Anderson Silva will not be able to replace Tommy Fury as Jake Paul begins looking for replacements to save his August 6 ring return.
Fury is almost certain to be ruled out of yet another fight date with with Paul, this time due to a travel issue which stopped him attending their press conference this week. The pair were set to launch their Madison Square Garden clash with a press conference on Wednesday, but Fury was blocked from flying on Monday.
Paul insists Fury has shown little urgency in attempting to rectify the situation while promoter Frank Warren claims Fury can fight if he solves a problem with his ESTA. But Paul revealed this week that he has instructed his team to find a new opponent.
Paul was forced to replace Fury back in December with Tyron Woodley, although he now has more than double the notice period for this change should it be necessary. But despite UFC legend Silva being touted, Mirror Fighting understands that is unlikely.
Silva has often been viewed as a prospective Paul opponent, and was publicly called out after his last exhibition bout. His 3-1 professional boxing record that includes a win over former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr would qualify him as the 'legitimate boxer' the YouTuber has been searching for, as well as holding major name recognition from his legendary UFC career.
But sources indicate that after Paul decided to move in the direction of another Fury fight during early negotiations for August 6, Silva took another booking. This is believed to be on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather's next exhibition. It is understood that Most Valuable Promotions briefly looked into booking Silva on the undercard in order to build a prospective fight. But those talks were very brief he had already taken a different deal.
Also noteworthy is that as of now, Paul vs Fury has not been officially called off, despite the YouTuber's tweet indicating that he was moving on. In an ideal world, Fury would secure an expedited working visa and be cleared to travel in the coming days, but time is ticking.
Silva competed in an exhibition bout against Bruno Machado in Dubai on the same card as Mayweather's bout with Don Moore in May. And it seems the pair will team up again in September, this time in Japan for a Rizin event.
Boxing icon Mayweather is set to take on Mikuru Asakura, a famous Japanese MMA fighter, in his return to Asia this autumn. No date or venue has been confirmed as yet, but it is believed that the September card will also feature Silva, ruling him out of a late-notice August 6 fight.
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There is, however, the possibility that Paul could throw enough money at Silva to reconsider. This seems unlikely, as the Brazilian's is known to be an expensive signature at the best of times, and he would need to paid considerably over the odds to take a much harder challenge on short notice.
Other options that have emerged for the YouTube star include Cheavon Clarke; Eddie Hearn's Tokyo Olympian who is 2-0 as a professional. He insists that he is ready to go, and Paul has previously indicated that he might be interested in such a bout.
Also supposedly on the shortlist is little-known 13-1 professional Blake McKernan. The American most famously shared the card with Paul when he fought on the undercard of Mike Tyson's comeback against Roy Jones in 2020.
McKernan faced former world champion Badou Jack, taking a brutal beating over ten rounds and losing by unanimous decision. He hasn't fought since, but posted an anonymous text on Instagram indicating there was the possibility of him him stepping up as a late-notice replacement for Fury.
