By Mark Eisner: Cruiserweight Jake Paul (7-1, 4 KOs) outworked & out-punched the 38-year-old journeyman Nate Diaz (0-1), beating him by a wide ten round unanimous decision in their 185-lb catchweight fight on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
The scores were 97-92, 98-91, and 98-91.
Paul, 26, dropped Diaz with a left hook in the fifth, and landed the harder shots in the second half of the fight to get the win.
Although the former UFC fighter Diaz threw a lot of punches in the championship rounds, they were slapping shots with no power on them and terrible form.
If Nate were wearing the light MMA gloves, it might have had an effect, but had zero power, and punching flyweight in boxing.
- In a mismatch, unified female featherweight champion Amanda Serrano (45-2-1, 30 KO) easily beat Heather Hardy (24-2, 4 KO) in a ten round unanimous decision in their rematch. The 41-year-old Hardy looked her age tonight, losing by the scores 99-91, 100-90, and 100-90. Serrano hit Hardy at will with shots, bloodying her nose, swelling her face, and messing up her mouth. The fight should have arguably been stopped because it wasn’t competitive. Hardy was slow & weak from the start. This was the chief support bout on tonight’s card. It would be a good idea to have Hardy checked out after this because she took enormous punishment. Hopefully, the main event is better.
- Super middleweight prospect Chris Avila (4-1) defeated Jeremy Stephens (0-1-1) by a one-sided six rounds unanimous decision. The scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 60-54.
- Lightweight prospect Ashton ‘H20’ Sylve (10-0, 9 KOs) destroyed journeyman William Silva (30-5, 18 KOs) by a fourth round knockout. The fight was halted at 2:59 of the 4th. Sylve, 29, flattened Silva with a hard body shot in the fourth. He also had Silva down in round two.
- Female super middleweight Shadasia Green (13-0, 11 KOs) was forced to go the full ten round distance, defeating Olivia Curry (7-2, 2 KOs) by a unanimous decision. The scores were lopsided, with the judges scoring 99-91, 100-90, and 100-89. Green landed the far harder shots and dominated the action in every round. Curry, 32, was game but lacked the power to be competitive. Green connected on 179 of 385 punches for 46%. Curry landed 99 of 495 shots for a much lower 20% connect percentage.
- Welterweight Alan Sanchez (23-5-1, 10 KOs) kept his 14-year pro career moving in the right direction with an eight round unanimous decision over Angel Beltran (17-2, 10 KOs). The scores were 77-75, 78-74, and 79-73. Punch stats: Sanchez connected on 149 of 439 for a 34% connect rate. For his part, Beltran landed 130 of 451 for 29%. The victory for the 32-year-old Sanchez was his third straight since losing back-to-back fights against Daniyar Yeleussinov and Alexander Besputin.
- Super middleweight Kevin Newman II (15-3-1, 9 KOs) dominated Quilisto Madera (14-4, 9 KOs), winning a one-sided eight round unanimous decision. The judges’ scores were 80-71, 79-72, and 79-72.
- Welterweight Jose Aguayo (1-1) beat Noel Cavazos (2-2) by a four round majority decision. The scores were 39-37, 39-37, and 38-38.
- Lightweight Luciano Ramos (2-3) defeated Cee Jay Hamilton (0-1) by a four round unanimous decision. The judges scored it 40-36, 40-36, and 39-37.
Jake Paul (6-1, 4 KOs) will be looking for redemption tonight, fighting the well-known MMA journeyman Nate Diaz in a 185-lb cruiserweight catchweight bout scheduled for ten rounds on DAZN pay-per-view at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Paul vs. Diaz is a fight with early knockout written all over it, as it’s a mismatch in size, power, youth, and ring experience on Jake’s side. Nate looks like he didn’t train hard for this fight.
In the chief support bout, female unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano (44-2-1, 30 KO) fights Heather Hardy (24-2, 4 KO) in a ten round contest.
Serrano won her last two fights after a highly questionable 10-round split decision loss to Katie Taylor last year. Many fans felt that Serrano deserved the victory in that contest.
Looking for redemption
Jake Paul: “I’m ready for my redemption to start on Saturday,” said Jake to Stephen A. Smith’s Youtube channel.
Stephen A. Smith: “You’re getting in the ring with a fighter but not necessarily a boxer with Nate Diaz. Why are you doing that?”
Jake: “I’ve always wanted this fight with Nate Diaz. The whole reason this started is because people have been talking smack to me, and I had to settle the beef. So he said a lot of things about me, my family, my career, and basically said he would beat my a**. I’m not okay with that.
“I want to settle the beef man to man, and he’s a massive name. He brings a lot to the table. He’s been boxing since he was 16 years old with world champion Andre Ward. So he’s been boxing, and he’s tough, and he comes forward, and he makes exciting fights and. So I think the fans are the ones who are going to win out of all of this.
Smith: “Nate Diaz does have a tremendous reputation. He’s as tough as they come. He doesn’t back down from anybody; there’s no question about that. But as it pertains to you, what are you hoping to get from this fight other than a victory?
“Obviously, you want to win in spectacular fashion. You want to put him to sleep. I get that part, but what else are you hoping to accomplish with this particular fight?”
Jake: “I think just to gain experience under my belt. It’s only been three and a half years as a professional fighter, and my goal is to become a world champion. The only way I do that is by fighting in these big moments, fighting longer fights.
“This fight’s ten rounds, which is more than I’ve done in my previous fights. So to get those rounds of experience under my belt, I brought in a new team to switch my technique, implement a new game plan, and prove to myself that I can come back from a loss.”
No quit in Jake
Jake: “I want to get even better and show the world and to show kids out there if you lose in basketball and your local thing if you lose in life, if you get a bad grade, whatever it might be, you can come back stronger. That’s what I want to prove.”
Smith: “Is it true that Sugar Shane Mosley was helping you to train for this fight?
Jake: “Yes, he’s been in this camp the whole entire time and has been very, very helpful. We had originally worked together for my first professional fight, and he was super busy.
“After losing [to Tommy Fury], I just went to the drawing board and reevaluated everyone and everything on my team, and I wanted to bring back some of the people that I had originally worked with, and that’s really where it all came about.
“It’s been an amazing camp, the best camp of my life. I’m feeling better than ever, the best shape I’ve ever been in, and the best mindset. So I’m just excited to go out there, and I’m feeling super confident. I know what I’m capable of.”