Tony Bellew Wants To Play Matchmaker For Jake Paul: “I’ll Tell You Someone He Could Face, Anderson Silva”

By: Hans Themistode

With another win, Jake Paul is more convinced than ever that he deserves the respect of the boxing world.

The social media star turned professional boxer started the second year of her hard work with a first-round knockout victory over former MMA star Ben Askren. From there, Paul would follow up with that win with a back-to-back win over former longtime UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, which resulted in Paul winning multiple accolades for creating a roll-level knockout. Highlights.

However, despite the superlative words used to describe his recent performance, former cruiser world champion Tony Bellew was unwilling to acknowledge Paul.

Bellew said on DAZN Boxing: “At the end of the day, he went there with an MMA fighter that he beat. “Tyron Woodley is not a boxer.”

Although Woodley has scored countless devastating knockouts, the former UFC star is a newcomer to the boxing ring. After building his name and potentially the Hall of Fame game through his wrestling prowess, Woodley was dropped from his element in a match against Paul.

Due to his lack of experience in the ring, Bellew refused to acknowledge Paul as a boxer. If the social media influencer ultimately wants to get Bellew’s approval, he suggests Paul should face someone with much better skill.

“I’ll tell you someone he can face, Anderson Silva,” Bellew continued. “Anderson Silva is an MMA guy so he is not a traditional fighter but I would assume he is a boxer because Anderson Silva beat a boxer. And, he didn’t just beat any boxer, he beat a former world champion in Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. ”

As Bellew mentioned, Silva has spent over a decade forging a unique career in the world of MMA. But, before Silva earned a reputation as one of the greatest mixed martial artists ever, the Brazilian-born lad was an all-around boxer.

In 1998, Silva lost his professional debut against Osmar Luiz Teixeira. Seven years later, Silva will return to the ring to score the winning goal against Julio Cesar De Jesus. Though Silva would spend over a decade and a half focusing exclusively on MMA, as that chapter of his career closes, he’s back in the boxing ring.

In June 2021, Silva secured a decisive victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Considering Silva’s overall boxing ability and his in-depth background in the sport, Bellew would be willing to give in to Paul’s boxing acumen should he beat Silva. Until then, anyone who believed that Paul was in fact a boxer, was wrong in Bellew’s eyes.

“Face someone like him and then we can hear you say you’re a boxer. Until you face a boxer, you cannot say you are a boxer.”