Jake Paul continues to show improvements, correct costly mistakes in toughest fight to date

Jake Paul is the most unique professional boxer in the world. A superstar before he ever set foot in a boxing ring, Paul has taken his boxing career seriously and consistently improved while trying to balance an almost impossible task of fighting headline-worthy fights and still trying to appease those who demand he fight a level of opposition higher than what would be expected of any other young fighter.

On Saturday night, Paul faced the stiffest test of his young career when he took on UFC legend Anderson Silva in a Showtime pay-per-view headliner. Unlike Paul’s previous opponents, Silva was a prolific striker and had fought in the boxing ring previously, including a win over former middleweight world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Before Silva, Paul had attempted to address the demands from critics that he face a “real boxer” on three occasions. He twice had planned bouts with Tommy Fury, with Fury pulling out once due to injury and once when he was unable to travel to the United States because of his family’s association with alleged crime boss Daniel Kinahan. Fury then tried to make a fight with Hasim Rahman Jr., son of former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman Sr., only for Rahman to pull out after saying he would be unable to make the contracted weight.

In Silva, Paul had found the opponent he needed, someone with name value but who could also push him in ways he had not yet been pushed inside the squared circle.

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What resulted from that test was Paul’s best performance yet. No, there was no highlight-reel knockout like the one that sent former NBA player Nate Robinson into hiding or that left Tyron Woodley lying face…