The long awaited, highly anticipated boxing grudge match between Jake Paul and Nate Diaz is finally upon us in arguably the biggest crossover boxing bout ever.
Paul looks to re-establish himself as the best in this scene after his first ever loss to Tommy Fury last time out, while Diaz makes his first professional boxing appearance following his exit from the UFC at the end of his contract last year.
We take a look at both fighters and preview the bout, while providing you with our best free boxing picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while watching a great scrap.
Remember that these bookies offer plenty of betting bonuses and promotions.
Jake Paul vs Nate Diaz information
- Saturday, August 5th 2023
- American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
- Cruiserweight (185-pounds)
- 3 x 10 rounds
- 23:00 ET estimated ring-walk time
Jake Paul vs Nate Diaz odds
- Jake Paul - (-375)
- Nate Diaz - (+300)
Paul comes into the fight with a 6-1 professional record, including four knockouts. His most recent win saw him claim a close decision victory over mixed martial arts legend Anderson Silva in a fun bout, where he showed that he is capable of hanging in the ring with striking specialists.
His previous victories came over YouTuber AnEsonGib, former NBA star Nate Robinson, former MMA world champion Ben Askren and twice against former UFC champion Tyron Woodley.
Most recently in the ring he took on Tommy Fury where he was outboxed for the majority of the bout and fell to a split decision.
You can bet on Paul to get back on the winning trail at a best price of -375, meaning you would need to bet $375 to earn a $100 profit which shows how highly he is favored to win this matchup.
Diaz will be making his professional boxing debut in this bout, after a largely successful UFC career which saw him challenge for the world championship in MMA at 155-pounds.
His professional fighting record stands at 21-13 with five knockouts and 12 submission wins, including his most recent over Tony Ferguson back at UFC 279 in September 2022.
Prior to that he suffered back-to-back losses against Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal, with the latter coming by TKO loss following a doctor's stoppage due to a bad cut over his eyebrow.
You can bet on Diaz to earn a shock win at a best price of +300, meaning you can earn $300 profit from a $100 bet.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
Jake Paul vs Nate Diaz preview
Paul is known for his erratic fighting style, taking risks, throws haymakers, and clearly has power, given that he has put four of his six opponents to sleep.
His biggest strength is undoubtedly his power left hand, which has caught the attention of the boxing world. He has great precision with it and good timing too, but unfortunately against Fury it was well-measured and he never really managed to fire it off.
Against Diaz though he would have great a great opportunity to land because of the lack of head movement that the Stockton native has and his belief in his chin. He will have a reach advantage in the fight and he is naturally the bigger fighter of the two too, so Paul will feel that he can walk him down and attack.
Diaz is a jiu-jitsu fighter but has always been well-versed in the art of boxing, training and sparring with former world champion Andre Ward throughout his MMA career.
His jab is very good and he has an excellent one-two, but his striking is likely to be very one-dimensional because of his lack of experience when it comes to being only allowed to use his hands without the threat of his submission game coming to the fore.
Boxing picks: Back on track
While Diaz brings plenty of star power to the ring and to the event as a whole, it would be a real surprise if he was able to compete with Paul in a pure boxing sense.
His greatest strength when in the UFC was his submission game and his jiu-jitsu skills, and while his boxing was more than adequate a lot of it came from the fact that opponents had to be wary of takedown threats.
Paul will know that isn't an option here, and with a size and reach advantage he will be able to dictate the range and distance and will likely dominate when the exchanges take place.
Diaz's cardio has always been a huge weapon in his fights so he may look to work the body and take this to the latter rounds where he can start to walk Paul down and force him to move backwards.
But Paul's power is likely to make an impact in the earlier rounds, and while a finish in this fight is unlikely on either side "The Problem Child" should be able to do enough eye-catching work to earn the judge's decision at the end of ten rounds.
Check out our review for Bovada sports betting here.
