CLEVELAND, OHIO: Even though he lost the bout on August 5, Nate Diaz still has unfinished business with Jake Paul. In his boxing debut at the American Airlines Center, Diaz (0-1) lost to Paul (7-1) by unanimous decision. He had his moments, but in the end things didn't work out as he might have hoped, and he attributes some of that to not being able to compete at his full potential.
Diaz reportedly claimed he had an arm injury weeks before the fight. Additionally, according to his coach Richard Perez, he also had a knee problem. Despite all of that, Diaz claimed he never gave withdrawal any thought.
‘There’s no way I’m not going to show up for a fight’
“I’m not trying to make excuses, but about a month back I was trying to stay big and I hurt my arm a little bit. It was wearing and tearing on my right arm if I was jabbing or doing stuff. … I think I should’ve kept on the outside and do more stuff. It’s all good. There’s no way I’m not going to show up for a fight for something like that, too. You’ve got to go regardless. No matter what,” Diaz told reporters at the post-fight news conference.
Even though Diaz began to build an advantage against Paul in the later rounds, he was unable to exert enough pressure to turn the tide. He gave Paul credit for his work and had no concerns with the outcome.
“I know what I was coming for. I was coming for a fight with a big, strong, motivated guy trying to take over the world. Nothing surprised me in this sh*t. … I didn’t think I won. He got the knockdown and stuff, so I figured I won a good amount of rounds,” Diaz added.
Diaz expects to face Paul again in the future despite losing this first battle. He said that the fight had not done him any damage and that he would be ready to fight again in "two, three, or four months."
‘My goal is to get a rematch’
However, how things unfold is anybody's guess at this point. Diaz accepted Paul's invitation to rematch in MMA under the PFL banner because he liked the idea.
If the logistics could be worked out, Diaz would be delighted to run the fight back in a situation where he would appear to have a huge advantage. He stated that the bout would have to be a co-promotion with his Real Fight Inc.
“My goal is to get a rematch in any art. We’re going to see what happens and see if he really wants to do that. If not, I’ll be back in this hunting him down,” Diaz concluded.
