After years of back and forth with Nate Diaz once slapping one of Jake Paul‘s coaches during a backstage confrontation, a bout between the two has now been officially confirmed. The fight will take place at 185 pounds with 10-ounce gloves on August 5 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Despite Diaz having significantly more combat experience than the 26-year-old “Problem Child,” oddsmakers currently have Jake Paul as a -250 favorite. The bout will be Diaz’s first official boxing match and he will be fighting at a much higher weight class than he did in the UFC, in which he competed at lightweight (155 lbs) and welterweight (170 lbs). Paul on the other hand, has fought at as heavy as 191.5 pounds. That being said, the UFC great was known for his standup game in the octagon and was a former sparring partner for elite boxer Andre Ward. The duo are also nearly identical in height and reach
“My last fight didn’t end the way I wanted, but the result was the best thing that could have happened to my professional boxing aspirations,” Paul said in a statement. “Now, the world thinks I am vulnerable when all I am is more focused than ever. My team wanted me to take an easy fight like KSI next, but that’s not how I am built. Nate Diaz is considered one of the most bad-ass fighters of all time, but he and his team have been running their mouths for too long.”
Diaz’s career in MMA stands at a record of 21-13 while Paul (6-1) was handed his only loss by unanimous decision earlier this year in his bout against Tommy Fury.
“Besides Canelo, he’s the biggest thang in boxing,” Diaz said in a statement. “I’m here to conquer that. I’m the King of combat sports and then I’m headed back to get my UFC belts. I f—ed up Conor for acting out and now here I am again, like a Super Hero of the Real Fight game, the King of the Real Fight game.”
The pay-per-view bout on August 5 is a 50-50 collaboration between Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions and Diaz’s Real Fight Inc, and will be distributed by DAZN. Stay tuned for more fights to be announced for the event.
In other news, New Balance crafts a custom baseball glove for Shohei Ohtani.
