Six months after suffering his first defeat in the boxing ring, Jake Paul has earned a bounce-back win. In front of a sold-out crowd at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Paul defeated former UFC fighter Nate Diaz over ten rounds.
With the win, Paul improved his official boxing record to 7-1. Several of his wins have come against one-time UFC greats, such as Diaz, Tyron Woodley, and Anderson Silva. His only loss came this past February, when fellow influencer Tommy Fury handed him a split decision loss.
If there was any doubt that Paul was ready to move past his biggest in-ring disappointment, he made that intention clear as soon as his fight against Diaz began. The fighter known as “The Problem Child” came out swinging from the opening bell and nearly dropped Diaz in the first round. He did score a knockdown in the fifth round, but Diaz was able to recover and go the distance. At the end of the tenth round, Paul led on all three scorecards: 97-92, 98-91, and 98-91.
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After claiming the win, Paul complimented his opponent’s endurance. “I had him in the first round. He kept on coming,” Paul said. “No one has taken that much damage. All credit to my team and my conditioning.”
DAZN, which offered the Paul-Diaz fight via pay-per-view, hasn’t yet revealed the number of people who purchased access to it. The event’s PPV audience was likely impacted by pirated streams, but the size of the in-person crowd — the American Airlines Center seats more than 19,000 people — indicates the amount of fan interest Paul has injected into boxing. A highlight reel shared by DAZN has reached the top of YouTube’s Trending tab.
“Whatever happens, this one thing is certain: The Pauls have altered the fighting landscape. It’s fair to say Diaz made more money in his boxing debut than in any of his UFC fights,” wrote Chuck Mindenhall in a recap published by The Ringer. “Something is compelling about the idea that Paul has not only manifested a boxing career out of an urge in just three years but is also defiantly succeeding.”
Paul’s in-ring accomplishments are already impressive, but he’s hungry to try out combat sports other than boxing. He told Diaz, who is best known for handing Conor McGregor his first UFC loss, that he is eager to schedule a mixed martial arts (MMA) fight. “Let’s run it back in MMA,” Paul said during an in-ring interview. “Make it fair. I won one, now it’s your chance in your home territory. MMA, let’s do it.’”
To sweeten the pot, Paul claimed that the Professional Fighters League could provide a $10 million purse for that tussle. Diaz expressed interest in the MMA rematch, remarking that it “sounds good.”
Paul’s audacious foray into boxing has amazed many, but his brother’s business partner still isn’t impressed. J.J. “KSI” Olatunji, who has expressed interest in fighting Paul, said the Problem Child had a “terrible” performance in his bout against Diaz. He believes he will put up a “real fight” when he takes on Fury later this year.
