Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is excited for this weekend’s boxing showdown between UFC legend Anderson Silva and YouTube star turned professional boxer, Jake Paul.
‘The Problem Child’ is set to square off with ‘The Spider’ inside the squared circle on Saturday, October 29th on Showtime pay-per-view. Sitting down with TMZ Sports, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ shared his interest in the impending bout, believing it is a good matchup for Jake Paul and the perfect time to pull the trigger on the social media star stepping up the level of competition.
“I like the matchup. I really do like the matchup because I think this is the thing with boxing, this is how you build a guy and I think that’s something they’ve done really well with Jake Paul is picking good fights to really build the guy.”
Asked if he believes Anderson Silva is the toughest test yet for Jake Paul, Usman responded emphatically.
“Yeah, I think so. I think Anderson is the… Yeah, 100 percent. I mean, look at what Anderson has done. His stand-up… And that’s the one thing about Anderson is his boxing has always been really good and that’s something he’s always wanted to do, is just box. So yeah, I think this is by far his toughest challenge. I think it’s the right time for him. I think this is just strategic. I think these guys are smart here. What they’re doing and I think this is a good matchup. A good test for him.”
Jake Paul rode in on a horse with transformers behind him to his work out and press conference here in Glendale. He’ll go up against Anderson Silva on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/5Dnkr1Smzd
— Chierstin Susel (@ChierstinSusel) October 27, 2022
Kamaru Usman May Not Respect Jake Paul, But He Will Acknowledge His Talent
Speaking favorably towards Jake Paul in his interview, Kamaru Usman was asked if he has respect for ‘The Problem Child’. Usman stopped short of saying he respects Paul, but recognizes that he has talent inside the boxing ring and believes that Paul and his team are making the right moves in advancing his combat sports career.
“He is a YouTuber. Let’s not get that confused. That’s where that money come from. He is a YouTuber. Yeah, he’s making money now boxing of course, but he’s a YouTuber. But, yeah, he is talented. I’ve never said that he’s not talented. He is talented. I just don’t think he could do [anything] with me, but he is very very talented and I think they’re building him the right way and I think this is a good step for him. It’s a very difficult test, but it’s a winnable fight and so, I like it. I like it all around.”
As far as his prediction for the contest, Kamaru Usman couldn’t choose one way or another but believes both fighters have the chance to come out on top Saturday night.
“For me personally, I think it’s such a good fight on paper, but I think it’s winnable for both guys. I think Anderson has definitely more experience to where you could probably frustrate and kind of, you know, make this guy retreat because you have way more experience where you start to touch him and you get in his head. Of course, he looks up to you. You ‘Big Papi’ to him. He looks up to you. You basically tell him when to dance and when not to dance.”
