What mattered most in the aftermath of Jake Paul’s unanimous decision victory over Nate Diaz in Saturday’s boxing match at American Airlines Center in Dallas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
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The biggest Jake Paul event yet
I’ve covered multiple Paul fights at this point. His fight vs. Ben Askren was the most unique because it happened in the midst of the pandemic and was essentially a closed-door event to the public and I was the only media member there in a sea of celebrities and influencers.
The next one was Paul’s first meeting with Tyron Woodley, which went down in his hometown of Cleveland and had plenty of buzz, as well. The thing about those, however, is that Paul was the clear A-side in both fights.
This time, he was not. Diaz has a cult-like following and is an entity unique unto himself in the world of combat sports. That took the environment throughout fight week and on fight night to another level, and that seemed to resonate with the overall interest in the event.
Maybe I was too close to it all being on the ground in Dallas, but this fight felt significant. The undercard of the event was less than memorable, but thankfully for everyone, Paul and Diaz were able to salvage things with an entertaining headliner. Overall, they had to be pleased with it all.
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Paul's finest performance to date
Even though Diaz arguably left the fight with a moral victory of sorts (at we’ll get into in a moment here), the real winner and victor in the record books was Paul, who showed a fairly drastic improvement in skill from previous performances.
After suffering his first career loss against Tommy Fury earlier this year, Paul could’ve easily pulled the plug on this entire boxing venture. However, he showed the resolve and determination of someone with a true commitment to combat sports by going back to the drawing board, making adjustments to the team around him and his training regiment, then getting back in the win column.
Paul put it on Diaz from the opening bell and kept his focus for all 10 rounds. Sure, Diaz had his moments throughout the fight and picked up momentum in the final two rounds in particular, but Paul was never truly in danger of losing. He never appeared badly hurt, his conditioning held up and he didn’t allow himself get rattled by Diaz’s antics in moments where others would.
I don’t know how far Paul is actually going to be able to go as a legitimate boxer. He lost to the one opponent who truly came from that background in Fury, but his dedication to the craft is admirable. He said he wants to be a boxing champion by 2026 and eventually get his dream fight with Canelo Alvarez. Those seem like lofty goals – to be generous – but who are we to say what this man is ultimately capable of with everything he’s already achieved in his life?
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Another moral victory for Diaz
Despite not getting his hand raised, Diaz once again found his way to come out of a fight that didn’t go his way smelling like roses. It’s truly remarkable.
I’m not one to sit here and applaud people for losing, but Diaz is the rare exception. I was prepared for this to be a very sad evening for another MMA legend who stepped in the boxing ring with Paul. And when Diaz got swarmed by Paul in the first round, then dropped with a big punch in the fifth round, it seemed like it was trending in a heartbreaking direction for all MMA fans and Diaz supporters.
Diaz wouldn’t allow that to happen, though.
He showed increased comfort as the fight wore and even snagged a few rounds for himself on the scorecards. His hilarious guillotine choke attempt on Paul in the final round is probably the biggest post-fight talking point, and gave him an avenue to claim what would’ve happened to Paul if they clashed in a “real fight,” and he described it.
That much in itself garnered significant interest in a rematch between the two under MMA rules, which Paul has suggested and would be a massive event. That would be Diaz’s world with Paul having to be the one who puts himself at a disadvantage.
Sure, you could tear into Diaz if you really wanted. You could say it’s embarrassing the Stockton “gangster” lost to a YouTuber. You could say, at 38, he is beyond his best years and relies way too much on his toughness. But other than the Internet trolls in the comments sections, I’ve yet to see many people I respect criticize Diaz in that vein.
Diaz came out of this thing, to me at least, with his reputation still firmly in tact. He accomplished his goal of getting out of the UFC and putting on a massive event. He’s looking at a payday that could reach in the neighborhood of $20 million depending on pay-per-view sales, per sources, and he didn’t get horrifically beaten up by a man 12 years his junior. So congrats to him on finding an abundance of silver linings without getting his hand raised – again.
For more on the matchup, visit MMA Junkie’s hub for Paul vs. Diaz.
