Jake Paul got his boxing career back on track as he won a comfortable decision against Nate Diaz in their blockbuster fight. Paul won by unanimous decision with an impressive performance – before Diaz verbally accepted his $10million (£7.84m) for a rematch in mixed martial arts.
Paul, who was beaten for the first time when he fought Tommy Fury in February, comfortably beat the former UFC fighter with an impressive performance. He had Diaz in big trouble early on and knocked down the UFC legend in round five.
He was not able to get a stoppage but comfortably won on points with the judges scoring the contest 97-92, 98-91, and 98-91. After the fight, he laid down a big-money challenge for another fight – and Diaz verbally accepted.
“I want $10 million, PFL, that’s the offer. Let’s run it back in MMA, make it fair,” Paul said on DAZN. “I won one, now it’s your chance in your home territory. MMA, let’s do it.” Diaz replied: “Let’s do it.”
In front of a sold-out crowd in Dallas, Texas, Paul instantly started punishing Diaz with body shots. He had his opponent in big trouble in the first round with some big punches which quickly left a mark on Diaz.
The ex-UFC champion was able to survive the round. He had an unorthodox style and was able to do some better work fighting on the inside in round two, but his eye showed swelling as Paul continued to land some big shots.
Diaz continued to come forward as Paul staggered him with another left hook in the third round. Diaz continued to require work on his right eye in between rounds as it closed up.
Diaz had his best moments of the fight in round four. But he was put down by a left hook in the fifth round as Paul looked to finish the fight.
To his credit, Diaz kept coming forward and dragged the fight into the latter stages. The contest was originally set to be eight rounds before being upgraded to ten and it was easy to see why Diaz’s team was keen on that change.
However, Paul was able to efficiently evade Diaz’s attacks and get through to the end of the fight without any major problems. The scorecards rightly went in his favor by a comfortable margin.
Before the fight, Paul’s advisor and co-founder of his Most Valuable Promotions company, Nakisa Bidarian, admitted that his career was on the line against Diaz and claimed he could retire if he was beaten again.
“He may retire if he loses to Nate Diaz,” Bidarian told ESPN. “His boxing career is on the line, in terms of being one of the top three or four guys in the entire sport globally. I think if he was to lose, he’d just go to being another prospect that’s coming up in the ring.”
Fortunately for Paul, he avoided that worst-case scenario and dispelled any doubts that he has a future in the sport with an eye-catching performance.
