Jake Paul and Anderson Silva are set to compete in a boxing match on Saturday, Oct. 29, but now it looks like the match could potentially not happen as the Arizona Boxing and MMA Commission is set to hold a meeting to review Silva’s eligibility to fight.
The boxing commission will hold the emergency meeting on Thursday night to come to a conclusion about Saturday’s fight, which takes place in Glendale, Ariz.
The meeting comes after the 47-year-old Silva noted that he was previously knocked out twice during a training session. This comment, which he said on Sept. 13, sparked concern for his endurance.
The UFC legend spoke on Wednesday about his previous comments saying he was “joking.”
“Listen guys, let me tell you something very important,” Silva said, via MMA Fighting. “When I talk about the guys doing the hard sparring and [them getting] the knockout, it was just joking, because I’m training with the young kids and the guys asked me, and I don’t put nothing bad in my mind, and the guys say, ‘Oh, Anderson take knockout in training.’ Of course not. I just like to help and put my partners up, that’s the question.”
The Brazilian native also wanted to clarify some of his comments. He released a statement through Showtime.
“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,” Silva started. “Second, this sparring session I referenced was in early September. The interview with MMA Weekly was done on Sept. 13 and, for some reason, just released this week. So, it wasn’t recent.”
The commission will consider Silva’s explanation this week while determining if the boxing match vs. Paul will still be able to occur on Saturday.
