Jake Paul Says Nate Diaz Was His Hardest Fight

Jake Paul named Nate Diaz as his toughest-ever boxing opponent.

Paul took on Diaz last year on Nate’s boxing debut. He secured a unanimous decision win, which was a perfect response after his first loss against Tommy Fury. Paul dropped Diaz in the fifth round; however, Nate recovered as he pressed the action until the final bell. Diaz showed a lot of durability in the fight as he continued to come forward and throw his power shots.

While he did not do extensive damage against Paul, his increased work rate meant that Paul found him as the toughest fight. The Problem Child did slow down considerably during the back end of the fight, as there was an issue with stamina. Paul had to stay with Diaz and work his way to a unanimous decision, which required him to use his boxing IQ. Jake felt that was a major turning point in his career.

Paul On Diaz

“Nate was the toughest opponent I’ve fought to date. One thing I took from it was the confidence I can do ten rounds with non-stop power-punching, that’s a great experience. Just getting more and more comfortable in the ring, learning to box and slow things down. I knew he was trying to take breaks so I would bounce on him when he would do that,” Paul said 

Paul’s comments may surprise some people. Fury was the only one who had defeated Paul, outboxing him after being dropped by The Problem Child. There was a lot of pressure on Paul entering the fight since another loss following the Fury defeat would have significantly derailed his career. 

But since that win, Paul has gone on a three-fight win streak. His wins over Andre August, Ryan Bourland, and Mike Perry have enabled him to secure one of the most lucrative fights when he faces Mike Tyson on November 15. Nevertheless, the major criticism centred around Paul is the lack of high-quality opponents.

Future Options

He has been urged to fight more professional boxers. While he did that against Andre August and Ryan Bourland, they were not very well-known names. The main way Paul could rectify that problem is to rematch Tommy Fury. Paul’s side offered a two-fight deal worth $15-20 million. One fight would have been in boxing, while the other would have been in MMA. The offer was ultimately not taken up. 

However, Fury has since then shown a change in tune. He was pictured training with the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall. After a training session, Fury clarified that he wanted to face Paul in an MMA fight. But before Paul considers that, it is vital that he rectifies his defeat in the boxing ring. If the MMA fight does not happen, rematching Diaz in MMA is possible. Paul offered $10 million to make it happen in the PFL, but it fell through. 

“I don’t know if I’d use the word close. I think there was a point where there was genuine interest from his team in making it happen, and then there was just radio silence after that,” Paul added 

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