The fight between Jake Paul and Mexican was confirmed on Friday through the social networks of the influencer-turned-boxer, in what will be one of the most controversial fights of recent months.
Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) will take on a former WBC middleweight champion, Chavez Jr. (54-6-1, 34 KOs), revealed The Problem Child’s company, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), and it will be a 10-round fight in the 200-pound category, reported ESPN.
The event will be co-promoted by MVP and Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya‘s company.
“Five years ago, I stepped into the ring for my professional debut after just one amateur fight, and every fight since then has been one step closer to my world title,” Paul told ESPN.
I just beat the baddest man on the planet (Mike Tyson), and now I’m facing a former champion that the fraud Canelo Alvarez couldn’t knock out.
The date and venue for the fight has been set
The event will take place on June 28 this year and will be held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, MVP revealed to ESPN.
“Chavez Jr. is Mexican, but I, ‘El Gallo De Dorado’, have the will and heart of the great Mexican boxers. On Saturday, June 28, live on DAZN PPV, I will knock out Julio and make Chavez Sr. proud like Jr. never has,” said Paul.
The announcement of the fight comes just months after a proposed fight between Paul and Canelo Alvarez fell through at the last minute, in favor of a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season for the Mexican champion.
Paul then sought a fight with Gervonta “Tank” Davis. However, Davis’ controversial majority draw against Lamont Roach Jr. in March frustrated those plans, as Davis is now expected to seek an immediate rematch with Roach.
After the failure of two highly successful fights, Paul turned to Chavez, a former world champion and son of one of the greatest boxing legends in the world.
“Chavez Jr. has always been on the list of fighters that Jake Paul has looked at,” said Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of MVP. “After the fight with Tyson, the original plan was to fight Chavez Jr. next. However, the opportunity with Canelo presented itself and we suspended talks with Chavez.”
The second world champion in Paul’s race
The 39-year-old son of the “Great Mexican Champion” will be the second former world champion Paul has faced, although the previous champion who lost to the ex-YouTuber won his first world championship more than a decade before Paul was born.
In November 2024, Paul won a unanimous decision over former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, 58; the last time Chavez held a major world title was in 2012.
Since losing the WBC title to Sergio Martinez in 2012, Chavez’s career has been erratic and inconsistent, with the Mexican’s record standing at 8-6 after starting with a 46-0-1 record.
Chavez Jr.’s performance has significantly declined, with a unanimous decision loss to Alvarez in 2017 and an embarrassing defeat to former MMA champion Anderson Silva in 2021.
His last fight was on the undercard of Paul’s fight with Mike Perry last July, when Chavez outpointed MMA fighter Uriah Hall in a six-round bout.
Although Chavez is far from the form he was in at the beginning of his career, the former champion believes that his problems are behind him and that he will be able to turn the situation around against “El Gallo”.
“First of all, I will prove what I can do now that everything is in order in my life, both mentally and physically,” Chavez said in a statement. “I feel rejuvenated and 10 years younger. Secondly, I want to thank MVP for taking the risk of fighting me.
“Unfortunately for Paul, they will have a big problem this June, one that they will not know how to solve. Hopefully, when I win, people will not underestimate this victory,” concluded Chavez Jr.
Read the full article here
