UFC veteran Matt Brown thinks Jake Paul is legit.
YouTuber Jake Paul still can’t get the recognition he deserves even with a hard-fought decision win over Anderson Silva who was formerly considered one of the best strikers in mixed martial arts.
Paul is 6-0 with standout victories over Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, and Anderson Silva, all of whom were former MMA champions. But therein lies the criticism: ‘The Problem Child’ has yet to face a fighter with any real depth of experience in the boxing ring.
That may be true, but UFC welterweight Matt Brown claims Paul is fighting ‘tougher guys than 99 percent of pro boxers’ would at this stage of his career, crediting the 25-year-old for stepping up against ‘world-class athletes’ after just four pro fights.
“Look the fact is if you look at the vast majority of pro boxers’ careers, I don’t want to pump up Jake Paul too much, but he’s fought tougher guys than 99 percent of pro boxers in their first [six] fights – regardless [of] whether these guys are real boxers or not,” Brown told MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin in a recent interview.
“Most guys’ first four pro fights outside of the [Vasyl] Lomachenko’s of the world and guys like that, they’re not fighting world-class athletes. Tyron Woodley, [Nate Robinson], even Ben Askren, Anderson Silva, these guys are world-class athletes. You can’t take that away from Jake Paul.”
“You’ve got to give credit where credit’s due,” Brown, who holds the record for the most knockouts in UFC welterweight history, added. “You’ve got to show the respect where he’s earned. Where he has earned is most guys that have a lack of experience like Jake Paul does, they don’t perform under the lights like that. They break down. Some of the games Anderson was playing — I mean, you’re going against freaking Anderson Silva in your [sixth] pro boxing match with millions of eyes on you. That’s to be respected.
“I don’t know if Anderson was at his best, but Jake f****** beat him. You’ve got to give that credit to him.”
Ohio’s Paul will look to add another former UFC fighter and MMA fan favorite to his resume when he takes on Nate Diaz in a proposed boxing match next year. Diaz got into a backstage brawl with Paul’s entourage this past Saturday in Arizona and alleged that his fight with Silva was fixed.