Jake Paul did it again. The content creator-turned-boxer boomed another former UFC champion in the boxing ring. This time, it was 47-year-old Anderson Silva, who is no slouch with his hands. And while he didn’t knock Silva out, Paul did knock Silva down in the final round, which gave him the edge in what proved to be a competitive and entertaining fight and one that showcased his skills as a boxer.
Paul may have passed his toughest test, but that didn’t stop haters from coming after him. Some said the win didn’t mean much since he beat another fighter past their prime. Others went a step further and claimed the whole thing was rigged.
Paul vehemently denies those claims. He brushed it off as people trying to discredit him and his success.
“There are the people who will always be there in my career who are discrediting it,” he said during an episode of The MMA Hour. “It went from ‘Jake’s going to get knocked out by Anderson,’ to, ‘That was rigged!’”
Jake said it’s the kind of stupidity he keeps seeing online that makes him lose faith in his generation, his peers, and society at large—even more so because they’re trying to undermine all the hard work he’s done.
“It sucks because I worked so hard for this,” Paul said. “I dedicate everything. I sacrifice everything every single day. I bust my balls. I have a 15-person team working around the clock to help me become the best boxer possible. And when I do something like beating Anderson Silva, they try to take it away from me.”
On the bright side, the haters and doubters have helped Jake realize something important— the only opinion about him and his boxing career that really matters is his own.
“I know deep down [how hard I’ve worked to make this possible], and I guess that’s all that really matters,” he said.
