Undefeated YouTube-boxer Jake Paul has laid the blame on MMA GOAT Anderson Silva for the potentially “upsetting” sales from their October 29 PPV bout.
On October 29, internet superstar Jake Paul touched gloves with combat sports legend Anderson Silva in the boxing ring — and the results of their fight left jaws dropped all over the arena.
In a shocking turn of events, Paul won their bout by unanimous decision, even knocking down his famed opponent in the eighth and final round.
Their fight marked the fourth time a major influencer faced off against a huge combat sports figure, following Logan Paul’s match against Floyd Mayweather in 2021 and Jake’s two bouts against Tyron Woodley, but ‘The Problem Child’ says the sales from the Silva match likely won’t be as big as his previous fights.
Punches are flying in Phoenix 🥊 @SpiderAnderson @jakepaul | #PaulSilva pic.twitter.com/ubmBKkQJqj
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) October 30, 2022
The Problem Child spoke out on the projected sales from his PPV during an episode of the IMPAULSIVE podcast, calling them “upsetting.”
That’s not all; he also blamed the low numbers on his opponent reportedly getting knocked out twice during a sparring session just ahead of their match on Saturday. He says this sparked fears from fans that their bout would be just another canceled event for the youngest Paul brother, who’d had a disappointing year for boxing until now.
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“Do you know how many pay-per-view buys it got yet?” Logan asked.
“I think it’ll probably go around 2-300,000,” Jake answered. “Which is kind of upsetting. …the pre-buys were going crazy. Up, up, up. And on Wednesday, when the news came out about Anderson saying he got knocked out or whatever, and the fight was in jeopardy and all this press came out, the pre-buys tanked.”
“The general public sees that, and it’s like, oh, it’s not happening,” he continued. “Tommy pulled out. Hasim pulled out. ‘Oh, Jake f*cking Paul can’t get an event together. It’s done.’ It killed it.”
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While Paul made sure to reference the other failed fights he’s had in 2022 as probable reasons for low PPV sales, it seems like he just couldn’t escape a fumble for his biggest test yet — although fans are already on the lookout for his possible fight with KSI next year.
