Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. claims he’s in talks to be Jake Paul’s next opponent.
The divisive YouTuber-turned-boxer is fresh off the biggest win of his career after outpointing 58-year-old ring legend Mike Tyson at AT&T Stadium in Texas last weekend.
After building his 11-1 record by beating old, undersized, and underprepared opponents, Jake Paul has claimed he wants to test himself against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez next.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. rivals Jake Paul talks
Canelo Alvarez has consistently distanced himself from a fight with ‘The Problem Child’ by claiming that he would only face him once his real career is over.
Alvarez appears to have a few years left at the very top, so it appears Paul is looking to prove that he’s legit by targeting one of his former opponents.
The son of legendary boxer Julio Cesar Chavez made three defenses of his WBC middleweight title before getting outpointed by formidable puncher Sergio Martinez in 2012.
Since then, he’s suffered a unanimous defeat to Canelo and a split decision loss against UFC legend Anderson Silva, who was 46 years old and way past his prime when he scored the upset victory in July 2021.
Earlier this year, Chavez Jr. avoided suffering a similar humiliation when he beat Uriah Hall on the undercard of Paul’s short-notice fight with Mike Perry.
Now he claims to be in line for a potential fight with Paul in 2025.
“It’s an option, we’re looking into it, let’s see, this week I have a meeting,” Chavez Jr. told TUDN MEX.
“I’d be interested in fighting a champion, but fighting Jake Paul, for the fame and the media, would put me in a position to fight against others.
“I’m not looking for it, it’s been presented. It’s not concrete, but let’s see what happens.”
Jake Paul’s team issue official statement on ‘fictitious claims’
Jake Paul’s entire combat sports career has been dogged by unfounded claims about ‘rigged’ fights and imaginary contract clauses that detract from his achievements.
Despite attracting 60 million viewers to Netflix for his fight with Mike Tyson, vicious rumors have continued to do the rounds on social media.
On Monday, Paul’s company, Most Valuable Promotions, issued an official statement addressing the ‘fictitious claims that undermine the integrity of the Paul vs Tyson fight’.
It read: “Following the wide circulation of incorrect and baseless claims that undermine the integrity of the Paul vs. Tyson event, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) would like to set the record straight regarding the contractual agreements and the nature of the fight.
“Rigging a professional boxing match is a federal crime in the United States of America. Paul vs. Tyson was a professional match sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR). Both fighters in good faith performed to the best of their abilities with the goal of winning the fight. There were absolutely no restrictions – contractual or otherwise – around either fighter. Each boxer was able to use his full arsenal to win the fight. Any agreement to the contrary would violate TDLR boxing rules.
“Trash talk and speculation are common in sports, and athletes and promoters need to tolerate nonsensical commentary, jokes and opinions. But suggesting anything other than full effort from these fighters is not only naïve but an insult to the work they put into their craft and to the sport itself.
“It is further illogical and inane that MVP, in the debut of a hopeful long-term partnership with the world’s biggest streamer—an organization that made its first-ever foray into live professional sports with Paul vs. Tyson—would even so much as consider such a perverse violation of the rules of competition.”
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