JAKE PAUL fights Nate Diaz with his boxing career on the line – as defeat could spark an early retirement.
The YouTuber-turned boxer returns over the weekend against ex-UFC star Nate Diaz in Texas.
It comes following the first defeat of his polarising prizefighting career, having lost a split-decision to Tommy Fury in February.
So it leaves his future in boxing at stake when he steps foot between the ropes as a beaten man for the first time.
Paul’s business partner and advisor Nakisa Bidarian told ESPN: “He may retire if he loses to Nate Diaz.
“His boxing career is on the line, in terms of being one of the top three or four guys in the entire sport globally.
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“I think if he was to lose, he’d just go to being another prospect that’s coming up in the ring.”
Paul snubbed a rematch with Fury, 24, to instead face Diaz, 38, who is now a free agent after a storied stint with the UFC.
And the chance to finally fight the MMA veteran and fans’ favourite proved too good to turn down.
Paul, 26, said: “Nate has a massive name, he’s a massive pay-per-view draw of the UFC times and to me that’s exciting.
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“I haven’t yet fought a massive pay-per-view draw in the prime of their career while they’re still hot and active.
“So, to me that’s super exciting and there was that beef that was there and this online banter that was there back and forth that we’ve been trying to and wanting to fight for a long time.
“Then finally the stars aligned.”
Despite the allure of another career-crushing defeat, Paul insisted he only benefited from being beat for the first time.
He said: “After losing to Tommy I landed myself a bigger name and a bigger fight in terms of the ticket sales, the commercial pay-per-view.
“Everything is pointing towards this being the biggest event ever and I didn’t think that would be possible after losing to Tommy.
“So it’s interesting, I guess you can’t predict these things but I guess the number one thing is if people want to still see my fight then I’ll still have big fights.
“It’s really the fanbase that drives me, right. It’s like Deontay Wilder losing a couple of times to Tyson Fury but everyone still wants to see him fight.
“It all just depends and it’s really how you go out. If you’re going to get knocked out but if you lose a split-decision and it’s a war and it’s a good fight, it’s a lot easier to come back from that.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
