Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz fight prediction, odds, undercard, preview,

When social media influencer Jake Paul began his boxing career, most thought it was just a gimmick that would come to a quick end whenever Paul became bored or he suffered a loss. Paul did suffered his first loss in February but did not walk away from the sport and is now set to face former UFC superstar Nate Diaz on Saturday at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

After defeating a string of influencers, basketball players and former UFC fighters, Paul finally answered the critics who demanded he step in the ring to fight a “real boxer” when he clashed with Tommy Fury in February.

The fight was evenly matched and played out closely, with Paul scoring a late knockdown on a small counter shot. Despite the knockdown, Paul lost on two of the judges’ scorecards and dropped a split decision to his rival in a fight that had been made and canceled multiple times previously.

Rather than stepping away from boxing, as many expected would happen once the road was no longer smooth, Paul said he refocused himself after only a brief moment of contemplating retirement.

“I gave [retiring from boxing] one thought for about 25 seconds, and that was like that night and the next morning,” Paul said in a DAZN interview. “But I was just like, ‘Bro, stop. Just stop it.’ I was in a low, low, low, low place. I think it’s good to have that thought because once I expel it, I know that this is what I want.”

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Facing Diaz does feel like something of a step back for Paul. Again, he faces someone with no pro boxing experience coming from the world of mixed martial arts. And, again, he faces someone who spent his career fighting between 155 and 170 pounds. The fight will be contested at a…