Tyron Woodley gives his take on Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva.
Tyron Woodley knows firsthand how dangerous an opponent Jake Paul is, having been defeated twice by ‘The Problem Child’ in 2021.
Woodley, the former UFC welterweight champion, rates Anderson Silva as ‘one of the best boxers in MMA’ but warned that YouTube sensation Paul is ‘training his ass off’ ahead of their Oct. 29 boxing match.
‘T-Wood’ lost a split decision to Paul in their first matchup and was knocked out by the latter in the rematch, suffering arguably the worst knockout defeat of his combat sports career after being flattened with a right hook in the sixth round.
Woodley understands Silva has more experience than him in boxing, having recently defeated former WBC middleweight titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but warned that Paul’s knockout power is not to be underestimated even against a boxer of ‘The Spider’s’ caliber.
“He’s training his ass off. He’s got KO power and he’s learned to throw that particular punch that he’s got timing on,” Woodley said of Paul in a recent interview with MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin before switching his attention to former UFC middleweight kingpin and future Hall of Famer Silva.
“Anderson Silva’s a good boxer. I would say he’s one of the best boxers in MMA. I feel like I’ve got a bias to say Jorge Masvidal is the best boxer that we’ve ever seen in MMA, based upon the fact that he pieced up KJ Noons in the worst way and KJ was supposed to be the best boxer and striker at the time. Every time he got his chance against Nate Diaz or anybody that was just striking, Yves Edwards, I was in the corner for that.
“Anderson Silva is up there with a few other guys for just pure boxing.”
Paul vs. Silva is scheduled to take place later this month, Oct. 29, at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.