Olympic medal winner Esquiva Falcao is standing firm on his statements regarding the boxing ability of MMA veteran Nate Diaz.
On Saturday night in Dallas, Diaz will make his pro boxing debut against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
Two months ago, Falco took to social media and was highly critical of Diaz's boxing ability after sparring the former UFC star. He claimed that Diaz looked "like he was dying” during the spar.
Diaz’s team member Chris Avila would claim that Falcao “got f----- up” during the spar.
Falcao has a lot of respect for Diaz, but he doesn't believe the combat sports veteran is good at boxing.
“Nate Diaz has bad boxing — boxing is not for him,” Falcao said to MMA Fighting. “I praise him because he’s a warrior, a good fighter, a jiu-jitsu guy with a big name, but he’s not good in boxing.
“I can’t lie, I can’t say his boxing is good, that he will become a world champion if he gives it a try. His boxing is bad. If he enters a boxing tournament, he’ll lose depending on the opponent he faces. But he has heart, he likes to brawl. But technique-wise, he’s bad.”
Paul has good punching power and Falcao expects that a knockout win is likely.
In past fights, Paul has scored knockouts over other MMA fighters like Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. He also picked up a decision win over Anderson Silva, who got dropped n the final round of the contest.
“Jake Paul is very strong and has shown punching power,” Falcao said. “He’s knocked out almost every ex-UFC fighter he’s fought. Even though Nate Diaz can take a beating, I don’t think he’ll handle him. I think Jake Paul will knock out Nate Diaz, because Nate Diaz works with his hands too low, he trusts his chin and his punching power, so I think Jake Paul knocks him out.”
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