Sylve suffered an utterly devastating knockout loss at “Fear No Man” last night (Sat., July 20, 2024) after dominating almost every minute of his fight. Here’s how he reacted to the sudden change in fortune.
Jake Paul walked away from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., last night (Sat., July 20, 2024) with a big win over “Platinum” Mike Perry (watch highlights); however, one of his Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) prospects didn’t fare as well.
Paul has been pushing Ashton “H2O” Sylve hard for the last two years, booking the slick 20-year-old on MVP undercards for his last five fights. Sylve won the first four, then was on his way to winning the fifth against Lucas Bahdi … then things went horribly wrong in the sixth round.
Bahdi was getting picked apart the entire fight with Sylve, but he stayed in there and kept mixing things up. That payed off when he landed a big right that clearly hurt “H2O.” Bahdi didn’t let up and hit Sylve with a combination that put his opponent face first to the canvas in a “Knockout of the Year” candidate.
DOWN GOES H2O #PaulPerry | July 20 | Live on DAZN: Click link in bio to buy pic.twitter.com/kygv18zNaK
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) July 21, 2024
It was a stunning result for Sylve and his team, but the 20-year-old took the first loss of his 12-fight career with grace.
“God’s plan,” Sylve wrote on an Instagram Story shortly after the loss. “Everything happens for a reason. Have to take your losses like you take your wins.”
He then shared several supportive stories from family and friends.
“Buddy was putting on a boxing clinic,” comedian Minikon said in one. “I’m always impressed with your skills, Ashton.”
During the “Fear No Man” post-fight press conference (watch it here), Paul also shared his support for Sylve.
“He could just look at what I did and just come back stronger,” he said. “Double down. That’s a lesson for everyone out there: what do you do when you take losses in life? You double down. You go back to the drawing board and you keep going. You only lose when you quit. That’s a Mike Tyson quote.”
Boxing isn’t as forgiving of bad losses as mixed martial arts (MMA) is, so we’ll have to see how Sylve recovers from this loss. If Paul sticks by him and keeps pushing him like he has with other fighters on his roster, he could bounce back.
But, it’ll be hard to erase the memory of him getting flatlined in Tampa.
For more results and highlights from the “Fear No Man” PPV card click HERE.