Jake Paul’s boxing match with Anderson Silva will go ahead on Saturday night after the Arizona Boxing Commission gave it the greenlight, and meanwhile Paul has served up an unusual but very interesting side bet with his opponent.
“I have a bet for you Anderson – it’s a good one,” Paul said at the pre-fight press conference. “If you win, I’ll give you something you probably want.”
“No tattoos. No tattoos!” Silva exclaimed.
“If you win, I will fight you in an MMA fight,” Paul continued.
“Woah, you so smart because you know I don’t fight MMA anymore,” Silva replied. “You so smart.”
“OK, kickboxing. I got you,” Paul stated.
“Kickboxing?” Silva said. “All right, kickboxing.”
“But if I win, me and you come together to create a united fighters’ association to help UFC fighters get better pay and better healthcare. You become the interim president and we unite to help these fighters once and for all,” Paul suggested.
“Deal,” Silva responded without hesitation. “Deal. Deal,” he said again as he got up and walked over to Paul to shake on the agreement.
There had been concerns that this first fight between the two might not go ahead after Silva claimed in a pre-fight interview released this week that he’d been KO’d twice in his last training session.
However, Silva has since walked back that statement, stating he’d just misspoke due to English not being his first language and that he was only joking, while also pointing out that the interview had actually taken place back in September.
The ABC met to discuss the issue last night and ruled that the fight could continue, with commission chairman Scott Fletcher noting that Silva’s pre-fight MRI was “pristine.”
