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WafricNews – June 29, 2025

Anaheim, California - In a fight that symbolized boxing’s uneasy collision of celebrity and legacy, Jake Paul—YouTuber-turned-prizefighter—secured a decisive unanimous decision victory over former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr on Saturday night in California.

The judges scored the 10-round cruiserweight bout 99-91, 98-92, and 97-93 in Paul’s favor, extending his current win streak to six and bolstering his professional record to 12-1 with seven knockouts.

“I want tougher fighters. I want to be world champion,” Paul declared to DAZN moments after his hand was raised.

At 28, Paul remains one of the most talked-about—and polarizing—figures in the sport. And with this latest win, he's edging closer to legitimacy in a sport where fame alone doesn’t earn respect.

Celebrity Fighter, Real Ambitions

Despite criticism from boxing purists, Paul’s ambitions are clear: he wants a world title, and he’s naming names. On Saturday night, he called out an eye-popping list of current and former WBC champions—Zurdo Ramirez, Badou Jack, Tommy Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Gervonta Davis—urging them to “stop running.”

Whether any of those fights materialize remains to be seen.

“He is strong, a good boxer,” said Chavez Jr after the bout. “But I don’t think he’s ready for champions.”

Paul’s victory comes just seven months after he beat a 58-year-old Mike Tyson in a high-profile exhibition. Critics argued that fight was more marketing than competition—but Saturday’s win over a former titleholder adds a new layer to the Paul narrative.

Paul, right, punches Chavez Jr during their cruiserweight boxing match
Jake Paul celebrates at the end of the cruiserweight boxing bout against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr
Paul celebrates his win
Chavez Jr: A Legacy Unraveling

At 39, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr carries one of boxing’s most storied surnames—but not its legacy. Once a WBC middleweight champion, his career has spiraled for more than a decade, marked by inactivity, poor conditioning, and personal demons.

Chavez Jr has only fought once in the past 3.5 years. His 2021 loss to 46-year-old former UFC champion Anderson Silva—who Jake Paul later defeated—was widely seen as the nadir of a career that never lived up to its promise.

Off the canvas, Chavez has battled addiction, faced criminal charges, and failed multiple drug tests. At the fight’s launch event in May, Paul openly mocked Chavez’s troubled past, highlighting the mental gaps between the two fighters.

Still, Chavez entered the ring with a record of 54-7-1 (34 KOs), but was clearly outworked and outpaced by the younger, more determined Paul.

Paul vs Alvarez: A Fight That Never Was

Paul also took a shot at Canelo Alvarez, accusing the Mexican superstar of “ducking” a proposed fight. In a video posted to his social media channels, Paul claimed the two had signed a contract for a May 3 bout in Las Vegas—only for Alvarez to back out in favor of a mega-deal with Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season.

“You’re a money-hungry squirrel chasing your next nut,” Paul said, accusing Alvarez of letting foreign influence dictate his decisions. “They couldn’t handle that the biggest fight in boxing might involve Jake Paul.”

Alvarez instead defeated William Scull in a slow-paced bout in Riyadh to unify the super-middleweight division.

WBC Ranking Incoming?

Paul’s win may earn him a place in the WBC’s official rankings—an astonishing milestone for a man who began his career on YouTube rather than in the amateurs.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said prior to the fight that the ratings committee was closely watching the bout and that a “convincing” win could open the door.

With Chavez now in the rearview mirror, the path ahead for Jake Paul is as high-stakes as ever. Whether boxing’s elite will accept him—or continue to scoff—remains the biggest question in the sport.

But for now, the scorecards don’t lie. And neither does the ambition.


By WafricNews Desk.

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