Ben Askren doesn’t like Nate Diaz’s chances against Jake Paul after watching the latter defeat Anderson Silva in their cruiserweight matchup this past Saturday in Arizona.
Askren knows firsthand the power of Paul after being flattened by the YouTuber in 2021 and warned Diaz against the matchup despite considering himself the superior boxer.
‘Funky’ doesn’t think Diaz is ‘on the level of striker that Anderson is’ and believes the Stockton slugger will be at a major size disadvantage against Paul who is thought to walk around between 200—210 pounds in between fights.
“There’s a chance. I mean I don’t know why anyone would think that Nate has much of a chance given what just happened,” Askren, the former ONE and Bellator welterweight champion, told Submission Radio in a recent interview. “Nate’s a lot smaller. I don’t think anyone would consider Nate on the level of striker that Anderson is, but yeah I guess it might happen.”
Paul defeated Silva via unanimous decision to extend his winning streak to six straight fights, sporting previous victories over Tyron Woodley (twice), Ben Askren, Nate Robinson, and AnEsonGib. He is considered one of the hottest commodities in boxing despite never having fought a pro with more than four fights and only making his professional debut in 2020.