Nate Diaz training with Mike Tyson's sparring partner for Jake Paul fight

Nate Diaz has ramped up the preparations for his upcoming boxing match with Jake Paul by enlisting the help of Mike Tyson's sparring partner. Mike Russell, who has trained by Tyson for over three years, was pictured with Diaz in the gym ahead of his boxing debut.

The Stockton native has also worked with former light heavyweight champion Andre Ward (32-0) for many years, and is no stranger to the world of boxing.

Nate Diaz and Jake Paul are set to do battle in the squared circle on August 5 in a much-anticipated affair. Mike Russell recently took to Instagram following a sparring session with Diaz and posted the following:

"Camp with big bro, gettin them rounds in. kill or be killed"

See the post below:

Jake Paul will be looking to bounce back from his first defeat, at the hands of Tommy Fury, when he faces Nate Diaz is the upcoming months.

The Stockton native on the other hand will be making his professional boxing debut. Diaz will be eager to put an end to Paul's hopes of a boxing world title in the future by handing him a second successive defeat.

Many MMA fighters have sided with Diaz when predicting the outcome of the bout, but Dustin Poirier believes it will be a massive undertaking for Nate Diaz to claim victory.

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Andre Ward praises Nate Diaz and recalls gruelling sparring sessiosn with former UFC fighter

Former light heavyweight champion Andre Ward recently appeared on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani to preview Nate Diaz's upcoming bout with Jake Paul.

Ward was full of praise for the Stockton native, who was a sparring partner for the former boxer for many years alongside his brother Nick Diaz. Ward stated that the relentless attacks of Diaz make him incredibly tough to deal with, and that 'The Problem Child' should not take him lightly.

During Andre Ward's recent interview with Helwani he said this:

"I couldn't concieve [the Diaz brothers] being able to stick around long in a sparring session with me, and they did. I've sparred Nate a lot more than Nick... he's longer and more awkward. It doesn't make sense to people, but [Nate] has been some of my best left-handed southpaw work throughout my career... "

He continued by saying:

"Those awkward, ugly punches people like talking about, they add up at the end of the day. They just keep coming. That's something I had to deal with in sparring, like, 'How did I get hit with that?'"

Watch the interview below from 16:15: