Jake Paul has sparred Tyson Fury 's former opponent Steve Cunningham ahead of his fight with Anderson Silva.
Paul, 25, looks for his sixth professional win against 47-year-old UFC legend Silva, who was one of the YouTuber-turned-boxer’s idols growing up. The fight will mark Paul’s first in over 10 months, as his bookings against Tommy Fury and Hasim Rahman Jr both collapsed. Paul has cycled through 50 sparring partners in the past year, one of which was heavyweight champion Fury’s former opponent Cunningham.
Fury knocked out Cunningham when they fought in 2013, but the former cruiserweight world champion didn’t make it easy as he dropped Fury with an overhand right early on in the fight. It marked just the second time Fury had been dropped in his professional career, but he weathered the storm and overwhelmed Cunningham in the later rounds before getting the stoppage win.
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Paul’s coach BJ Flores listed off some of the internet star’s sparring partners as he said: “We’ve had Richard VanSiclen who is 13-0. We’ve had Chad Dawson, who is a former world champion. We’ve had Steve Cunningham and a lot of good guys in camp boxing with Jake who are very good southpaws that have been around for a long time just to give Jake that look over and over again and make sure he’s comfortable when he gets in the ring.”
Flores also relied on the services of his former trainer Danny Smith for Paul's training camp, stating of the coach: "He’s one of the best trainers that I know, excellent on the mitts. Smart, intelligent guy who has been around boxing a long time. He’s somebody who taught me a lot about the game. He’s been very good for the strength and conditioning of Jake, making better athlete as far as getting him stronger and faster."
Paul thinks training with former world champion Chad Dawson has also raised his level, with the 40-year-old being brought in to replicate the style of Silva. Dawson, a 6’1” southpaw, won light-heavyweight titles against ring legend Bernard Hopkins a decade ago, but lost them in his first defence against Adonis Stevenson. Dawson hasn’t fought in over three years and finished his professional career with a record of 36-5.
“Chad Dawson raises my level of competition significantly,” Paul added. “He pushes me to the next level and he makes me have to fight at my best. That’s what’s needed. If I can be in there with Chad Dawson, then I can beat Anderson Silva. I’m super excited for October 29 to go out there and show my speed.”
