According to an initial report from MMA Fighting this Thursday evening, the Arizona state boxing commission are set to hold a special emergency meeting tonight ahead of this weekend’s professional boxing match in Arizona between Jake Paul and Anderson Silva, after the former UFC middleweight champion claimed he had suffered two knockouts in training ahead of the fight.
Yesterday, the ‘Copper State’ clash was cast into jeopardy after Silva had told back in mid-September during an interview that he a sparring partner of his had “knocked me [him] out two times.” during training ahead of his fight with Paul.
Anderson Silva walks back claims he suffered two KOs back in September while training
Following the comments and amid rise of speculation of Silva’s condition ahead of the professional fight, the 47-year-old walked back the severity of the apparent knockouts, insisting that he had mispoken.
“Listen guys, let me tell you something very important,” Anderson Silva said. “When I talk about the guys doing the hard sparring and [them getting[ the knockout, it was just joking. Because I’m training with the young kids and you guys asked me, and I don’t put nothing bad in my mind, and you guys say, ‘Oh, Anderson take knockout in training.’ Of course not. I just like to help and put my partners up, that’s the question.”
In a statement issued to Showtime – who are set to broadcast the fight, Silva insisted once again that he was “NEVER” knocked out in training ahead of the fight.
“After seeing the reports and concern for me, I’d like to clarify two important things,” Anderson Silva said via a statement. “One, I was NEVER knocked out in sparring. I misspoke in that interview as I sometimes do when interviewing in English and exaggerated the normal back-and-forth that occurs in sparring.”
“Second, this sparring session I referenced was in early September. The interview with MMA Weekly was done on Sept. 13 and, for some reason, just released this week. So, it wasn’t recent.”
Silva’s head coach, Luiz Carlos Dorea also denied that Silva had suffered a knockout in training ahead of the fight, with MMA Fighting reporter, Steven Morrocco confirming how the Arizona state boxing commission will hold a special meeting to review “additional documentation submitted by Mr. Anderson Silva to determine his eligibility to compete in an upcoming bout on October 29, 2022.” on Thursday night.