Jake Paul and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr met up for a press convention at present to advertise their June 28 DAZN pay-per-view fundamental occasion, which can see the long-faded Chavez, 39, face the king of the gimmick fighters.
Paul, 28, insisted that it is a fan-demanded battle, and appeared incapable of creating up his thoughts about whether or not Chavez is definitely any good or not.
“This battle has been brewing for fairly a while now. The followers have needed to see this, and I wish to proceed to raise and lift the extent of my opponents,” he mentioned. “It is a former world champion, and he has an incredible resume following in his dad’s footsteps. This man is a superb fighter, and I wish to take a look at myself in opposition to one of the best on this planet.”
“I’m going to embarrass him and make him stop like he at all times does,” he went on to say. “I don’t need any excuses. After I beat this man, all of the boxing media, such as you at all times do, are going to discredit it. I’m going to reveal and embarrass him. He’s the embarrassment of Mexico. Mexico doesn’t even declare him, and he’s going to get uncovered.
“They are saying he’s coaching onerous. They are saying that is probably the most targeted he’s ever been. Good. As he must be. Folks don’t understand how good I truly am, and when he feels these first few punches, he’s going to wish to stop and return to his stool.”
Let’s make this clear up entrance: Jake Paul deserves the identical respect for climbing into a hoop that anybody else does, as a result of it’s at all times harmful, and I do suppose Jake takes this significantly, trains onerous, and has sincere respect for boxing. He’s pretty much as good as you may anticipate him to be.
However he’s not a severe skilled prospect or rising precise contender, and this battle with Chavez received’t change that.
One of many constant techniques Paul (11-1, 7 KO) makes use of in selling himself is attacking media or followers who don’t take him significantly, which is a method to side-step the difficulty that he’s by no means carried out something in a boxing ring that calls for being taken significantly apart from shedding to Tommy Fury, who additionally isn’t a severe prospect regardless of his final title.
Except for Fury, the one “actual boxers” that Paul has confronted have been Andre August and Ryan Bourland, club-level professionals who had every been largely inactive for a number of years and confronted Paul preventing nicely over their pure weights.
What has Jake Paul achieved in a boxing ring in any other case? He’s crushed an “influencer,” a basketball participant, 5 washed up MMA fighters, and the 58-year-old, rusted out shell of Mike Tyson.
However earlier than you start to suppose that is merely a “hit piece” on Jake Paul’s “boxing profession,” let’s get into his June opponent.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr has by no means been an important fighter and he’s certain not about to turn out to be one. There have been a number of wins in his profession that have been debatable at finest, with Junior coming via on the playing cards in a approach that’s surprisingly frequent in boxing, the place the man price more cash one way or the other at all times appears to nick it.
Lengthy earlier than Chavez received round to being finely and actually uncovered at world degree by Sergio Martinez in 2013, Chavez may have had losses on his file to Carlos Molina (twice), Matt Vanda, Luciano Cuello, Sebastian Zbik, and Marco Antonio Rubio.
After Martinez routed him — albeit with Chavez exhibiting his aptitude for the dramatic by dropping Sergio within the ultimate spherical — he had an in depth name with Brian Vera earlier than being thrashed by Andrzej Fonfara, and he by no means received again on monitor.
The Fonfara battle occurred 10 years in the past final month.
What’s he carried out since? Some wins over so-so guys, one of many worst PPV fundamental occasion performances of all time in opposition to Canelo Alvarez in 2017, a stop job that began a small riot in opposition to Daniel Jacobs in 2019, and losses to Mario Cazares and Anderson Silva — the identical Anderson Silva who went on to lose to Paul at age 47.
The one battle Chavez has had since 2021 got here final July in a win over MMA fighter Uriah Corridor, which was on a Jake Paul undercard and clearly meant to plant a seed.
Chavez was by no means pretty much as good as his promotional hype, however he hasn’t carried out something of actually optimistic be aware in a boxing ring since roaring again to cease Andy Lee at El Paso’s Solar Bowl in 2012, which was one of the best efficiency of his profession and one price real respect.
Chavez is hard. He’s at all times been powerful. However he’s additionally at all times been unreliable, seen as extremely lazy and nearly detached about precise battle preparation and coaching, and to anybody who understands the finer factors of boxing achievements within the trendy age — e.g., successful a world title doesn’t essentially imply what it ought to — a far cry wanting who we have been informed he was by the folks being profitable from his fights.
He’s additionally now outdated, inactive, preventing 40 lbs over his finest weight, and has already confirmed far much less able to beating the types of fellows that Paul routinely beats handily.
Jake Paul will inform you on one hand that Chavez is a humiliation and will likely be uncovered, and on the opposite that he’s an important fighter and that beating him will imply one thing.
It received’t, actually. And if Chavez beats him, then Paul ought to actually think about a brand new income stream to exchange this one, as a result of the model of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr he’s going to battle in six weeks isn’t even in the identical ballpark because the one which was overrated at his peak.
Jake Paul can’t show something new with this battle. It’s the identical type of opponent he’s tried to promote you repeatedly, solely this time they’ll slap a sticker on the field that claims “former boxing world champion.”
