Jake Paul is addressing the criticism surrounding his upcoming boxing match against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
The social media personality turned boxer recently took to social media to respond to the negative reactions concerning his June fight. He is set to face the 39-year-old veteran Chavez Jr., who holds a recent record of 3 wins and 3 losses over his last six fights since 2019. One of these defeats was against former UFC champion Anderson Silva.
Although Chavez Jr. was a titleholder earlier in his career, he appears significantly different from the fighter who lost a one-sided decision to Canelo Alvarez in 2017. However, Paul dismisses these concerns. In fact, Paul claims his fight against Chavez Jr. is comparable to a recent high-profile UFC bout.
Paul stated, “Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is a former world champion, a cruiserweight world champion. The same weight as me, the same size as me, and 20 years more pro boxing experience than me. For you inbreds, let’s get the excuses out of the way.”
He drew a parallel to a recent MMA fight: “Last week, Paddy Pimblett beat Michael Chandler, and the whole world lost their mind, but not a single person mentioned Michael Chandler’s age. That’s because he’s still within his prime ages, the same age as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. If people didn’t have a problem with Paddy, then why do they have a problem with me? When I beat him, don’t even try to cry about his age.”
While it is true that Chandler turned 39 only days after his fight against Pimblett at UFC 314, it is challenging to compare his recent body of work to that of Chavez Jr.
Prior to his loss to Pimblett, Chandler was still ranked among the top 15 lightweights by the UFC. His previous losses were all against former divisional champions: Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, and Charles Oliveira.
The same cannot be said for Chavez Jr., whose most recent victory was a narrow decision over former UFC fighter Uriah Hall in a six-round contest, which was only Hall`s second professional boxing match.
Furthermore, Chavez Jr. never held a cruiserweight title during his career. He did challenge for a light heavyweight title in 2015 but was stopped in the ninth round.
It has also been widely reported that Chavez Jr. has faced personal issues outside the ring, including a 2024 arrest for illegal possession of an assault rifle. Following his arrest, Chavez Jr. entered a rehabilitation center for treatment, having openly discussed past substance abuse problems.
Despite these personal and professional challenges, Chavez Jr. is set to attempt a comeback when he faces Paul in a boxing match scheduled for June 28th. The event will take place in Anaheim, California, and will be available on DAZN pay-per-view.
