Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz: Are the Paul brothers good for boxing?
This weekend’s Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz boxing blockbuster will do huge PPV numbers. But whether it’s good for the sport is another matter entirely.
A former Disney channel child star walks into a ring with one of the baddest MMA fighters on the planet.
That’s not the start of a terrible joke. Far from it.
It’s the scene that will play out this weekend when megastar Jake Paul – described variously as a prankster, influencer, rapper and YouTuber turned boxer – fights UFC icon Nate Diaz.
Like Paul’s whole persona, it’s a polarising kind of fight.
Purists hate it. Casual fans can’t wait to watch.
And it’s almost guaranteed to do more pay-per-view buys than the biggest fight of the year between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence last weekend.
But is it good for the sport?
Diehards will say it’s a bad look for boxing.
They conveniently forget that boxing constantly makes itself look bad through dodgy decisions, shoddy refereeing, woeful matchmaking and the inability to deliver the big fights that fans want to see.
These days the biggest fights involving the best boxers are watched only by a hardcore crop of boxing aficionados. Naoya Inoue’s win over Stephen Fulton last week is the perfect example. Until Crawford’s masterclass on the weekend, Inoue was the consensus pound-for-pound number one fighter on the planet.
But you’d be hard pressed to find a casual sports fan in Australia who has ever heard of the Japanese knockout artist. Fewer still tuned in to watch his destruction of Fulton, despite it being on at the viewer friendly time of Tuesday evening.
Jake Paul brings non-boxing, and even non-sports fans, to the table.
It’s a tactic honed from his days as a YouTuber and “influencer”.
And, once they’re watching, Paul puts on a show. He’s a natural entertainer.
Four of his six wins have ended inside the distance, including a stunning first round knock out of decorated wrestler and former UFC veteran Ben Askren, and a sixth round KO of former longtime UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
He also dropped middleweight UFC GOAT Anderson Silva on the way to a lopsided unanimous decision win last year.
As much as boxing insiders love watching pure displays of skill, the majority of people just want to see knockouts, and as often as not, Paul delivers.
Although crossover, or ‘novelty’ boxing matches are becoming more common, the Paul-Diaz showdown is far from the first of its kind.
Floyd Mayweather moved into the space with a win over boxing debutant Conor McGregor in 2017, and an exhibition against Logan Paul – Jake’s brother – in 2021.
Two decades after they could have faced one another in their primes, Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr went eight rounds in an exhibition in 2020.
UFC pioneer Vitor Belfort has beaten one-time boxing kingpin Evander Holyfield, and in 1976, Muhammad Ali even fought Japanese pro-wrestling star Antonio Inoki in a bout with specifically created rules.
The trend is threatening to infiltrate MMA too, with rumours of a cage fight between tech moguls Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
The difference, this weekend at least, is that the Paul brothers have legitimately dedicated themselves to the sport.
Paul isn’t just in it for the money – although there’s untold millions to be made from PPV revenue, ticket sales, merchandise and sponsorships.
Not to mention the way the business savvy Paul brothers leverage their already gargantuan social media followings to make even more cash. And no one fights for free.
But the Pauls are in their 20s, train hard and have future plans in boxing and MMA. Jake wants to fight in the PFL – one of the UFC’s biggest rivals – and Logan is a former college wrestler who rolled recently with Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski.
They’re in it for the long haul.
Whereas Tyson, Jones Jr and Holyfield all openly said they only laced on the gloves again for a payday, banking on their decorated past careers and stardom.
There’s longevity in ‘novelty’ boxing matches, if they’re done right. But the shelf life of people tuning in to watch their ageing heroes of the ‘90s – when boxing was legitimately a mainstream sport – is surely coming to an end.
Jake Paul isn’t just in it for himself, either.
‘The Problem Child’ has been vocal in arguing for better pay for fighters, hitting out hard at UFC president Dana White.
The Paul brothers have helped raise the profile of many boxers who appear on their undercards too.
Undisputed women’s featherweight world champion Amanda Serrano – who will defend her titles against Heather Hardy on this weekend’s Paul-Diaz card – has benefited significantly.
Aussie Liam Paro fought on a Jake Paul card in 2021, and Devin Haney appeared on the Logan Paul vs. KSI card in 2019, three years before he became undisputed lightweight world champion with two wins over George Kambosos.
Closer to home, and to a lesser extent, No Limit Boxing used a similar tactic to build the profiles of legitimate world title prospects Tim Tszyu and Liam Wilson by having them fight on undercards.
‘Real’ boxing and novelty boxing can coexist. The rise of novelty fights isn’t taking anything away from legitimate boxing. Crawford, Spence, Canelo and Co. are doing just fine.
There are downsides though.
“Influencer boxing” is on the rise, most recently making headlines in Ireland after an OnlyFans model flashed her breasts after a win.
These events see “talent” with large online followings shift momentarily into part-time boxing. The sole endgame is to cash checks and earn a few more followers. It’s a grift at best, and dangerous at worst.
For better or worse, it seems like sticking around for a while. At least as long as Instagram, Tik Tok and OnlyFans exist.
For the detractors of influencer boxing, the answer is the same as for those who can’t stomach Jake Paul: don’t watch.
When is Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz?
The fight takes place on Saturday, August 5 in Dallas Texas.
That works out as the afternoon of Sunday, August 6 in Australia.
How to watch Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz in Australia
The fight is available on Main Event and Kayo Sports pay-per-view and costs $34.95.
What time will Jake Paul and Nate Diaz fight?
Expect the main event to take place at around 2pm AEST.
Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz head-to-head
Jake Paul record: 6-1-0 (4KOs)
Height: 185cm
Reach: 193cm
Age: 26
Instagram followers: 23.8 million
YouTube subscribers: 20.4 million (7.3 billion views)
Best win: KO win over Tyron Woodley in their December 2021 rematch
Nate Diaz record: Boxing debut (16-11 in the UFC)
Height: 185cm
Reach: 193cm
Age: 38
Instagram followers: 6.5 million
YouTube subscribers: 336,000 (21 million views)
Best win: A second round submission win over Conor McGregor at UFC 196 in 2016
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