"He keeps going on and on and on about Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley," Fury said at, mocking Paul's opposition."Tyron Woodley was 40 years old. Anderson Silva was nearly 50, not too far from my dad's age, and he went the full distance.
The former Disney actor kicked his boxing career off with a win over YouTuber AnEsonGib, who had no experience in boxing. He followed that up by stopping former NBA player Nate Robinson. It was pretty much celebrity boxing. And in his most recent showing this past October, Paul defeated beloved MMA legend Silva in a unanimous decision. Silva, arguably the greatest middleweight champion in UFC history, had left the Las Vegas-based promotion in late 2020 on a worrisome career slump.
It's worth nothing"padding a record" or having many"tune-up fights" early on is a common practice for up-and-coming boxers. Young boxers, such as the 23-year-old Fury, more often than not fight against much lower competition as they rise through the ranks and gain experience. "You look at the likes of Floyd Mayweather - his ninth fight, not his seventh - his ninth fight was against a 1-3 boxer," Nakisa Bidarian, Paul's business partner and manager, pointed out at the press conference when Paul's record was questioned."Gervonta Davis, one of the most talked-about current boxers in the world, eighth fight was against a guy who was making his debut, never fought again and was 1-2 as an MMA fighter.
Legit or not, Paul does bring a factor that's only seen in high-level fighting: the pressure of a big fight. Paul is far from being the most skilled fighter of this combat sports weekend, but carries the highest buzz. Fury will be put under the spotlight like never before.