It appears one real boxer was enough for Jake Paul.
The “Problem Child” has announced he will return to the ring on August 6 (AEST) against UFC legend Nate Diaz in a 185-pound catchweight boxing fight in Dallas, Texas.
Paul (6-1) is coming off the first defeat of his young career — a split decision loss to heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s younger brother Tommy in Saudi Arabia in February.
Fury, who is only 23 but 9-0 in his fledgling career, was the first real boxer Paul had fought after his early forays in the sport included wins against YouTuber AnEsonGib, ex-NBA player Nate Robinson and former UFC fighters Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley (twice) and Anderson Silva.
After being outpointed against Fury he will resume fighting mixed martial artists, even though Diaz has some boxing chops after reportedly spending years training in Oakland with former world champion Andre Ward.
“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.
“People tell me Nate has been training with Andre Ward for years. That he has insane stamina. That he refuses to back down. Good for f**king Nate. I haven’t forgotten about the slap backstage in Arizona, and on August 5, a Problem Child is going to piece up and knock out the Stockton G.”
That backstage slap came at Paul’s fight against Silva. Diaz attended to support close friend Chris Avila, who fought on the undercard, but a reported 20-man scuffle broke out when the Diaz and Paul crews bumped into each other before the main event.
“When I was in the back I saw the Diaz team and the Paul team get into it,” Ariel Helwani reported at the time.
“Big scuffle. Pushes. Got physical and drinks were thrown. Over 20 people involved.
“Almost got ugly but they broke it up and then the Diaz team weren’t seen again.”
Now Diaz, who is most famous for being the first man to defeat Conor McGregor in the UFC, will have a chance to put his hands on Paul in front of the whole world.
The California native has promised to ruin Paul’s career before heading back to the UFC, where he hasn’t fought since defeating Tony Ferguson in September last year — the final fight on his contract.
“Besides Canelo, Jake’s the biggest thing in boxing. I’m here to conquer that. I’m the king of combat sports and then I’m headed back to get my UFC belts,” said Diaz.
“I f**ked 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.”
Diaz opened as a betting underdog in the fight, which will take place at American Airlines Centre, the home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.
Fighters react to Paul-Diaz match-up
As the fight world reacted to the announcement, Askren — who was savagely knocked out by Paul — was tipping more pain for MMA fans.
“Nate fans are going to cry so hard when Jake beats him,” Askren tweeted.
But MMA fighter Paul Redmond disagreed. “Tommy Fury finessed JP handy, Nate spars real boxers the last 15 years, has a granite chin, and cardio for days… Why am I seeing alot of people post a handy win for Jake Paul? Am I missing something??”
Fighters were split on whether the match-up was worth watching or not.
“Omg Diaz Vs Paul. Holy f**k boys I’m hyped,” tweeted the UFC’s Sean O’Malley.
“I’ll tune into any Diaz fight,” added Kelvin Gastelum.
But others weren’t impressed.
“Jake Paul vs Nate Diaz such a f**king joke,” tweeted Sean Strickland. “I’m not hating on either for making money off this clown show I’m hating on the fact a RETIRED 155er is fighting a juiced tiktoker at 185 who lost to a recreational boxer Tommy Fury. STOP WATCHING THIS BS!! IT NEEDS TO DIE.”
“Jake Paul loses to the only ‘pro’ boxer that’s his age & weight class who is actually terrible and immediately returns to boxing retired smaller MMA fighters with CTE,” added Dillon Danis.
Meantime, Paul insists he still wants a rematch with Fury down the road.
““I know I can beat Tommy. That was the worst version of me possible,” he said. “He was the better man, he had an amazing performance, congrats to Tommy for that. But I wanna come back and take what’s mine from that kid.”