2023-08-06 05:00:00
Jake Paul came out of the blocks strong and delivered a disciplined fight to defeat Nate Diaz by unanimous decision of the judges (97-92, 98-91, 98-91), Saturday, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Paul dominated Diaz in the first seconds of the first round, putting the former UFC in bad shape, even suggesting a knockout. from the initial round. After weathering the storm, Diaz put up a better showing in round two, but Paul came back strong in round three, shaking Diaz again.
Diaz then offered his best round so far, surprising Paul in particular with a well-placed uppercut in the middle of the fourth round and a few combinations with about forty seconds to go at the end.
Diaz’s breath of fresh air was short-lived as Paul sent him visiting the floor in the fifth round after a hard left hook directly to the temple, setting up a count for the 38-year-old. Despite Paul’s onslaught, Diaz survived the round.
Clearly behind in card scoring, Diaz turned the machine on and rattled Paul in the eighth round, sending the 26-year-old fighter faltering for a moment. The two boxers ultimately stretched the fight to the 10 round limit, leaving the outcome of the bout in the hands of the judges.
It was Diaz’s baptism in boxing after 34 bouts in MMA over a 15-year span. As for Paul, a social media star, he now shows a 7-1 record since he challenges boxers. His only loss came last February in a split decision to Tommy Fury.
After the fight, Paul agreed to take on the challenge again against Diaz in a PFL-rules octagon. Diaz, who had issued a challenge to Paul under the rules of mixed martial arts, also let the idea of a fight under the rules of MMA float in order to avenge his defeat.
If Diaz isn’t Paul’s next opponent, the controversial influencer has floated the idea of a rematch against Fury while noting that nothing is in place at this time.
Serrano remains champion and calls for unity
The semi-final of the evening pitted featherweight champion Amanda Serrano against Heather Hardy. This was a rematch for Hardy who had lost his titles to Serrano.
Serrano once again got the better of her rival by unanimous decision to retain her five featherweight titles.
In a big show of respect, the two fighters threw several compliments at each other, encouraging each other to add their voices to gain more respect for women’s boxing.
“When I turned pro, Amanda was already a champion and the one everyone wanted to be. Everyone in Brooklyn knows her, don’t get hit on her! I gave everything I had. Absolutely everything for three months. All. I have no excuses, that was all I had,” Hardy said emotionally.
“We all need to unite. We need to work together to enforce women’s boxing. Let’s not degrade each other. Let’s work together and advance this wonderful sport of women’s boxing together. We gave it our all, sweat, tears and blood. We are warriors,” added the champion.
With her win over Hardy, Serrano is gearing up for the highly anticipated rematch against Katie Taylor to whom she lost by split decision on April 30, 2022 at Madison Square Garden in the highest scoring fight in women’s boxing history.
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