Nate Diaz claims that he doesn’t really know the rules for boxing ahead of his scheduled bout with Jake Paul on Saturday (5th August).
In an interview with Bloody Elbow, cult MMA hero Nate Diaz claimed that he didn’t fully understand the rules of boxing despite being days away from his boxing match with youtuber turned faux boxer Jake Paul.
To most in the MMA community, this shouldn’t be surprising to hear from Nate. Nate Diaz has built a successful career on not giving a ****. Many may think that this approach from Nate means that he isn’t taking his fight with Jake Paul seriously but hardcore MMA fans will know that this is just Diaz being a Diaz. It isn’t for clicks, it isn’t pretend or fake, this is just Nate Diaz
Nate Diaz on Boxing Rules
“It was just funny because I was like, why do 8 rounds? [Paul] just fought 8 rounds a bunch of times, right? What’s the rules? I don’t really even know the rules for boxing. If it was like, a championship, I think championship fights are 10 rounds and 12 rounds. 10 and 12. Yeah, I don’t know and I wasn’t sure. So I was like, well, let’s do more rounds. It was just a little thought I didn’t really care about”.
Quotes via Bloody Elbow
The Fight
Depending which circles you roll in and which communities you are a part of may be the key element of who you are picking to win this fight. Diaz fans in general will feel that his gas tank and relentless pressure may be enough to beat Jake Paul. Whereas fans of Jake Paul have seen this script a number of times before. Jake Paul fighting a former UFC fighter that is closing in on 40 years of age. A UFC fighter that isn’t renowned for his power or natural striking ability. It is fair to say that to date, Jake Paul certainly has a type.
Following knockout wins over former UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley and former ONE & Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren it became hard to deny that Jake Paul certainly has power in his punches, something which Nate Diaz is not particularly well known for. With only 5 knockout wins out of his 22 MMA wins it is fair to say that the power advantages sits with Jake Paul. This shouldn’t be particularly surprising. Jake Paul’s last fight against Tommy Fury was at 185lb’s whilst Diaz has spent most of his career fighting at 155lb. With a massive weight advantage, and youth on his side, Jake Paul will feel confident that he can take Diaz out. However, it is worth mentioning that Nate Diaz has only ever been knocked out once in his previous 35 MMA bouts with his last knockout to Josh Thomson slightly over a decade ago.
The Keys to Victory – Jake Paul
For Jake Paul, it will be interesting to see how he comes back after suffering his first defeat against Tommy Fury back in February. Despite not being known as what some may call a “traditional” boxer, Jake Paul airs a certain level of confidence. It will be interesting to see how his recent loss effects him moving forward.
The “Problem Child” has the height, weight & reach and youth advantage over Diaz. It will be important for Jake Paul to make Diaz feel his power early. If he doesn’t land something heavy, he may spend the entire fight with Nate Diaz right in his face.
Diaz, over an 18 year professional MMA career has certainly gained a significant amount of experience in fighting real fights and naturally has the scars to prove it. This could be a key factor in this fight and if some of Diaz’s old wounds begin to open it may signal the end of the fight as it did when Diaz fought Jorge Masvidal for the BMF belt back in 2019.
The Keys to Victory – Nate Diaz
For Nate Diaz, this will be his first official boxing match and the change in ruleset does not align with his strengths. However, Nate is durable and should the cuts hold up and he can take Paul’s power, they key to victory would be to use his conditioning and his experience to tire Jake Paul by constantly staying on him and not allowing him time to set up those big shots. If Diaz can make this fight a difficult watch by making it scrappy and messy, then he can walk away with the victory.
Lack of Promotion
At not only the first press conference but in interviews throughout the build up, Jake Paul has been left frustrated by the lack of promotion from Nate Diaz. Paul has insisted that he is the only one promoting the fight and has said that he is disappointed that Diaz isn’t doing his part to sell the fight.
In the interview with Bloody Elbow, Diaz had this to say:
“It don’t get no realer than this anyway. I don’t talk a bunch of s—t like he wants to do. I don’t want to see him talk s—t and go back and forth. He said something about me f—cked up at the press conference; I’m like, I wasn’t there for no argument. I don’t even want to go to a press conference to argue with nobody. If we’re gonna argue, we’re gonna fight. So let’s just stay the f—k away from each other before the fight. Pardon my language.”
“I’m ready to go to war right now. I’m ready to be cool until it’s time to have a fight. I don’t care. I’m in an important point of my career where it’s like, I’m not trying to scare anybody. I’m not trying to fool anybody. If people want to watch, that’d be great. If they don’t, that’s fine too.”
“That’s where (Jake Paul) got me twisted. I’m not in a gimmick fight with him. Man, I only need him to know that I’ll whoop his ass. I don’t need the whole world. I don’t need to go begging for people to watch. Don’t watch.”
In true Nate Diaz style, his realness is there for all to see.
Who are you picking to win this fight? Does Jake Paul claim another former UFC scalp and his biggest to date? Or can Nate Diaz drag Jake Paul into a fight like never before? Let us know your thoughts and predictions in the comments section below.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
