25 April 2023 , 10:05
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Jake Paul has verbally agreed to fight KSI in August after an arrest warrant was issued by police for his original opponent Nate Diaz.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul, 26, is scheduled to fight UFC legend Diaz, 38, on August 5 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The fight could now be in jeopardy after New Orleans police charged Diaz with second-degree battery following his involvement in a street brawl with Logan Paul lookalike Rodney Petersen on Saturday.
Diaz was filmed appearing to choke Petersen unconscious and kneeing him to the stomach, before dropping the TikTok influencer to the ground and walking away. It has since been revealed that Petersen, who claimed he suffered a bloody head injury in the scuffle, also has combat sports experience as he is an amateur MMA fighter who is a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
KSI reacted to Diaz's arrest warrant by tweeting: "Well, if that means Jake won’t have an opponent in August…Then I’ll gladly come as the replacement after I KO Joe Fournier in May." Paul then accepted KSI's offer to replace Diaz if the UFC legend pulls out of the fight by replying: "Great. I accept you as the backup opponent. Fight is at 185. There are no rehydration clauses. Stay in shape and we will give you a call if needed. Thanks buddy for being so humble and committed."
Since making his ring return last August after a three-year layoff, KSI has won three fights two of which came on the same night. 'The Nightmare' knocked out professional boxer Luis Pineda and rapper Swarmz just hours later, with his most recent win coming in just two minutes against fellow content creator Faze Temperrr.
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Paul and KSI were targeting a December showdown at Wembley Stadium, but the rivals could now be on-course to settle their difference even sooner. Paul suffered his first professional defeat in February at the hands of Tommy Fury as the Love Island star won a unanimous decision in Saudi Arabia despite being dropped in the final round of the fight.
KSI is scheduled to fight 'billionaire boxer' Fournier on May 13 in his latest exhibition fight and all signs will point to an illustrious clash against Paul if he gets the win. The Brit is seemingly happy to fight Paul in the US at 185lb despite giving different terms when speaking to Mirror Fighting in January.
"Weight-wise, I'd love it to be 176lb, 177lb, but 180lb sounds perfectly fair, maybe even slap a rehydration clause - I know he'd want that! It has to be in the UK, I think I'm definitely the A-Side, I walk second, ring size I think it should be a nice 20-foot ring and I think that's it on my mind," he said.