Jake Paul has confirmed via his Twitter account that he will be lacing up the gloves once again to fight Nate Diaz on Saturday, August 5th in Dallas, Texas. The bout will be Diaz’s first foray into professional boxing in what promises to be an intriguing match-up between the Youtube star-turned-boxer and recently released UFC superstar.
Although this won’t be the first time Paul has fought an MMA fighter, it will be the first time he has faced one coming off a recent victory. Diaz’s last bout came at UFC 279 in Las Vegas on September 10th where he submitted Tony Ferguson via a guillotine choke in the fourth round. Before that, he lost a unanimous decision against current UFC Welterweight champion, Leon Edwards in a contest that could have easily gone in his favor. Whilst Edwards dominated the majority of the fight, Diaz caught him with a right hand with one minute remaining on the clock which wobbled Edwards into retreat. Diaz unleashed a flurry of punches before the final bell, with some believing that if he stepped on the gas thirty seconds earlier, the outcome could have been very different.
Jake Paul is a master of self-promotion and has a habit of picking opponents who will intrigue the public. Although Nate Diaz may be past his prime, he has demonstrated in his two most recent fights that he can still compete at the highest level in combat sports. Although Jake Paul may not ever be a world champion boxer, he demonstrated in his most recent fight that he can compete with professional boxers and has gained a lot of respect from some quarters of the boxing community.
Paul vs Diaz will be a co-promotion between Most Valuable Promotions and Real Fight Inc., and will be available globally on DAZN pay-per-view.
