Back At It: Paul v Chavez Jr Preview and Prediction

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul steps back into the ring to take on former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on Saturday night (Sunday morning SA time).

🇺🇸 PAUL vs. CHAVEZ JR. 🇲🇽

Somebody's getting exposed 🥶

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When: 5 AM Sunday morning SA time

Jake Paul (1.18) v Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (5.00) (Cruiserweight)

For as much as Paul can be ambitious, he’s even more shameless. After defeating a 58-year-old Mike Tyson last November, the former Disney star chased a fight with none other than the face of boxing Canelo Alvarez.

However, with the undisputed super middleweight champion signing a lucrative deal with Riyadh Season instead, Paul was left having to pivot. Ultimately, he settled for Chavez Jr as his next cherry-picked opponent, thus continuing his bizarre boxing journey.

Yes, Chavez Jr is a legitimate boxer, not a former NBA player or over-the-hill former UFC fighter like many of Paul’s previous opponents, but it’s the same old story of the 28-year-old going after soft targets.

In Chavez Jr’s case, he started his career at 130 pounds and became world champion at 154 pounds 14 years ago. This fight is at 200 pounds and Chavez Jr is now 39, so Paul will once again be fighting a smaller, older opponent. 

Having made $40 million from the Tyson fight, Paul could’ve stepped away, but that he’s continuing to fight shows that he does, in fact, love boxing. Whether the sport loves him back is another story.

Either way, here we are, with “The Problem Child” lacing up the gloves for his 13th fight. He sports a record of 11-1 with seven knockouts and has won five straight fights since his split decision loss to Tommy Fury in 2023.

Chavez Jr, the son of boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez, is 54-6-1 with 34 knockouts. While he did capture the WBC middleweight championship in 2011, he’s failed to live up to his father’s legend. A man who’s had a rough life, battling substance abuse outside of the right, one senses money is the motivating factor behind him still boxing.

Paul and Chavez Jr share a common opponent in mixed martial arts icon Anderson Silva. Silva defeated Chavez Jr by split decision in 2021, and lost to Paul by unanimous decision in 2022, so it’s no surprise that Paul is a massive favourite.

Chavez Jr has won both of his fights since the surprising loss to Silva, outpointing David Zegarra in 2021 and former UFC fighter Uriah Hall this time last year. The Hall fight was his first at 200 pounds and was a lacklustre six-round affair in which Chavez Jr looked sluggish.

This weekend’s bout is scheduled for 10 rounds and on top of Chavez Jr fading as fights wear on, I question his fighting spirit at this stage of his career. Thus, backing Paul to get a finish is the best shout.

Prediction: Paul by knockout.

Best Bet: Paul by KO/TKO/DQ.