Nate Diaz beats Jorge Masvidal in boxing rematch
Nate Diaz got the win in tonight’s fight with Jorge Masvidal.
Nate Diaz got some measure of revenge against Jorge Masvidal tonight, winning a majority decision in their 10-round boxing rematch of their 2019 UFC fight.
One judge had the fight even at 95-95, which was overruled by two scores in Diaz’s favor of 97-93 and 98-92.
Diaz, who is now 1-1 in boxing after losing to Jake Paul last year, isn’t going to fool anyone into thinking he’s a great boxer, but he’s got a dedicated, sizable fan base that reportedly helped sell over 18,000 tickets for the fight tonight in Anaheim, and if he can continue to find fights like the Masvidal and Paul events, he’s going to potentially have years more making money as a fighter.
That crowd was also pretty well entertained by what they paid to see in the main event, and while the form on display certainly doesn’t match real, top-level (or mid-level) boxing, that’s really all that’s going to matter as far as Diaz continuing to find success with these events.
Shane Mosley Jr spoiled Daniel Jacobs’ return to the ring, winning a near-shutout unanimous decision over 10 rounds on scores of 99-91, 99-91, and 100-90. The 37-year-old Jacobs (37-5, 30 KO) just didn’t have much in the ring at all, with Mosley (22-4, 12 KO) able to rack up a fifth straight win without much trouble.
You really wouldn’t expect to see Jacobs back again after this showing, but you can’t write it off. It’s boxing, and boxers box for money. Greater names than Jacobs have hung around cashing checks over the years. As for Mosley, the win is what it is and no more, but it’s notable enough that he’ll be in the mix at 160 or 168 going forward, and both of those divisions have spots for noteworthy fights. He called for a fight with 160 lb titleholder Erislandy Lara.
Another matchup of former MMA fighters saw Chris Avila win a six-round unanimous decision over Anthony Pettis on scores of 58-56, 59-55, and 59-55. This now means that Chris Avila is a better boxer than Roy Jones Jr, whom Pettis beat over eight rounds about 15 months ago.