Jorge Masvidal is not giving up on the prospect of fighting Nate Diaz in a boxing match. Masvidal has been there before, and beat Diaz, when the pair played UFC 244 on November 2, 2019. Since then, both 39-year-olds have spewed a healthy dose of venom at each other, which was highlighted last month by the controversy. between the two camps during the last press conference trying to build a war.
This Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, Diaz and Masvidal, two MMA stars past their prime, will fight in a 10-round light heavyweight bout. There will be real boxers on the card, with former WBA middleweight champion Danny Jacobs fighting Shane Mosley Jr. in the super middleweight bout, as it airs on Fanmio/DAZN/UFC Fight Pass PPV (9 p.m. ET).
In his only pro boxing match, Diaz lost to Jake Paul by unanimous decision in a double knockout in August 2023. The last time Diaz won a fight was back on September 10, 2022, when he choked out Tony Ferguson in a fight MMA. at UFC 279.
“I didn't care about Nate's background, but anyone with two hands should always be concerned and respect him,” said Masvidal, who is about to compete for the second time in boxing.
He last won a fight by defeating Diaz five years ago at UFC 244.
“I feel like Diaz is very limited from what I saw in his fight with Jake Paul,” said Masvidal. “All I know is that Nate has a hard head. He doesn't change. He just showed up and tried to annoy the boys. This is boxing, and you will be on my level. July 6 will show that I am a serious student of this game. I'm looking to be as violent as possible. I love being sharp and smart enough to be in boxing. I'm going to knock his ass out in round four. I'm happy.”
Masvidal's first boxing match came in June 2005 against a striker named Joseph Benjamin, who was 1-11-2 entering the fight.
“I always asked the UFC to box, and they wouldn't let me and I was always sad about that, but finally, I got permission,” he said. “I got permission to fight three times, and once I got it, I was going to take this seriously. I trained with Roy Jones Jr. 10 days and I had the opportunity to train under Freddie Roach. It was amazing. I am committed to this. I practiced day and night.”
The hatred comes from their one MMA match. That extends to what happened last month, when someone from Diaz's team threw a punch at Masvidal. After that, Masvidal's coach, Jorge Capetillo, intervened and an argument broke out between the two teams. Interestingly, Diaz wasn't around for the controversy.
“This is true, and it didn't have to be like this, because it started with mutual respect,” said Masvidal. “After he took his as a kick in New York, at UFC 244, when he needed a medical professional to save his life, he took to the internet and started saying things like how I was a coward and all these reasons. He had no sense. I scolded him for 15 minutes. It kept coming and I was fighting for world championships when he left the UFC.
“I signed up with Fanmio for boxing, and it just happened that I was facing Nate Diaz. But he had to go higher. His camp (allegedly) attacked my coach and I thought he was a coward. This belongs to Nate Diaz and his entire team, and he will pay for it. I will certainly put this as plainly as possible: I want to break his face; I want him to pee blood for a month. This won't be Hagler-Hearns, because I won't compare Nate Diaz to any of those greats.
“This will not be a war. This will be a kick in the ass, like the US invading Barbados. “
Joseph Santoliquito is a Hall of Fame, award-winning sportswriter who has worked for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito
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