Worlds collide

Jake Paul’s short-lived time as the favorite in his upcoming boxing match against Anderson Silva is over.

his biggest challenge yet

Paul, a YouTuber and entertainer with over 45 million social media followers, will be taking on a former UFC champion as he continues to ascend the ranks in the ring. With wins over YouTuber Deji, retired NBA star Nate Robinson, and mixed martial artists Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley, the charismatic American will be in for his biggest challenge yet.

As first reported by No Smoke Boxing, the Paul-Silva fight will take place on October 29. The rest of the card and venue are still being determined.

Jake Paul gets his toughest fight

Although Paul has publicly beefed with combatants such as Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, it was Silva who made the first move in their feud. 

Silva, 47, called out Paul after swiftly knocking out Tito Ortiz in the ring during a September 2021 fight. Paul is seen as a hot commodity by many fighters who are looking to earn the biggest paycheck of their career, and also put an end to his extravagant run.

Despite the 20-plus-year age difference, Silva will likely be Paul’s greatest challenge yet. The Brazilian stand-up master went 34-11 in the UFC and is 3-1 with two knockouts in the ring.

He has been criticized, though, for dueling non-boxers and older opponents.

Paul has kept hold of a pristine 5-0 record while scaling up the difficulty of his opponent in every challenge. He has been criticized, though, for dueling non-boxers and older opponents.

Paul opened as a -180 favorite while Silva was a +150 underdog, according to odds from BetOnline. The roles quickly flipped, however, and Silva has settled as a -160 favorite while Paul is +130.

Paul will likely hunt a knockout as he did in his devastating rematch victory against Woodley.

Silva has also lost the pep in his step as he has aged, making him a more stationary target. He, too, will be looking for the one-hitter-quitter. 

What’s to come

Jake Paul’s rise through the ranks has been unprecedented. After first gaining notoriety on the since-shelved social media platform Vine, he has delved into multiple ventures within professional sports, including creating his own promotion company, Most Valuable Promotions, and the recent launch of micro-betting-focused platform Betr.

Betr was the hot topic leading up to the announcement of the fight, as Paul recruited stars such as Travis Scott, Ezekiel Elliott, and Richard Sherman to invest over $50m in the company. He and industry expert Joe Levy created the platform to provide quicker betting opportunities within games.

rumors have already begun to swirl that Paul could appear on a January card

Rumors have already begun to swirl that Paul could appear on a January card featuring British entertainment sensation KSI (real name Olajide Olatunji), with whom he has a longstanding beef. KSI recently took on two opponents on the same night as part of a DAZN event and is looking to fight again soon.

However, the Brit called out Andrew Tate and Tommy Fury, among others, in a long-winded rant after his second victory, omitting Paul from the list. He has consistently promised to take on the American but seems to want more time to kick off ring rust.

Neither Paul nor Silva have fought in 2022. Their upcoming fight will take place on the same day as the WBA World Title Final Eliminator match between Brit Hughie Fury and American Michael Hunter.