JAKE PAUL could get the chance to fight an unbeaten Hall of Fame world champion.
The YouTuber-turned prizefighter is 6-1 in his career, having lost for the first time in February to Tommy Fury, 24, in Saudi Arabia.
It was the first time the 26-year-old faced an opponent with a prior professional boxing record.
Now, he returns on August 5 in Texas against ex-UFC star Nate Diaz, 38, who is will be making his ring debut.
But Diaz was a once sparring partner of American legend Andre Ward, who retired in 2017 undefeated in 32 bouts.
The 2021 Hall of Famer revealed he could be tempted out of retirement for a fight against Paul – having tried to do so before.
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Ward, 39, told The MMA Hour: “My manager James Prince, one of his sons is real close to Jake Paul.
“And my induction weekend, Prince reached out to his son and said, ‘Aye man, let Jake know I wanted to see if something was there.’
“And we never heard back. And that’s not a slight on Jake Paul, I’m not chasing Jake Paul.”
Fans were left fearing for Diaz after footage emerged of the American hitting pads in training.
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But Ward – who reigned at super-middle and light-heavyweight – warned not to count the MMA veteran out.
He said: “People look at that mitt session that they had and they just misread the play, man, [because] those type of shots, they don’t look pretty, but they keep coming.
“They keep coming from different angles and he’s got some miles on him. He’s been around a long time.
“[Diaz has] to show that he can take the shot from Jake Paul, because Jake has a natural right hand, it’s got power on it.
“So if he can take that right hand from Jake Paul, it’s gonna be a tougher fight than people realise, man, because Nate’s going to keep coming.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
