Jake Paul is considered to be at an advantage in his fight against Nate Diaz due to his record in professional boxing, greater size, power and a potential to win by TKO, but he also faces higher stakes and pressure to win.
Jake Paul is a promising competitor in his forthcoming fight against Nate Diaz on Saturday. While Diaz is much more experienced due to his Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) career, Paul has a considerable professional boxing background with a 6-1 record with four knockouts. He also has an impressive win over ex-UFC champion Anderson Silva under his belt. Furthermore, Diaz, a UFC veteran who spent most of his career at lightweight, will be moving up to compete against Paul at 185 pounds, potentially giving the latter an advantage in size and power.
UFC welterweight and boxing enthusiast Matt Brown is among those who believe that these advantages give Paul the best shot at victory. “I think everybody who’s watching this fight knows Jake is the bigger guy,” Brown said on The Fighter vs. The Writer. “He has a good right hand. Right hand against southpaw, that’s the weapon of choice. He’s probably going to land that right hand a few times. He’s probably going to hurt Nate pretty bad. Probably get a TKO stoppage.”
Despite this, Matt Brown recognizes that it would be unwise to discount Diaz outright, especially since he has ten rounds to pit against Paul. Diaz is known for his aggressive, non-stop fighting style. As rounds progress, he seemingly wears down his opponents with his relentless attacks, not allowing himself to slow down. Therefore, if Paul is unable to score an early victory, Diaz might have a chance to retaliate with high-volume striking akin to death by a thousand cuts.”If he can get through those first few rounds and start to wear Jake down a little bit, we all know what Nate can do once he gets you worn down. If you slow down on him, he’s going to f*** you up.” Brown commented.
Lastly, Brown acknowledges that while Diaz could pull off an upset, the UFC veteran faces significant challenges in this fight. This makes Brown favor Paul for the win. “I think Jake can probably keep him off and probably throw a big right hand, tie him up a little bit, wear his arms out, keep kind of repeating that. It’s just hard to give Nate a chance in this fight going up 30 pounds.” He also noted the added pressure on Paul ahead of the fight. As the favored contender according to betting odds, expectations for Paul’s performance are high, especially as he looks to bounce back from a recent loss. Conversely, as the underdog and despite never participating in a professional boxing match, Diaz faces relatively less risk due to his superstar status. “There’s a lot of pressure on [Paul],” Brown concludes. “Nate doesn’t really have a whole lot to lose. He’s going in there for a payday. The stakes are much higher for Jake Paul.”