Jake Paul threw everything at Nate Diaz but still had to settle for a unanimous decision victory in the end.
The 26-year-old Ohio native, who was coming off his first loss in a split decision to Tommy Fury in February, came out guns blazing in an attempt to just tear through Diaz in his professional boxing debut. It looked like Paul might get the job done, especially after he cracked Diaz with a nasty left hook in the fifth round that sent the UFC veteran face first to the canvas.
Despite that near finish, Diaz not only got back to his feet but he just kept coming after Paul round after round while giving the Dallas crowd a good show even if he wasn’t able to get the job done. In the end, the judges scored the fight 98-91, 98-91 and 97-92 for Paul as he moves to 7-1 in his career with the win.
“He’s tough,” Paul said about Diaz afterwards. “He’s real tough, that’s what he’s known for. I knocked him down, won basically every round but he’s a warrior.”
There was no feeling out process for Paul as he got aggressive early and came after Diaz with a swarm of punches, going to the body and the head in succession. Paul was definitely looking to overwhelm Diaz before he got his legs under him while coming after the UFC veteran with a barrage of shots throughout the opening round.
Diaz survived the onslaught and he finally started throwing some combinations of his own but Paul was still landing the more powerful punches. That said, Diaz’s durability continued to pay off while closing the distance and then touching Paul with his signature volume striking attack.
While Paul was clearly slowing down from the furious pace where he started, he was still measuring and then throwing big powerful punches that were connecting with plenty of pop behind them. Of course, Diaz kept eating the punishment and then invited Paul go feed him more.
Paul came to life at the start of the fourth round with a number of stiff shots including a well-timed jab that was stabbing at Diaz from the outside. Again and again, Diaz just smiled back at Paul while biding his time, which allowed him to storm back in the second half of the round as he just kept chipping away at the social influencer turned boxer.
That game plan for Diaz finally backfired when Paul leapt into a nasty fade away left hook that cracked the Stockton native and sent him crashing to the canvas. The momentum of the knockdown nearly sent Diaz through the ropes but he was able to get back to his feet to beat the 10 count and continue.
To his credit, Diaz recovered well enough to make it out for the sixth round but the way he was marching forward continued to allow Paul to just load up on his punches. It was also clear that Paul was happier staying on his toes, dancing on the outside and making Diaz come after him as he continued looking for set ups to unleash his counters.
Just when it look like Paul was in complete control, Diaz surprised him again with a relentless attack in the eighth round that included a couple of staggering uppercuts on the inside. The punches snapped Paul’s head backwards as Diaz continued coming after him with no signs of slowing down.
Ever the showman, Diaz was taunting Paul, absorbing a punch and then just coming back with three or four of his own. The problem for Diaz was his inability to really hurt Paul and while he consistently got a rise out of the crowd, he just wasn’t winning a boxing match.
As for Paul, he was still throwing with a lot of power, especially behind a stinging left hand that had Diaz favoring his right eye as swelling and bruising continued to grow. Even as he was blinking through the pain, Diaz was staying in the fight — and he even briefly grabbed a guillotine choke in the clinch before releasing Paul and flashing a smile back at him.
After the decision was announced, Diaz shook Paul’s hand and gave him credit on a job well done.
“He’s tough and he’s big,” Diaz said. “I wish I could have done better. He won this one, it’s good.”
When it comes to what’s next, Paul continued to insist that he wants to run it back with Diaz in the cage with hopes to make his MMA debut in the PFL sometime in 2024. As far as boxing goes, Paul hasn’t forgotten about a potential rematch with Fury, although he’ll have to wait until after October when the former reality show star takes on KSI in another high profile boxing match of his own.
“I want to run it back in MMA,” Paul said. “I want $10 million, PFL, let’s run it back in MMA. MMA let’s do it.
“There’s a lot of names [in boxing]. Tommy Fury rematch, he won by a split decision. I’m going to try to get that back. I’m just happy with this win. I never expected to be here.”
In signature form, Diaz didn’t back down from the challenge in MMA, although he already gave Paul a slight taste of what’s to come if that fight actually happened.
“I had a single leg in the first and a guillotine in the ninth so I already won that battle,” Diaz joked. “Real Fight Inc, I’ll fight anybody. I don’t give a f***.”
