Masvidal Wants A Trilogy With Diaz – ‘The Judges Were Influenced’
Jorge Masvidal has called for a trilogy against Nate Diaz following his loss in their boxing bout.
The duo had a rematch of their UFC 244 fight, which Masvidal won, as they engaged in a ten-round boxing bout. Diaz got the win via a majority decision. However, the result did divide the fanbase. Masvidal threw more punches and landed more power shots.
However, Diaz’s willingness to continue moving forward left a lasting impression on the judges. After his win, Diaz called out Jake Paul and Leon Edwards for a rematch as his focus shifted. Meanwhile, Gamebread wants to run things back into neutral territory. The following scorecards, 95-95, 97-93 and 98-92, did not sit well with Masvidal as he wanted to run things back.
Masvidal Reacts
“I definitely know the judges were influenced by the crowd because a lot of those shots were landing in the corner. I was just getting my timing. He’d throw three or four shots that wouldn’t land, and then I’d throw a good power shot. I’d see that I’d hurt him and I’d back him up or he would start goofing around. (I) hurt him to the body numerous times,” Masvidal said
Diaz was fighting in front of a home crowd as they boxed from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The boxing statistics showed that Masvidal did more damage. He landed more punches with 182 out of the 654 thrown. Diaz, in comparison, landed 157 out of the 740 thrown. Masvidal connected with more power punches at 152 compared to Diaz’s 115.
Masvidal vs Diaz 3
The judges may have been influenced by the crowd, who were very vocal when Diaz threw and appeared to connect. However, during the earlier parts of the fight, Masvidal was allowing Diaz to throw and then blocked his shots. The strategy was to slow down Diaz, who is known for gassing out later down the stretch. But that action of throwing punches, even if they were not effective, left a greater impression on the judges.
“I think one or two of the judges only gave me two rounds. There’s just no way. We were looking at the fight right now in the locker room, the meaningful shots, and a lot more of the meaningful shots were landed by me. I just feel that it didn’t go my way, but whatever. We’re 1-1, we can run it back some place like Vegas. Make it a neutral place and let’s…throw down.
“From what I saw, I definitely hurt him more than he ever hurt me. I got way cleaner shots, especially to the body. He never even did anything to my body. I definitely hurt his body, and a couple times that I hurt him, he backed up. He put a lot of pressure and he was coming forward but he never hurt me. I don’t think he landed any meaningful punches. Eight rounds to two is…nuts. Whatever, it’s California. I knew I had to get a knockout or some [stuff[ like this (would happen),” Masvidal stated
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