Jake Paul, Anderson Silva share respect, jokes in preparation for Oct. 29 fight in Glendale

After starting his boxing career undefeated, former YouTuber Jake Paul is taking on his biggest challenge yet as a professional boxer. Standing in his way is 47-year-old MMA legend Anderson Silva, who is also undefeated in his boxing career.

On Tuesday, the two came together for a news conference at Gila River Arena to give fans a preview of what's to come in the match, which is set for Oct. 29 in Glendale.

Despite being known for talking trash during his previous fight promotion runs, Paul stayed very respectful when talking about Silva. The two fighters reminisced over a moment when Paul and his brother, Logan, had a childhood photo taken with Silva.

When asked what a 14-year-old Paul would think if he knew he was fighting Silva, Paul said it would be a surreal experience.

"Where I'm from, you're not supposed to be on this stage right now. Where I'm from, success really isn't a thing. It doesn't make any sense, this whole entire journey. I've set dreams for myself and worked hard to get to where I am."

Read more: Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva boxing main event set for Oct. 29 in Glendale

Silva comes into the bout with 22 years of experience over Paul. With that much of a gap between the two, it is equivalent to a 25-year-old Silva fighting George Foreman.

Silva believes his experience will be advantageous when he steps in the ring.

"I think age is only a number," he said. "Experience could help me a lot to do my job inside of the ring."

During the news conference, moderator and former UFC champion Chael Sonnen welcomed some special guests. Brothers Adonis and David Garcia stepped onto the stage after reaching out to Paul for an opportunity to meet.

The two brothers are boxers, with David, 13, already competing in 75 amateur matches. He aspires to fight for the United States in the Olympics.

When brought up onto the stage, David grabbed Paul's hat and ran away, mimicking the same stunt that Paul pulled on Floyd Mayweather at a press conference in 2021.

The boys got pictures with both Paul and Silva and showed off their shadow boxing for the crowd.

Although these types of news conferences often turn into trash-talking Paul and Silva, who will fight at 187 pounds, joked around with each other.

In his last fight, Paul bet his opponent, former UFC champion Tyron Woodley, that the loser had to get a tattoo of the other person's choosing. Silva, who also goes by his nickname, Spider, brought up this bet, telling the crowd that he would not agree to any tattoo wagers.

Paul's feelings towards getting another tattoo dedicated to his opponent were different.

"I was thinking about getting a spider tattoo anyways."

Each fighter was asked about their training regimen leading up to the fight. Since the contest is just five weeks away, the two fighters have been working hard to prepare.

Paul was scheduled to fight Tommy Fury, but twice the event was canceled. Since he was preparing for those fights and now the one for Silva, Paul has been training for about a year straight.

"I always train like I'm fighting the best person in the world. We don't cut corners no matter who the opponent is. We have to be prepared for the hardest test of our life," Paul said. "We have a bunch of southpaw sparring partners in training camp who are trying their best to emulate Anderson."

Although Silva trains in multiple forms of MMA, he is always working hard at boxing.

"I train hard every day. I never stop," he said. "My focus is only boxing. I feel like it's necessary to train every day and respect my fans."

Following the fight on Oct. 29, Silva is preparing to head to Dubai for the World Jui Jitsu Championships. Paul, on the other hand, has no plans for what's next. Fans are speculating that the boxer will face Nate Diaz, who was recently released from UFC.

Tickets for the event go on sale Wednesday at Ticketmaster.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Boxer Jake Paul, MMA legend Anderson Silva discuss experience, ages, wagers