PHOENIX — Anderson Silva has been cleared to compete in a boxing match Saturday against Jake Paul soon after his comments from an interview almost upended the bout.
The Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission agreed to let Silva fight for the duration of a unique meeting Thursday evening, soon after requiring the MMA legend to take additional healthcare exams a day earlier.
Commission chairman Scott Fletcher stated at the meeting that he attended the Paul-Silva news conference Thursday and came away impressed by how Silva was capable to articulate himself whilst answering inquiries. Fletcher stated that Silva submitted a “pristine” MRI and he was “totally comfy” with letting the former longtime UFC middleweight champion fight.
Dr. Ara Feinstein, a commissioner who is also a surgeon and a ringside doctor, stated he reviewed Silva’s neurological report and MRI and saw no problems with them.
“When I appear at all of these items with each other, I do not have any a lot more issues with Mr. Silva fighting Saturday than I would have any other fighter,” Feinstein stated.
Silva, 47, told MMA Weekly in an interview that was recorded final month and aired earlier this week that he was knocked out twice for the duration of his instruction camp, raising regulatory red flags. Silva’s group sent out a statement this week stating that Silva’s native language is not English — he is from Brazil and his 1st language is Portuguese — and Silva misspoke.
On Wednesday, Silva told ESPN that he was just joking in the interview and the commission created him do a lot more healthcare testing soon after commissioners saw the remarks.
“When I’m speaking about the knockout, it is just to assist the [teammates] who assist me, to [lift] them up,” Silva stated. “I was just joking. It’s crazy, but it is fine.”
Paul stated soon after the news conference Thursday that he had “no concern” at all about how the meeting would go and was confident he’d be fighting Silva on Saturday.
