Jake Paul is just weeks away from making his return to the ring.
The 28-year-old from Cleveland, Ohio will face former WBC world middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in a cruiserweight contest at the Honda Center in Anaheim on June 28.
Paul’s last outing came against retired heavyweight legend Mike Tyson, who he defeated via underwhelming unanimous decision at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on November 15.
One man who has a unique take on Paul versus Chavez is MMA legend Anderson Silva, who has shared the ring with both fighters within the last four years.
Silva beat Chavez via split decision back in June 2021, but could not repeat this feat against Paul, who outpointed the Brazilian the following October scoring one knockdown on the way.
Speaking in the post fight press conference after his bout against Paul, Silva gave an honest assessment of the 28-year-old’s punching power when asked if he believes he was winning on the scorecards going into the final round. The UFC legend said the knockdown was from being off balance rather than Paul’s power.
“I failed in the strategy you know, and Jake could punch. My base is not correct, that’s what my coach said, but I don’t feel no knockout, I don’t feel power, but I’m not in good balance and that’s how I take the punch. Of course I have more experience and like doing this a lot.”
In a seperate interview with Fight Hub TV, Silva also summed up the power of Chavez Jr, saying, ‘wow,’ the 39-year-old Mexican is ‘strong.’
“Wow, it’s strong you know he’s a boxing guy, a traditional boxer, he comes from the traditional boxing family but I’m prepared for that.”
Paul has set his sights on securing a world title shot for himself in the near future, but must prevail against Chavez in impressive fashion if he is to move a step closer to achieving his career-long dream of capturing world honours.
