Google News Jake Paul addresses the allegations that the match against Anderson Silva was fixed
by FARUK IMAMOVIC | VIEW 557
Whenever Jake Paul arranges a match against an MMA fighter, the initial expectation is that he will be exposed and have no chance against fighters who are much more experienced than him. Ben Askren was probably given much less chance than Tyrone Woodley and Anderson Silva, whom many MMA fans were convinced that the YouTuber with several years of training behind him could not beat.
Jake Paul has won every time, and after each victory there are accusations that these are match-fixes in which MMA fighters at the end of their careers perform only to collect as high a fee as possible before retiring from the sport.
Jake Paul, guest on the MMA Hour, responded to such accusations. “I think smart people with intelligence are giving me props and respect,” Paul explained (transcript via MMA Fighting). “Like the WBC President [Mauricio Sulaimán] saying that anyone who says Jake is not a real boxer is just bitter and is a hater.
People like Teddy Atlas showing me mad respect, a lot of fighters showing me mad respect, a lot of MMA guys texting me saying, ‘You look really sharp, that was the best you’ve fought,’ Ryan Garcia showing me respect.
So the smart people who I care about are showing that love. There are the people who will always be there in my career who are discrediting it. Now, they’re saying it was rigged. It went from, ‘Jake’s going to get knocked out by Anderson,’ to, ‘Oh, that was rigged.’ ...
“I lose faith in my generation and my peers, and us as a society and a world when I see that type of stuff and that type of stupidity. It just sucks. It sucks because I worked so hard for this. I dedicate everything, sacrifice everything, every single day, bust my balls, 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.
But I know deep down, and I guess that’s all that really matters”. It's somewhat ironic that Jake Paul points out the disillusionment with the newer generations when he and his brother are some of the leaders of the new trends that define today's society and toxic behavior on social media.
Jake deserves respect for what he does in the ring
“I feel like, definitely, [not facing a] professional boxer is the No. 1 criticism,” Paul said of his doubters. “But again, anyone that is smart knows that Anderson Silva is a real professional boxer, and just beat a former world champion.
So I don’t know. I haven’t really been on social media, seeing if people are still criticizing because of that—I’ve seen the ‘rigged’ thing—but at this point, I’m just going to do whatever the f-ck I want, and fight whoever is willing and ready to show up”. , said Jake.