Adrien Broner has called out UFC legend Nate Diaz, offering him another big-name option for his highly-anticipated professional boxing debut.
The former lightweight title contender has recently left MMA's top promotion after 15 years under contract and is keen to make a move into the boxing world. He still has issues to iron out with regards to his contract but has been open to offers once his deal is completely done after he left with a submission victory over fellow fan favourite Tony Ferguson.
The common belief is that Diaz will face Jake Paul when he makes his switch into boxing, and he will be in attendance when the YouTuber-turned-boxer faces Anderson Silva later this month. But he now has another possible opponent in Broner, who has offered to make a considerable jump in weight to face the MMA fighter.
The former world champion boxer, who recently pulled out of his recent comeback fight with Omar Figueroa due to mental health issues, has called Diaz out in an Instagram post, saying: "Nate Diaz, you coming over to boxing I will give yo' a** everything you looking for #LETSGETIT."
While the Paul fight would be a massive earner, Broner would give Diaz more legitimate boxing credibility if the pair were to meet, likely even in defeat. And this isn't the first time that the four-weight world champion has called for the fight, telling TMZ in 2017 that he wanted to meet Diaz in the ring.
At the time, he was due to face Mikey Garcia but said that he would be willing to fight Diaz on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor. "If I come out unmarked... like I usually do, I'll be willing to fight on Floyd’s undercard," Broner said at the time. "If we can make it happen, let's do it." He did not come out unscathed, losing by unanimous decision over 12 rounds.
Who would you rather Nate Diaz fight; Adrien Broner or Jake Paul? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
A major issue in a bout between Diaz and Broner would be their weights. The boxing star's career highest weight was 146lb, but he has also tipped the scales as low as 128.5lb during his career. Diaz, on the other hand, has fought at 155lb for the world title in the UFC, but hasn't made that weight in around seven years, and prefers to compete at 170lb these days.
That would make him a more appropriate opponent for Paul, who is currently working his way down to boxing's light-heavyweight limit of 175lb. His bout with Silva will take place at a catchweight of 187lb, but it will be his career-lowest regardless, and he plans to keep moving down before campaigning for major fights with legitimate boxers at 175lb in the future.
Diaz is also on the radar of major MMA promotions, and has had interest expressed by Bellator MMA president Scott Coker. He believes that he will one day return to the UFC, but wants to first conquer the world of boxing in a way he claims his long-time rival Conor McGregor couldn't.
