By: Sean Crose
“August 5,” Jake Paul posted on social media Thursday, “we commemorated Nathaniel Diaz’s funeral by putting him in the coffin back to Dana. Refreshments will be provided at the service. Black tie outfit.” That’s right, Jake Paul will fight UFC great Nate Diaz in the boxing ring. It was an interesting fight, really. Paul’s limitations as a boxer came to light a few months ago when he lost to Tommy Fury by decision. As for Diaz, he’s not your average old mixed martial artist. He is already a licensed boxer, and has been a training partner with none other than Andre Ward. Again, this fight is pretty interesting.
“My last fight didn’t end the way I wanted, but the outcome was the best that could have happened to my professional boxing aspirations,” Paul said via press release. “Now the world thinks I’m vulnerable, when all I have is focus more than ever. My team wants me to take a fight as easy as the next KSI, but that’s not how I was built.” Also worth noting is the fact that a match against Nate Diaz will be much more appealing to sports fans in general than a match against KSI. In short, Paul-Diaz has crossover appeal.
“Nate Diaz is considered one of the worst boxers of all time,” Paul continued, “but he and his team have been running around for too long. People tell me that Nate has been training with Andre Ward for years. That he has insane stamina. That he wouldn’t back down. Good for goddamn Nate. I still haven’t forgotten the backstage slap in Arizona, and on August 5 a problem kid will stage and take down Stockton G.”
Diaz, of course, had his own thoughts about the upcoming battle. “Besides Canelo, he’s the greatest in boxing,” he said of Paul. “I am here to conquer that. I’m the King of combat sports and then I’m going back to claim my UFC belt. I tortured Conor (McGregor) for that act and here I am again, as a superhero of real fighting games, king of real fighting games.”
The Paul-Diaz bout might not represent the best of boxing at the moment, but both men are colorful and fun to watch. As he said, Diaz famously defeated Conor McGregor in 2017. Meanwhile, Paul and went through his sharing of former UFC players in the boxing ring, recently. especially former UFC legend Anderson Sylva. People can roll their eyes, but this can be quite fun.
The Paul-Diaz fight will take place in Texas and will be broadcast live as a DAZN pay-per-view main event.
