A plethora of big boxing fights have been announced already this year, but postponements have been ever-present with Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk and Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol both being pushed back to due to respective injuries.
Once again, it seems that fans will be made to wait, as a mega event that was scheduled for June 1st has been delayed, although this time it is not because of an injury.
Nate Diaz was poised to take on fellow loud-mouthed UFC fan-favourite Jorge Masvidal in what would be his second professional boxing contest after leaving the MMA franchise in 2022.
This comes four-and-a-half years after Diaz and Masvidal met in the Octagon in the first ever battle for the ‘BMF’ title, a fight which Masvidal won by doctor stoppage following the third round.
Since then, Diaz has lost out to future welterweight champion Leon Edwards before defeating UFC icon Tony Ferguson via submission in his final MMA outing, instead opting to take on YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on his professional boxing debut last August, losing a unanimous decision after being dropped in the fifth round by ‘The Problem Child’.
Meanwhile, Masvidal hung up the MMA gloves last year after four consecutive defeats (Kamaru Usman x2, Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns) following his victory over Diaz and it was confirmed in March that we would return to boxing for the first time in over 19 years to take on his former UFC opponent in the ring.
‘Game Bred’ took on Joseph Benjamin (1-11-2), who had faced a young Andre Berto just five months prior, in his lone bout to date back in 2005 and won a majority decision (38-36, 38-36, 37-37), although the durability that Diaz showed throughout his UFC career and against Jake Paul had many fans believing the contest to be a true 50/50, despite their 0-1 and 1-0 professional records.
However, on social media, esteemed combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani confirmed that fans will be forced to wait to see who comes on top, with a change of date and location made official, supposedly as not to collide with UFC 302.
“The Nathan Diaz x Jorge Masvidal boxing match is moving from June 1 to July 6, per sources.
“It’s also being moved from Inglewood’s Forum to the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
“Number of reasons for the move, I’m told. A major one? Not to conflict with UFC 302, which is also scheduled for June 1.”
UFC 302 will see Islam Makhachev attempt to defend his UFC lightweight title for a third time, up against Dustin Poirier in Newark, New Jersey.
Also going ahead on that date is the ‘Matchroom versus Queensberry’ card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – which was expected to be headlined by the undisputed light-heavyweight title showdown between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, but will now instead be topped by Bivol defending his world title against an surprise contender.
Boxing Social is now on WhatsApp! Join our channel by clicking here and getting all the latest boxing news direct to your phone.