Jake Paul will take on UFC legend Nate Diaz in a professional boxing match on August 5
Ariel Helwani hosted the press conference for which only the media were in attendance. Diaz was unimpressed by this, stating that he thought there should have been fans present, given the scale of the event. It was hard to disagree with Diaz as the event had a ‘big feel’ to it given the venue and the popularity of both men.
The mood was cordial throughout most of the press conference. The only time both fighters got annoyed was at the questions being asked by the media, rather than comments the fighters aimed at each other. Paul took an issue with a member of the press saying he wasn’t a hall of fame boxer, with ‘The Problem Child’ stating that he has done more for women’s boxing than anybody and claimed his most recent pay-per-view against Tommy Fury drew more significant numbers than the Ryan Garcia Vs Gervonta Davis fight in April.
Diaz also got annoyed at a colleague of Jake Paul’s who was a part of the media. His colleague claimed to be a professional boxer and said that he could knock out Nate’s older brother, Nick. It seemed the comments were just an attempt to annoy Diaz, but Nate didn’t take too kindly to the perceived threat placed on his brother. The man’s comments were quite brave considering Diaz’s history not to take fools lightly, evidenced as recently as April 21.
Compared to some of the previous press conferences Diaz has been involved in, his answers were longer in form and he seemed more relaxed. Diaz’s engagement grew as it went on and he seemed to be very confident in his abilities, pointing to the fact he has trained in boxing since the age of fifteen and would have fought in the sport a lot earlier if it were not for his UFC contractual obligations, which he felt tied him down (to the organization).
DAZN must have been nervous when Diaz left his seat twice during the presser. The reasons for the first instance were unclear, as Diaz only left the camera shot briefly before returning.
Helwani addressed the media on the second occasion, stating Diaz had gone for a restroom break. This visibly irked Paul, who had to answer numerous questions from the press by himself, some of which were repetitive in nature.
The host, Helwani, then asked ‘The Problem Child’ about his thoughts on KSI’s upcoming fight against Joe Fournier, also on DAZN, to which he responded ‘, I don’t give a f***’. His facial expression clearly showed that he wanted the focus to stay on this fight.
It was unclear at this point if Diaz would return. He has been known to avoid following protocol or etiquette at these events in the past, with both him and his brother, Nick, having a history of leaving unannounced, or not even showing up in the first place.
Diaz eventually returned for the face-off, which was rather bizarre as Paul slapped the hands of his future opponent. Diaz dropped his hands as if to say, ‘I’m ready to fight’, but nothing escalated.
The press conference was quite respectful and largely uneventful on the whole. As we get closer to the fight, tensions will rise, particularly as Jake Paul is proficient in winding his opponent up.
Tickets for Jake Paul Vs Nate Diaz go on sale this Thursday, May 11.
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