Should Nate Diaz fight Jake Paul?
Should Nate Diaz fight Jake Paul?
Jake Paul’s fight with Tommy Fury appears to have put the YouTuber firmly in the boxing world, despite many not wanting him to make that leap in the first place.
The 24-year-old has won his first four professional fights, three by way of knockout, but there have been question marks over each of his opponents, with Fury set to be the first fight against a professional boxer.
He has previously fought fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib, professional basketball player Nate Robinson and UFC fighters Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley, which has caused many to accuse Paul of ducking ‘proper’ boxers.
That is set to change though, with Paul fighting Fury in Tampa on December 18.
However, what happens after that fight with the 22-year-old younger brother of world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is up in the air.
One person who appears to be keen to fight Paul is 36-year-old Nate Diaz, who is set to step out of UFC to engage in lucrative fights with Paul, before squaring off against fellow UFC champion Connor McGregor in the ring.
Josh Thompson, who knows both McGregor and Diaz from his own UFC days, claims that Diaz is finished with mixed martial arts and is eyeing up Paul as a first boxing fight.
He said:"This is his last fight, he's not fighting in the UFC anymore. He's going to leave and he's going to fight Jake Paul.
"He's just trying to get a fight to get out the door, he's done with MMA. He knows that fight is going to make him double what he'd make [against Conor McGregor]."
"I know he can make between $10 to $15 million to do that one fight versus him having to fight Conor and make $2 million, maybe $4 million.
"Why? When he can fight one time in boxing against somebody who he's got a lot more experience against and against somebody his brother knows."
Of course, a fight between Diaz and Paul would likely suit the pair equally, especially if Paul loses against Fury, leaving him desperate for another big fight.
But Thompson doesn’t stop there, he believes that Diaz would then fight McGregor in the ring instead of the octagon for their third fight of the trilogy.
He continued on the Weighing in Podcast: “If Nate goes and beats Jake Paul, then I can see Dana [White, UFC president] saying, 'ok, let's fight Nate in boxing'. I couldn't see him doing it before, he has to beat Jake Paul first.”
While Paul has fought UFC fighters on two occasions, Diaz would represent an altogether different challenge for Paul, as he has significantly more experience than the YouTuber-turned-boxer.
Of his 34 UFC fights, he has won 21, including a notable victory over the then-unbeaten McGregor.
While he is yet to make the leap into boxing, all of that experience in fighting will surely come to Diaz’s aid, which would make a fight with the inexperienced Paul all the more intriguing.