Adviser: Paul 'may retire' from boxing with loss to Diaz

Jake Paul's adviser and business partner believes this weekend could mark his final boxing match.

Paul, the YouTuber turned prizefighter, will face former UFC star Nate Diaz in a 10-round pro bout Saturday in Dallas. It'll be a pay-per-view event available on DAZN and ESPN+.

"(Paul) may retire if he loses to Nate Diaz," Nakisa Bidarian, the co-founder of Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, told ESPN's Marc Raimondi ahead of the fight.

Paul helped pioneer the influencer boxing trend and has led the way in recent years. He's coming off the first defeat of his young career, a split-decision loss to Tommy Fury in February. Paul is 6-1 as a pro, with wins against the likes of former MMA champions Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, and Ben Askren.

If Paul loses to Diaz as a sizable betting favorite, Bidarian thinks the 26-year-old's drawing power will significantly drop.

"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 signed a deal with the PFL, one of the top MMA promotions in the world, in January and intends to cross over to that sport in the foreseeable future.