Jake Paul won his latest fight on Sunday AEST, but he has a long way to go to convince fans of his boxing ability.
Paul, 26, made a fortune as an “influencer” on YouTube before starting a boxing career in early 2020.
He has fought mostly ageing or retired mixed martial arts fighters, rather than true boxers, which continued in Dallas when he took on 38-year-old former UFC champion Nate Diaz.
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While Paul has his fanbase, he also draws plenty of hatred and vitriol, as evidenced by his walk to the ring on Sunday.
He had a decidedly mixed reaction, with boos mostly drowning out the cheers.
Diaz was clearly the more popular fighter, earning a rousing reception when he walked second into the ring.
The fight looked like a complete sham in the first round, with the much younger, fitter and bigger Paul throwing haymakers at Diaz, who looked totally outclassed.
Shouts of “scripted” echoed around social media as a quick knockout looked on the cards, before Diaz actually worked his way into the fight.
As an MMA fighter, Diaz was known for his grappling and striking in a 15-year career that ended with a 21-13 record, including wins over Conor McGregor and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
But it was clear he was very uncomfortable wearing heavy boxing gloves, unable to inflict any impact on Paul, particularly early in the fight.
Diaz is tough and actually had his moments, winning two rounds according to one judge and one round from the other two, going down 97-92, 98-91 and 98-91 in a unanimous defeat.
But the reaction was all about Paul and his continued choices of opponents, with Diaz following the likes of fellow retired MMA fighters Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley and former NBA player Nate Robinson.
Paul’s only defeat in eight fights was against the only boxer of any note, heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s younger brother, Tommy Fury.
After Paul’s comfortable enough win over Diaz, the reaction was swift.
“Jake Paul beats another Washed up Pudgy MMA Dude & Making Millions for his Trouble & Services!” wrote one Twitter user.
“How Jake Paul walks into retirement homes to pick out his next opponent,” quipped another.
Paul himself spoke about fulfilling his dreams and proving people wrong in his post-fight interview.
But his intention to fight Diaz again in the Octagon really got people’s attention.
“He’s tough. He’s real tough,” Paul said. “That’s what he’s known for. But ‘tough’ in this sport doesn’t work.
“I knocked him down basically every round. He might’ve won one round. He’s a warrior.
“All credit to my team. Going 10 rounds in my eighth fight, it’s unheard of. But I want to run it back in MMA. $10 million, that’s the offer. Let’s run it back in MMA. Let’s do it.”
Diaz couldn’t help falling back to his roots at stages in the fight, including using a “guillotine” chokehold in the final round.
The native of Stockton, California won plenty of admirers for his ability to get through the 10 rounds.
Afterwards he made his feelings towards fighting pretty clear, even at his age.
“He’s tough,” Diaz said of Paul. “I wish I could’ve done better.
“It’s all good. He won this one. I’ll fight anybody. I don’t give a f**k.”
A boxing rematch would seem unlikely at this point, but Paul stepping into the Octagon would be a huge draw for pay-per-view subscribers, particularly those who would like to see Paul lose.
Another UFC star, Francis Ngannou, was at the fight in Texas.
Ngannou is making the switch to boxing himself, taking on Tyson Fury on October 28 in Riyadh.
Ngannou summed up the feelings of most fight fans when he was asked about Paul’s chances of beating Diaz in the Octagon.
“No. Jake cannot handle Nate. Come on. In MMA, he cannot.”