Jake Paul 'May Retire' From Boxing If He Loses Nate Diaz Fight, His Promoter Says

Jake Paul hasn't been boxing for long, but the YouTube sensation may hang up the gloves if he loses his next fight.

Paul is slated to face his toughest opponent yet in Nate Diaz on Saturday at American Airlines Center in Dallas, and Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian told ESPN's Marc Raimondi that the Cleveland native "may retire if he loses to Nate Diaz."

"His boxing career is on the line, in terms of being one of the top three or four guys in the entire sport globally," Bidarian said. "I think if he was to lose, he'd just go to being another prospect that's coming up in the ring."

Paul is coming off a split-decision loss to Tommy Fury in February. Fury, the brother of Tyson Fury, was considered his toughest opponent to date, and the loss resulted in some changes within the Paul camp.

The 26-year-old added trainers Theo Chambers and International Boxing Hall of Famer Shane Mosley to his team that is headlined by longtime coach J'Leon Love. His training includes sparring sessions, strength and conditioning and cardio, among other exercises.

"I think the loss actually made me more relatable, because for some reason people think of celebrities as not humans," Paul told ESPN of his loss to Fury. "If anything, it's grown my fan base and given me the opportunity to come back, and people see now how serious I am about it, doubling down now after a loss."

Paul enters Saturday's bout with a 6-1 record.

He began his career in January 2020 with a first-round TKO of YouTuber AnEsonGib. He followed that with a second-round KO of former NBA player Nate Robinson in November 2020 and a first-round TKO of former Bellator and ONE Welterweight Champion Ben Askren in April 2021.

Paul picked up the competition with a split-decision win against Tyron Woodley in August 2021 and he defeated the former UFC welterweight champion again in December 2021 before a unanimous decision victory over former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in October 2022.

Diaz, meanwhile, will be making his boxing debut after a lengthy UFC career that saw him never win a title fight. However, he fought some of the best fighters available, including Conor McGregor, Tony Ferguson, Leon Edwards, Jorge Masvidal and Benson Henderson.

If Paul beats Diaz, he's eyeing bigger and better things.

"I see a roadmap where I knock out Nate and then go to Conor McGregor," Paul told ESPN in May. "[I can] do what Conor couldn't do -- knock out Nate. And then that'll be the biggest fight in combat sports that could possibly be made, is me versus Conor."