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Nate Diaz’s strategy against Jake Paul proved to be a losing one, but there’s a reason he fought the way he did.
Following a loss to Paul in his boxing debut on Saturday in Dallas, Diaz made mention of a shoulder injury that he brought into the contest. Diaz’s claim makes sense given how the fight played out, with the longtime UFC star continually plodding towards Paul with his guard up and almost exclusively fighting in close. Paul won a convincing unanimous decision after 10 rounds of action.
Diaz explained how the injury affected his performance while speaking to the media at the evening’s post-fight press conference.
“[Coach] Richard [Perez] got mad at me because I wasn’t training how I should have been training. I should have been throwing punches, keeping him on the outside and doing a lot of stuff. Like I said in an interview, I’m not trying to make excuses, but about a month back I was trying to stay big and I hurt my arm a little bit. Wear and tear on my right arm if I was jabbing or doing a lot of stuff, so I would get inside and fight like a Mexican guy. Smother their punches and get in there and make every sparring session a brawl and did that in camp, and that’s how the fight went.
“I think I should have kept on the outside, circled, and did better stuff. I know I pissed Rich off, he don’t want me to say it but he wanted me to keep it on the outside and I should have. But it’s all good. There’s no way I’m not going to show up for a fight because of something like that. You’ve got to go regardless, no matter what. So I plan on doing my next one, if it’s gonna be boxing, we’re going to work like a small guy not a big guy.”
Diaz’s strategy kept him competitive in the fight, but he was repeatedly out-landed by the faster and more experienced — in professional boxing, that is — Paul. The low point of the fight for Diaz came in Round 5, when Paul caught Diaz with a head shot that sent him tumbling face-first to the mat. Diaz answered the count, but that moment gave Paul a near-insurmountable lead on the scorecards.
The bout was contested at 185 pounds, considerably heavier than the weight Diaz was used to when competing for the UFC. During his 15-year run with the promotion, Diaz fought primarily at 155 pounds, with several notable 170-pound bouts on his résumé as well.
“I would have liked to have stayed smaller. If I went up to this weight, I would like to have trained like I do when I’m smaller,” Diaz said when asked about fighting at 185 pounds. “I was concerned with getting bigger and s*** and I didn’t think he was much bigger than me. I thought he was bigger than that training for the fight.”
Diaz’s coach Richard Perez was seated next to him at the post-fight presser and he had nothing but praise for his pupil. He also acknowledged that the injury prevented Diaz from preparing for the fight at his best.
“It was awesome,” Perez said. “I love the way he boxes. He got hurt, so that throws you back. The level you’re on, you have to slow it down, so your timing’s off and then he couldn’t throw the jab very good, that’s why he got caught with the hook because he threw it and dropped it. Before that he hurt his knee, but it’s all good, he’s not going to quit. He’s not a quitter.”
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