Jake Paul names alternative opponent for Anderson Silva after rejecting fight

Jake Paul wants Anderson Silva to fight Roy Jones Jr on the undercard of his upcoming bout with Tyron Woodley.

The YouTube star rejected the possibility of fighting Silva after the UFC legend's successful boxing return against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr on Saturday night, beating the ex-world champion by split decision in Mexico.

But he is keen to pair the Brazilian with Jones who returned to the ring against Mike Tyson last year.

"Anderson is 46-years-old and I thought he did an incredible job," Paul told TMZ Sports. "He was sticking, moving, bouncing around the ring having fun, throwing combos.

"He's long and lanky and to come in there and beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr with over 50 wins in the ring, is a world champion, it just goes to show that MMA strikers are great boxers.

"People forget that this is the first skill that MMA fighters learn if they want to fight, it's boxing and I thought he looked amazing."

And while Paul is not champing at the bit to fight Silva, he didn't completely rule out the possibility later in his career.

"Look, anything is possible," Paul said when asked if he would fight Silva. "I didn't initially think of that but my saying is anyone, anytime, any place.

"But I think it would be more interesting to see Anderson Silva fight Roy Jones Jr on my undercard which is what I originally tweeted out there.

"He beat one legendary boxer, let's see if he can beat another legendary boxer.

"Maybe there's a fight for us down the road, I know there's been talks that he could fight my brother, but Anderson is a nice guy and I respect him as a legend."

Silva had mentioned that there are possibilities of a fight between he and one of the Paul brothers, and Logan has fuelled that with some social media comments as well.

“Wow, in the future everything is possible,” Silva told TMZ when asked if he would fight either of the Pauls. “Both brothers, I respect them both.

"They’re good boys – smart boys too and I think that’s good for the future. Especially right now, everything’s changed in the world.

"People like to see the big shows, the entertaining shows.”

Silva performed remarkably against former world champion Chavez, with many feeling that the judge who gave the fight to the Mexican was attempting to 'rob' the former UFC champion.

Fans will have a chance to truly gauge Paul's level on August 28 when he fights former UFC welterweight champ Woodley in the first fight of his multi-bout agreement with Showtime Boxing in the United States.

A venue will be announced soon, and the YouTube star is currently in Dorado, Puerto Rico with coach BJ Flores and teammate J'leon Love among his training team.

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