Jake Does Dallas: One week after Spence vs. Crawford, Jake Paul and Nate Diaz also have a boxing match

AFTER some gratuitous post-fight flashing and some deeply tasteless press convention sausage stunts, one way or the other Jake Paul looks as if a bastion of normality on this realm we name ‘influencer boxing’.

The 26-year-old returns to the ring in Dallas on Saturday for the primary time since February and his one and solely defeat as a skilled boxer, when he dropped a break up choice to Tommy Fury, the one and solely skilled boxer he has confronted so far.

And he’s again to combating MMA stars now, after earlier victories over Ben Askren, Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley (twice). But given what this sport has needed to endure by means of different influencers attempting their hand within the ring, Paul transferring round with UFC icons is definitely fairly palatable.

Even Eddie Hearn, who has promoted Logan Paul, as an illustration, earlier than, has advised anyone who will hear that ‘we’ should ‘distance ourselves’ from all that caper. He’s proper. The truth it’s broadcast on DAZN alongside his Matchroom occasions means influencer boxing and the right stuff may simply be merging into one within the eyes of the unusual sports activities fan. Let’s hope not.

And, though after this weekend solely one in all his eight boxing matches will have concerned one other boxer, Paul is at the very least going about his enterprise in the fitting manner. It have to be stated, nevertheless, that the bar is astonishingly low nowadays.

But he trains like a true skilled, he’s bettering with each struggle and he’s harnessing his large following in a real bid to reinforce the game in different areas – simply ask Amanda Serrano. And, because it occurs, a struggle in opposition to Nate Diaz is an intriguing one.

Diaz is among the most well-known faces within the UFC, is aware of how one can struggle and this encounter will do large numbers. It is kind of apparent to see why Paul would select him over one other boxer of comparable expertise. A decide with any certainty is difficult although. Diaz is a blended martial artist and Paul has overwhelmed all of these he has confronted up to now, no matter their expertise degree within the octagon.

And, with February’s expertise, the place he dropped Fury, beneath his belt, Paul ought to have grown massively. Indeed, throughout an interview with Boxing News earlier this yr, Paul stated that the defeat in Saudi Arabia lastly made him really feel like a actual boxer. The truth that is over 10 rounds will nearly actually profit Paul, who negotiated eight in opposition to Fury with out falling aside.

“I think in this arena here in Dallas it’s mostly going to be Nate Diaz fans,” Paul stated. “He’s clearly tremendous liked, he’s had a lengthy profession, a legendary profession.

“And I respect him as a fighter and as an MMA juggernaut. He’s innovated the game and been a a part of among the greatest pay-per-views. And that’s why it’s superior to be combating him. Unfortunately, I’m going to knock him out, however I do respect him.

“He and his brother [Nick] haven’t modified for anyone and they have a perception system and values that they comply with and abide by. They’ve gotten crazier and crazier over time – but it surely’s entertaining, proper? It’s very, very entertaining and that’s what the struggle followers need to see.

“This is the most brutal sport in the world, this is the most violent sport in the world and so it’s filled with lunatics and the Diaz brothers are at the top of the list. The lunatics come in all different colours and shapes and sizes but for me it’s entertaining.”

These 10 three-minute rounds will likely be uncharted waters for each Paul and Diaz however it’s the former who has had extra of the requisite swimming classes. He has also beforehand talked up his punching energy however gone the eight-round distance twice in a row now – in opposition to Silva and Fury – and you don’t have to be an MMA fan to know that Diaz is about as robust as they arrive. Paul on factors is the decide but it surely’s not a assured one at this level.

Speaking of Amanda Serrano, the long-lasting Brooklynite and present world No.1 at featherweight takes on one other massive title in ladies’s boxing, Heather Hardy, over 10 twos within the chief assist on the American Airlines Center in Dallas. This will likely be a rerun of their 2019 struggle, which Serrano received handily on factors at Madison Square Garden, and there’s nothing to counsel that Hardy, now 41, has any likelihood of creating it 1-1 in opposition to her New York rival.

That defeat 4 years in the past was the primary of her profession and Hardy took 20 months away from the ring thereafter. She returned with a second successive defeat in May 2021 however has since received twice. Serrano, a massive puncher on the weight, may simply grind Hardy right down to an inside-distance win however that received’t be simple.

In the opposite ladies’s struggle on the cardboard, undefeated puncher Shadasia Green takes on Chicago’s Olivia Curry. Green, 12-0 with 11 inside the gap, is hoping to arrange a showdown with Savannah Marshall for all of the super-middleweight belts and will tick over with what appears like a easy night time’s work in opposition to Curry.

The 33-year-old underdog has by no means blended within the firm of Green’s degree and will do properly to make it by way of all 10 rounds with out changing into her twelfth KO sufferer. Rest assured, Green-Curry won’t finish in a tie.

Notable picks on the remainder of the undercard embody undefeated Ashton ‘H20’ Sylve, from Long Beach, California, who’s at the moment 9-0 (8) and takes on skilled Brazilian William Silva over eight. Silva has misplaced to the likes of Felix Verdejo, Teofimo Lopez and Arnold Barboza earlier than and Sylve would be the subsequent man to beat him right here.

There are also eight-round run-outs for Las Vegas resident Kevin Newman II, who will face Quilisto Madera, who’s, like Diaz, from Stockton. Before that, Guadalajara-born Californian Alan Sanchez will struggle Mexican Angel Beltran Villa in what appears like an eight-round firefight ready to occur.