Arizona State Boxing Commission calls for an emergency meeting after Anderson Silva ‘jokes’ about suffering KO in sparring ahead of the Jake Paul fight

The Arizona State Boxing Commission recently scheduled a meeting to determine Anderson Silva's eligibility to compete in his upcoming match against Jake Paul.

'The Spider' is scheduled to take on YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in an eight-round professional boxing match on October 29 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Arizona. Silva is a former UFC middleweight champ and is regarded as one of the best fighters in MMA's history.

Ahead of his fight against 'The Problem Child', the Brazilian admitted in an interview back in September that he had been knocked out twice during his sparring sessions. However, the former UFC champ later clarified that he was trying to appreciate his sparring partner and was just "joking" about being knocked out:

“Listen guys, let me tell you something very important. When I talk about the guys doing the hard sparring and [them getting] the knockout, it was just joking because I’m training with the young kids and the guys asked me, and I don’t put nothing bad in my mind, and the guys say, ‘Oh, Anderson take knockout in training.’ Of course not. I just like to help and put my partners up, that’s the question.”

Anderson Silva's initial remarks about his KO raised concerns for his safety due to his advanced age. Consequently, the Arizona Boxing & Mixed Martial Arts Commission issued a statement specifying that it has organized a special meeting to "review additional documentation." This will also determine the Brazilian's eligibilty to participate in his upcoming bout against Jake Paul.

---

Josh Thomson and John McCarthy weigh in on highly anticipated Anderson Silva vs. Jake Paul fight

On a recent edition of their Weighing In podcast, hosts Josh Thomson and John McCarthy chimed in with their viewpoints on the upcoming boxing match between Anderson Silva and Jake Paul.

Putting forth his thoughts, former UFC referee John McCarthy is of the view that 'The Spider' will have the added advantage of "great footwork" over Paul.

Giving his take, McCarthy said:

“Not that Jake Paul has not boxed against some boxers in sparring and things like that. Of course he has, but he’d never done it in the ring under the lights. He never had that person that was difficult as far as they had great footwork, they had great angles as they create. This will be the first guy [Silva] that does it.”

However, Josh Thomson seems to differ from his co-host over Silva having an advantage over his opponent. Pointing towards the Brazilian's age, 'The Punk' said:

“Jake Paul's got his work cut out for him.. Jake's only got to hit him [Silva] once right on that chin… Youth is going to play a huge factor on who gets knocked out. Anderson Silva’s chin [is] at 47-48 years old. It doesn’t matter who you are, that chin is not the same.”

You can check out the most recent edition of the Weighin In podcast below: