserweight Jake Paul and MMA legend Anderson Silva are working toward finalizing an official boxing match for Oct. 29 that would headline a Showtime PPV card in Phoenix, a source with knowledge of the discussions told Fight Freaks Unite and Big Fight Weekend on Tuesday.

Paul (5-0, 4 KOs), 25, of Cleveland, whose last fight was a ruthless sixth-round knockout of former MMA star Tyron Woodley in their December Showtime PPV rematch, canceled an Aug. 6 Showtime PPV event in New York a week beforehand after Hasim Rahman Jr.’s team told Paul’s team he would not come close to the already amended contract weight of 205 pounds.

Paul has hoped to fight a full-time boxer after having had his five fights against non-boxers. He has tried to face Tommy Fury, but he twice pulled out, and Rahman.

Silva (3-1, 2 KOs), 47, of Brazil, does have pro boxing experience, including an eight-round upset decision over former middleweight titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in June 2021 followed by a first-round knockout of fellow former UFC champion Tito Ortiz last September.

Back to the cancelled Rahman fight.

Rahman weighed 224 pounds when he suffered his first defeat by fifth-round knockout to James McKenzie Morrison, the son of the late former heavyweight star Tommy Morrison, on April 29 in
Las Vegas.

Because of the size difference, the Paul-Rahman deal called for a private weight check at 12 p.m. on the day of the fight at which they could not weight more than 214 pounds. Rahman promoter Greg Cohen told Big Fight Weekend that Rahman weighed 214 pounds on the Saturday before the bout was to have happened.

If it is Silva as the opponent, he also holds the distinction of having been a UFC champion with a longer reign than any other in history. He held their middleweight title for 2,457 days from 2006-13, making 16 successful defenses. Sliva also has weighed in the range of cruiserweight for boxing in his two bouts, and that makes the questions about large weight disparity a non-issue for the proposed Paul bout.