Jake Paul’s upcoming opponent, Anderson Silva, gave the Arizona commission cause for concern this week as an interview was released in which he said he had been knocked out twice in sparring.
In an interview with MMA Weekly, Silva said:
“I’m training with the good boxers, high-level, and five guys come to help me. And the last sparring with [my partner], he knocked me out two times, and when I finish my training, I talked to my coach and even said, ‘Coach, let me tell you something, why the guys knock me out two times?’ And the coach said, ‘You need to prepare for war, and you prepare for war.'”
The former MMA star has now clarified the situation in a statement via TMZ Sports, and it is believed the word knockdown was muddled in translation. Silva says that, contrary to what was first thought, his training camp has been great.
“After seeing the reports and concern for me, I’d like to clarify two important things. 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 action 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. More importantly, my training camp has been great. I am fit and ready to fight, and the only knockout people should be worried about is the one I’m about to deliver to Jake Paul on Saturday night.”
The concern stemmed from the Brazilian’s age (48) which means that there are more stringent rules on his preparation and fitness for a fight in the state. This apparently includes declaring his most recent knockouts.
Now, with that cleared up, Silva can look forward to facing Paul this Saturday and attempting to move his professional boxing record in the right direction. In the other corner, the YouTuber turned fighter has a sensational knockout on his mind – and he won’t be misspeaking either.