Jake Paul sparring footage leaves fans concerned ahead of boxing return

Daily Mirror

27-05-2025

The American is set to make a return to action next month, but fans have been left concerned by the social media star's recently released sparring footage
Jake Paul has left fans uninspired as he released new sparring footage ahead of his return to the ring this summer. The 'Problem Child' is scheduled to take on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in a cruiserweight clash set on June 28 in Anaheim.
This marks Paul's first fight since he cruised to a decision victory over former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson last November. Chavez Jr - who holds a professional record of 54-6-1 - emerged victorious against former UFC middleweight contender Uriah Hall in his most recent match this past July. The Mexican's notable past opponents include Andy Lee, Canelo Alvarez, Daniel Jacobs, and ex-UFC champ Anderson Silva.
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As the highly-anticipated showdown draws near, both fighters are intensifying their respective training camps. On Monday afternoon, Paul decided to show off how his training was going to his millions of followers on Instagram.
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Paul, 28, was seen on the front foot and attacking his sparring partner with a wide range of strikes up top. The footage has since gone viral on social media - with many left uninspired by the clip. "I could have sworn he was better than this… what happened?" One fan wrote.
Another user commented: "He looks worse than he did 3 years ago," while another posted: "He needs to drop weight, he's so slow and sluggish this heavy." A fourth replied: "He hasn't gotten better in like five years. Hella impressive." Another commented: "I thought he would be looking better than that tbh," while another boxing fan posted: "Hasn't improved at all since the Woodley fights."
Should the 'Problem Child' emerge victorious and unscathed from his bout with Chavez Jr, the American is keen on a rematch with Tommy Fury and has even been in talks with the Brit's elder sibling, Tyson. Paul faced off against Fury in Saudi Arabia back in 2023, where despite scoring a knockdown in the final round, he lost on points.
Since their first meeting, the two have continued to exchange insults online, fuelling speculation about a potential rematch. In a recent chat with Ariel Helwani, Paul said: "I think the Fury fight will happen in the next 12 months, yeah. He just has to be realistic about what's he's worth, right?"
He said. "He just had a free fight on DAZN that tanked, couldn't sell the tickets in wherever he was like a 1,000 person venue and he's just negotiating like he's God. Again, I have ten names waiting to fight me in multiple different sports, MMA, boxing, all this stuff. These people just have to be realistic about what they're wanting to get paid and Tommy Fury isn't.
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"But I DM'd Tyson Fury because Tyson was like, 'You guys need to make this happen now.' I was like, 'Tyson, you've got to put your brother in check here. He's not going to get this money or this offer anywhere else.' He already missed out on the massive opportunity on Netflix, his dad, who is his manager has no idea what the f*** he's doing and you can't let your dad run your career. Tommy's not his own boss, he's an airhead as well so I just feel bad for him because he thinks he's worth more than what he's worth."
Earlier this year, Paul's team revealed that Fury turned down a £6million offer to rematch on Netflix before 'Iron Mike' accepted the deal back in November. "I just can't wait to get back in there with this guy because in the past three years, I fought him two years into being a pro boxer now it's been three years since then," Paul continued.
"It's just night and day and he hasn't got any better, right? He's been boxing since he was six years old, it's going to be the same stuff, same coach, his dumbass dad. He hasn't got any better so I just can't wait, seriously I can't wait to get in there with him and whenever we can make that happen it's going to be Christmas Day for me."