Jake Paul faces ex-champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in first fight since beating Mike Tyson
Jake Paul has his next opponent following a win over Mike Tyson on Netflix this past fall. (Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images)
(USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
Jake Paul will face a former boxing world champion for the second time in his career when he takes on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on June 28th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Paul vs. Chávez Jr. will stream on DAZN worldwide.
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Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) won a one-sided unanimous decision over legendary former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson this past November. A record-breaking 65 million households tuned in to the lackluster action on Netflix, where the 58-year-old Tyson landed just 18 punches in eight rounds. It was Paul's fifth consecutive win since a split-decision loss to Tommy Fury in February 2023.
Chávez Jr. (54-6-1, 34 KOs) is the son of the great Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. Although Chávez Jr. has won a world title in boxing, his career in the sport has been underwhelming.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. brings a famous name but a somewhat lackluster reputation into this fight with Paul. (Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)
(USA TODAY Sports / Reuters)
Chávez Jr. won the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and made three successful defenses of the belt before losing the championship to Sergio Martinez in 2012. Chávez Jr. lost a shutout to Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in 2017.
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In his next significant outing against Daniel Jacobs, Chávez Jr. incited a small-scale riot at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. The Mexican was five pounds overweight at the official weigh-in for the contest and quit on his stool after five rounds, much to the disappointment of his father, who famously put his head in his hands after learning of his son's decision.
Chávez Jr., 39, ended a two-and-a-half-year layoff on the Paul vs. Michael Perry undercard this past July, winning a decision over the former UFC fighter Uriah Hall.
Chávez Jr. and Jake Paul share one common opponent — former UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva. Paul won a unanimous decision over Silva in October 2022, while Chavez Jr. lost a split-decision to Silva the year before in Mexico.
In the night's co-feature, Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez will defend his unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles against his mandatory challenger, Yuniel Dorticos.
Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs) beat Britain's Chris Billam-Smith this past November in Riyadh to unify the WBA and WBO belts. Dorticos (27-2, 25 KOs) is a former two-time cruiserweight world champion.
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