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A former pro-boxer is confident in Nate Diaz's abilities, and that Jake Paul could be in for a surprise when they fight on August 5.
During his appearance on The MMA Hour, former undefeated boxing champion Andre Ward weighed in on the upcoming bout, and reflected on his experiences sparring with the Stockton native. He mentioned that he believes that the former UFC title challenger is capable of winning the fight and credited him for his resilience and fighting style:
"People look at that mitt session that Nate [Diaz] had and they just misread the play, man. Those types of shots, they don't look pretty, but they keep coming...If he can take that right hand from Jake Paul, it's going to be a tougher fight than people realize, because Nate's going to keep coming."
'Son of God' also brought up that he even anticipates helping Diaz prepare for his fight with 'The Problem Child'. He mentioned that he has been in contact with him and would agree to help him, saying:
"Not to go too deep into it, but he's reached out and we're gonna connect at a certain point when the fight is getting close...That's my brother, I respect what he's done for Stockton and in this area, him and his brother [Nick Diaz]."
It will be interesting to see how Diaz performs in his pro boxing debut, and what impact Ward will have on his training ahead of the fight with the YouTuber-turned-boxer.
Andre Ward wouldn't be opposed to fighting Jake Paul
Despite how some boxers view Jake Paul, Andre Ward noted that he wouldn't be opposed to a professional or exhibition bout with the YouTuber-turned-boxer.
During the affromentioned appearance, Ward was asked whether he would be open to competing in exhibition bouts similar to what Floyd Mayweather has done. He responded by stating that it would depend on who the opponent would be as he wouldn't want to tarnish his legacy. He mentioned that he would be open to it and revealed that he actually tested the waters for a bout with 'The Problem Child', saying:
"My manager, James Prince, one of his sons is real close to Jake Paul. And my induction weekend, Prince reached out to his son and said, 'Hey, man, let Jake know that I wanna see if there's something there.' And we never heard back."
