Julio Cesar Chavez Jr will look to avoid the fate suffered by one of Jake Paul’s earliest boxing opponents.
Paul returns to the ring for his 13th professional outing on Saturday, June 28, as he gears up to battle a former WBC middleweight champion in Chavez Jr at Anaheim’s Honda Center.
‘The Problem Child’ is five years into his professional career and most recently made a splash as one half of Netflix’s entry into live combat sports broadcasting. On the platform last November, Paul defeated Mike Tyson.
Paul has been criticized for such bouts against aging, past-their-prime veterans of boxing and MMA. That’s been a trend in the Cleveland native’s career since starting out against opponents without combat experience.
And the last rival under that bracket stands alongside the likes of Tyron Woodley and Andre August as a brutal highlight on Paul’s reel.
Jake Paul flattened Nate Robinson on Mike Tyson undercard
Before a high-profile clash with Ben Askren that saw the first MMA fighter added to his record, Paul shared the ring with ex-NBA star Nate Robinson.
The pair fought on the undercard of Tyson’s return for an exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr at Staples Center in Los Angeles in November 2020.
Considering what Paul has done since, the bout was an obvious mismatch in hindsight. And ‘The Problem Child’ proved as much at the time with an emphatic and devastating finish.
After multiple knockdowns, Paul knocked Robinson out for good in round two, connecting with a brutal right hand that faceplanted the NBA’s first three-time slam dunk champion.
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Nate Robinson reportedly collected a $2 million payday for Jake Paul ‘fiasco’
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given how the fight unfolded, it later emerged that Robinson was far from prepared for his pro boxing debut.
Speaking on his ESPN show, First Take, Stephen A. Smith quoted what he had been told by a source close to the former basketball player, whom he claimed took home $2 million for the Paul “fiasco.”
“Nate walked out the arena, realized he was not trained well. [He] apologized for not listening and collected a little over $2 million for that fiasco. He’s fine,” the source reportedly told Smith (h/t TMZ).
That result ultimately pushed Paul into showdowns with MMA vets and helped catapult him into the boxing mainstream, where he’s since tipped himself for ambitious world title glory.
Chavez Jr is looking to put a stop to that and has the chance to ensure the former Disney star does not get ranked by the WBC and WBA.