Today, however, there was this sense that the fight could get canceled. This all stems from an interview Silva did with MMA Weekly in which he revealed that he was knocked out twice during training camp. This had the Arizona Department of Gaming scrambling for answers as they need Silva to be fit in order to clear him for Saturday.
“I’m training hard for the win,” Silva said. “I’m training with the good boxers, high-level, and five guys come to help me. “And the last sparring with [my partner], he knocked me out two times, and when I finish my training, I talked to my coach and even said, ‘Coach, let me tell you something, why the guys knock me out two times?’ And the coach said, ‘You need to prepare for war, and you prepare for war.’”
According to TMZ, Silva has since responded to the controversy, claiming that he simply made an error, and meant that he had been knocked down. He said he got tripped up with his words, and that this has all turned into one giant misunderstanding.
Per Silva:
“After seeing the reports and concern for me, I’d like to clarify two important things. One, I was NEVER knocked out in sparring. I misspoke in that interview as I sometimes do when interviewing in English and exaggerated the normal back-and-forth action that occurs in sparring. Second, this sparring session I referenced was in early September. The interview with MMA Weekly was done on Sept. 13 and, for some reason, just released this week. So, it wasn’t recent. More importantly, my training camp has been great. I am fit and ready to fight and the only knockout people should be worried about is the one I’m about to deliver to Jake Paul on Saturday night.”
