The eagerly anticipated boxing match between the YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul and the former UFC star, Nate Diaz, takes place on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
The build-up to the fight was unusually quiet for a Jake Paul fight until the last few days. With Diaz having left the stage (for the second time) following a sit-down meeting hosted by Ariel Helwani a few days ago, tensions have continuously risen throughout the week. Was this designed to increase interest in the fight? And if so, is it justified?
So what has happened?
On May 9, Most Valuable Promotions (Jake Paul’s promotional company) and Real Fight Inc (Nate Diaz’s) co-hosted a press conference in Dallas for their upcoming fight on August 5. The press conference, attended solely by credentialed media members, descended into chaos and was something that even the gold standard in MMA journalism, Ariel Helwani, couldn’t prevent.
Diaz exited his seat on two occasions, once to go to the restroom and the other to seemingly have a chat with his friends. The questions from the media were relatively weak, and one, in particular, stood out from the crowd. Derek Sullivan, from Betr Media, a company affiliated with Jake Paul, trolled Diaz by saying he would beat Nate’s brother, Nick’s, f***in’ a** if he could box on the undercard.
‘Derek’ has zero boxing experience and weighs considerably less than Nate’s brother. A fight between this ‘Derek’ and Nick Diaz would be a mismatch; however, the comments got people talking more than anything else did during the initial press conference. Nate told Derek that his words were ‘stupid’ after he indicated that such a remark wouldn’t go unnoticed by his entourage. Fans were then left wondering about Derek Sullivan’s welfare following the presser.
Earlier this week, Nate Diaz left the stage once again during a sit-down, face-off interview with Jake Paul. This time, Diaz’s exit wasn’t temporary. He got out of his chair, told Ariel Helwani he would ‘be right back,’ exited the arena, and drove off in a waiting car – a shambles, to say the least. During another media obligation, Diaz told ESPN’s Marc Raimondi that he didn’t even want to attend press conferences in the build-up to the fight as he believed it was ‘already sold.’
Then, yesterday, Derek from Betr Media reappeared during the final press conference and goaded Diaz once again. Derek made a sarcastic apology for Diaz in relation to his comments in the first press conference before saying that he can’t wait to see Jake Paul ‘knock him the f**k out.’ The remark led to Diaz gesturing for Derek to come up to the stage, but the latter, rather smartly, remained in his seat.
Such tactics from Jake Paul’s camp have led to questions regarding whether or not these tactics are acceptable or not. Sure, they result in clicks, particularly in the new age of media, where snippets of interviews and press conferences garner more attention than long-form pieces. But where is the line? And is there one?
Camp 1 – It’s too disrespectful
There is an unwritten rule when it comes to promoting fights in combat sports. Anything is fair game, except for mentioning children and partners; family in general. Derek and Paul are known to cross the line in these areas on more than one occasion, and we’re yet to see any serious repercussions for either man.
With Diaz having subtly threatened Derek Sullivan after the first press conference and then challenging him to a fight in the second, the build-up to this fight could have easily taken a darker turn. The Diaz brothers are known for not taking any s**t from people and that includes fighters, the media, or the public. Their lack of conformity is one of the reasons they are so popular, particularly as they have a history of backing up their words when faced with threats.
While crossover fights are nothing new, YouTubers entering the sphere of combat sports are. Masters at marketing, they know how to sell a fight more than many promoters do. What they probably fail to understand is actual fighters, such as Nate Diaz, are a different breed. It’s only a matter of time before comments boil over and end in a fight outside of the scheduled press conference or ring, and when this happens, there could be serious consequences for the untrained fighter.
Camp 2 – It promotes the fight
Presuming Diaz left the UFC as he wanted a bigger pay-check, devil’s advocate would say that he has to suck up the antics coming his way via the gigantic robot behind Jake Paul, which displays Diaz’s previous losses.
When the fight is all said and done, people may forget the comments Jake Paul (and friends) made during the build-up to the fight, particularly if both fighters are well renumerated for their efforts and (fingers crossed) come out healthy. The value of such remarks is difficult to quantify in terms of promotion; however, they are more likely to add to the interest and therefore result in more pay-per-view buys.
The problem is, though, Diaz doesn’t have much time or respect for what other people think of him; he’s old school. Threats to him, whether or not they are empty, are still threats. Diaz doesn’t seem to be the type to let things slide. Jake Paul, being the master of publicity that he is, probably knows this, which may be why he roped in Derek Sullivan to make rash comments during the press conference.
While nothing too sinister has happened in the build-up, it could easily happen in the future should outlandish comments from fighters (or friends) continue to be made and go unpunished. This isn’t the internet to people like Diaz; this is the fight game.
Weigh-ins
Considering all of the above, talk is cheap, and there’s not long now until Paul and Diaz settle their differences inside the ring.
The ceremonial weigh-ins just took place, with Jake Paul weighing in first at 185 lbs. Nate Diaz followed at 184.9 lbs. Following the fighters making the scales, Ariel Helwani asked both for their thoughts on Saturday night’s bout. Paul said he would send Diaz back to the cage, while Diaz said that no matter what happens on Saturday night, ”this motherf***er (Paul) can’t really fight”.
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