By Sean Jones: Jake Paul (6-1, 4 KOs) weighed in at 185 lbs, while Nate Diaz came in at 184.9 pounds on Friday at the weigh-in for their 185-lb cruiserweight catchweight fight this Saturday, August 5th, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The event will be shown live on DAZN pay-per-view at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Most would agree this fight has early knockout written all over it. Nate hasn’t looked good in quite a while in MMA, and he’s facing a guy that is much younger, stronger, and more skilled in boxing in going up against the 26-year-old Jake.
The 38-year-old Diaz looked like he hadn’t trained hard for the contest, appearing soft around the middle, giving some flashbacks of how the pot-bellied Ben Askren looked in his fight with Jake in 2021.
Jake made easy work of Askren, knocking him out in the first round. It’s unclear what Nate had been eating during training camp, but whatever it was, it stuck to his frame in the form of fat. Maybe that was his attempt at bulking up for this fight.
Diaz has appeared ill-ease during the entire promotion, not accustomed to the give & take that is expected from Jake Paul’s opponents, and having very little to say.
Yesterday’s final press conference was a prime example of uncomfortable Nate is with this fight, with him giving short answers to questions and seeming like he didn’t want to participate.
If Jake wins on Saturday night, he says he wants Conor McGregor next. However, to get Conor to agree to a fight, Jake will need to wave a tremendous amount of money under his snoot because this guy has become risk averse since picking up a massive payday against Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2017.
Roy Jones Jr expects Nate Diaz to do well
“Nate is going to do good. It’s about how long can he last, how he can take Jake’s punches, and how much stamina he has,” said Roy Jones Jr. to TheMacLife when asked about Nate Diaz’s chances of success against Jake Paul on Saturday night.
“Nate is a good fighter, he’s a very good striker, so if he has the defense, he’s good. I’m only worried about his defense. Offensively, he’s a great fighter. I know he can fight offensively because he’s sparred with some of the best,” Jones said about Diaz.
“He’s been around the game and is one of the best strikers in MMA. So, I know he can strike, but in boxing, because you’ve got gloves, it’s also can you take?
“I think it’s going to hurt him because if Jake is smart, he’s going to take his body and not just his head. Jake has been fighting more, so Jake is likely to do anything,” said Joness Jr when asked if wearing larger gloves will help Nate Diaz.
“That’s a good fight, a very good fight,” said Jones Jr about Jake Paul wanting Conor McGregor next if he’s victorious on Saturday night against Nate.
Reporter showing disrespect to Diaz
“If you’re coming in and being disrespectful, then you shouldn’t be allowed to come in,” said Roy reacting to being told that a reporter told Nate at the final press conference, ‘I can’t wait for Jake to knock you out.’
“If he’s that disrespectful at the press conference, he should be escorted out and not allowed at the press conference. He better not show his face again because you don’t do that disrespect.
“If it were me, I would tell my people, let me get to him because I’m going to bust him in his damn mouth. Since you got so much to say, let’s see you defend yourself. That’s how they promote the sport. Everyone is getting away from discipline.
“Nobody teaches discipline and respect anymore because now they can hide behind their computers and do that. If you said that to their face, they’d beat your a**. You have to defend yourself.