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GLENDALE, Arizona – The Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission upheld its decision during a special meeting Thursday night to license Anderson Silva for his pay-per-view showdown with Jake Paul.
The Arizona commission approved Silva’s license application last month for their fight Saturday night. The commission raised concerns regarding the 47-year-old Silva opposing Paul on Wednesday, however, after Silva stated during an interview with MMA Weekly that he was knocked out twice while sparring for what will be the mixed martial arts legend’s fifth professional boxing match.
The alarming interview was conducted September 13, but it wasn’t posted to MMA Weekly’s website until Wednesday. The Brazilian-born Silva clarified in a statement released Wednesday night that he “misspoke” and he wasn’t actually knocked out in sparring sessions that took place earlier in his training camp.
Silva passed another MRI administered Wednesday and previously passed a battery of medical exams that established him as fit for licensure. The former UFC middleweight champion went 1-7 (1 NC) in his final eight MMA matches, but he is 3-1 (2 KOs) as a boxer, including an eight-round, split-decision upset of a younger, heavier Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in June 2021.
Silva was listed by most sportsbooks Thursday night as less than a 2-1 underdog against the 25-year-old Paul (5-0, 4 KOs) in an eight-round cruiserweight contest that will headline Showtime Pay-Per-View’s five-fight show from Desert Diamond Arena (9 p.m. ET; $59.99).
“All the requirements that we set forth for Mr. Silva, you know, he happily complied with our requests and gave us proper documentation for everything,” Danny Vella, the executive director for the Arizona commission, said during the meeting. “And I am comfortable with his ability to perform. My recommendation is that he is eligible to compete.”
Paul expressed after their press conference Thursday at Desert Diamond Arena that he had “no concern at all” that Silva wouldn’t be cleared to fight. Others involved in the event understood the commission’s 11th-hour examination to ensure Silva’s safety.
“Fighter safety is paramount to us as a network and hopefully to everybody who’s a principal in this sport,” Stephen Espinoza, Showtime’s president of sports and event programming, told BoxingScene.com. “The commission has a job to do and we respect their responsibilities. We certainly didn’t begrudge them their request for additional information. They had heard some things in the interview, which gave them concerns. They asked for additional medical information and exams.
“Thankfully, those came out clean and everyone has concluded, both the medical experts and the commission, that it’s fine to move forward with the fight. So, we’re happy that the process worked in all senses. They had a concern, we addressed it, medical experts weighed in and the fight is on.”
Silva somewhat flippantly mentioned during the aforementioned interview with MMA Weekly that he was knocked out twice during sparring.
“The last sparring with Eliezer [Silva], he’s my partner, he’s knocked me out two times,” Silva said. “And when I finished the training, I talked to my coach and said, ‘Coach, let me tell you something. Why the guy’s knocked me out two times?’ And the coach say, ‘You need to prepare for war.’ ”
Once Silva became aware of the controversy his comments caused, he issued a statement Wednesday night.
“After seeing the reports and concern for me, I’d like to clarify two important things,” Silva said. “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 September 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.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.