UFC star Nate Diaz was left stumped for words when a reporter told him that Jake Paul thinks he could beat Canelo Alvarez.
Paul has been pushing for a fight with pound-for-pound No.1 Alvarez since last year and is confident he could beat the undisputed super-middleweight champion once adding five or six more wins to his resume.
Alvarez has refused to rule out a potential fight against Paul in the future, but only once the YouTube star has improved as a boxer. Paul, who only has five professional fights under his belt, wants to retire after a fight with Alvarez and thinks it could take place in three years.
Diaz was questioned about Paul's hopes of fighting Alvarez, as a reporter asked him: "Jake Paul says he would beat Canelo". The UFC star was baffled by the statement, to which he replied: "At what?".
Alvarez previously dismissed Paul's move into boxing in the sport but later backtracked on his comments by stating the 25-year-old brings a new audience to the sport. Paul has admitted he respects the pound-for-pound No.1 but is confident he could give him a better fight than some of his past opponents.
“Other people think [I am not ready to fight Alvarez]," Paul said on ESPN's First Take. "People try to place limits on what is possible for you. You are a unicorn doing something different ... for me, I can accomplish anything I set my mind to.
"I know I can get after Canelo, I know I can go rounds with him and the guy he fought the other time, the Turkish warrior [Avni Yildirim], quit after three rounds and he didn't throw one punch.
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"I’m bigger than Canelo, I’m faster than Canelo, I’m more athletic than Canelo. Can I box better? Probably not, but after three years, that’s going to be a big fight. Two of the biggest names in boxing going after each other."
A fight between Alvarez and Paul is unlikely to happen anytime soon, with Alvarez focused on cementing his legacy against 'legitimate' opponents for now. The Mexican moves back up to light heavyweight for the first time in three years on May 7 when he challenges WBA champion Dmitry Bivol.
Paul is targeting a ring return in August having not fought since last December. 'The Problem Child' recently put together a six-man ' hitlist ' of potential opponents, with the likes of boxing legend Floyd Mayweather and now-retired UFC champion Michael Bisping featuring on it.
