At the American Airlines Center in Dallas, MMA icon Nate Diaz (0-1) made his professional boxing debut and dropped a ten round unanimous decision to Youtube star turned boxer, Jake Paul (7-1, 4 KOs).
Diaz was rocked in the very first round and got dropped by a heavy temple shot in the fifth, but he weathered the storm and managed to make it competitive at times.
In the end, Paul secured a sizable decision from the judges.
Diaz, who clowned around in the bout by locking Paul in a choke and going for a takedown, was satisfied with his own performance.
“He needed a takedown. He needed a choke. He did a good job. He’s a f——- athletic, strong dude and he hits hard and fast, but it ain’t nothing I hadn’t seen before, and I trained with people who were [like that]. These guys can throw down. It’s good sh!t. […] I should have been throwing punches, keeping him on the outside,” Diaz said.
“I’m not trying to make an excuse, but about a month back I hurt my […] right arm, a bit. I think I should’ve kept to the outside and circled, and done better stuff. But it’s all good. There’s no way I [wouldn’t] show up for a fight because of something like that. You gotta go regardless, no matter what.
“[The chokehold I put on him was a] done deal. In a real fight, the fight’s over, and I would have secured the win, but we were participating in a boxing match, and it was a good time, and now I know… I’ve trained my whole career in boxing with pro boxers on the highest level, high as I could get, and I’ve done really well. I’ve never fought in a pro fight, so I thought I’d f— up anybody. The guillotine… that was too easy. The takedown was too easy too – I got the punch, his whole weight was in my chest. In MMA they smash my head and f— me up. I didn’t think I won. I knew he got the knockdown, but I figured I won a good amount of rounds.
After his first boxing experience, Diaz is open to the possibility of taking part in more fights.
“100%. Talk about experience. […] I didn’t even get cut today. I get cut in every MMA fight I fight in. I have nobody’s [name] in mind right now, but […] next week, get back to me. I’m sure I’ll have a list full of motherf——’ asses to whip,” Diaz said.