Yesterday, November 27, diehard fans celebrated the 40th anniversary of the release of the iconic Rocky IV. The proverbial fight between a huge underdog and a powerful adversary still resonates. Yet no one compared the stunning David-and-Goliath imagery of the Rocky Balboa-Ivan Drago face-off better than Jake Paul. Boxing’s “Problem Child” is about to face his own Drago in a few weeks. On December 19, Paul will fight former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in an eight-round professional bout at the Kaseya Center.

Though enthusiasm surrounds the matchup, which replaced the bizarre exhibition against lightweight champion Gervonta Davis, many still find it hard to digest. Though a former champion, Anthony Joshua remains an active, top-tier fighter, an anomaly in the landscape of Jake Paul opponents, most of whom were semiretired or retired MMA champions and fighters. Add in AJ’s fearsome reputation as one of boxing’s foremost finishers, and many sense trouble ahead for Paul. Still, a few seem willing to put their money on the Cleveland native. Nate Diaz believes Paul will win, and his confidence stems from his own uncanny self-belief.

Nate Diaz throws cash and shade – Backs Jake Paul while calling for a slugfest

The Nate Diaz braggadocio has gained considerable traction, it seems. In an Instagram post sharing a screenshot of the Biggerz bet, the Stockton native wrote, “I’m betting on this bitch.” By placing $20,000 on Jake Paul to win the boxing match, he stands to earn a whopping $142,000.

But it appears Diaz was far from done with the Paul-AJ saga. Sharing the Biggerz screenshot once again, this time on X, he boasted, “I’ll takem both out same nite MMA fight.” To be fair, this wouldn’t be the first time Diaz’s confidence took center stage.

Just days ago, while speaking with N3On, Diaz remarked, “I want to beat the f–k out of Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua, if he wins,” when the live streamer asked him about his next fight. It’s a stark shift from the days when Diaz wrote, “Fight accepted. You’re dead,” after news broke that Jake Paul was searching for a new dance partner. Now, he’s betting on the very fighter he once vowed to destroy.

It has been over a year since Nate Diaz last stepped into a fight.

Paul dangled a Diaz fight, then ditched the idea

His most recent outing, a boxing match against rival Jorge Masvidal, ended in a win. The closely contested bout was a far cry from the loss he suffered at the hands of Jake Paul during his boxing debut. At the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Paul took him the full ten rounds to earn a unanimous decision.

Since then, talk of a rematch between the two has continued to swirl.

There was a time when Jake Paul himself expressed interest in a cage fight with Nate Diaz. “I for sure want to fight Nate Diaz in MMA… Like, bro, that’s my life’s dream. I would f–king maul his weak a–. He’s probably the worst fighter I ever fought. And Conor got torched by him,” he once told close associate and business partner “Suga” Sean O’Malley.

However, given how things have shifted, Diaz may now be a memory best left behind. True to form, Jake Paul brushed aside Nate Diaz along with a slew of other names that surfaced after the Tank Davis fight fell through.

So there I was, on a Saturday afternoon in my $30 million mansion… Canelo, injured; Francis Ngannou, scared; Floyd Mayweather, my brother beat him; Mike Tyson, done that; Lennox Lewis, too young; Ryan Garcia, easy work; Tommy Fury, wanted more time; Nate Diaz, been there, done that; Conor McGregor, owned; Logan Paul, maybe… Sydney Sweeney, that’s not a bad idea...” he said.

So even if Jake Paul wins, it’s not clear whether that triumph will move him any closer to the “Stockton Slap.”

What’s your take? How badly do you want to see a Paul–Diaz rematch?