Jake Paul has heard the criticism about his upcoming fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
On Monday, the social influencer turned boxer took to social media to respond to the backlash over his fight in June, where he takes on the 39-year-old veteran, who holds a 3-3 record over his past six fights dating back to 2019, with one of those losses coming to ex-UFC champion Anderson Silva.
While Chavez did hold titles during his career, he’s seemingly a far cry from the fighter who lost a one-sided decision to Canelo Alvarez back in 2017, but Paul doesn’t want to hear about it. In fact, Paul says his fight against Chavez is no different than a recent UFC fight that earned a lot of headlines.
“Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is a former world champion, a cruiserweight world champion,” Paul said. “The same weight as me, the same size as me, and 20 years more pro boxing experience than me. For you inbreds, let’s get the excuses out of the way.
“Last week, Paddy Pimblett beat Michael Chandler, and the whole world lost their mind, but not a single person mentioned Michael Chandler’s age. That’s because he’s still within his prime ages, the same age as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. If people didn’t have a problem with Paddy, then why do they have a problem with me? When I beat him, don’t even try to cry about his age.”
While it’s true that Chandler turned 39 just days after his fight against Pimblett at UFC 314, it’s tough to compare his body of work in recent years to Chavez.
Chandler was still ranked in the top 15 at lightweight by the UFC before his loss to Pimblett, and his previous losses all came to former champions like Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, and Charles Oliveira.
The same can’t be said for Chavez, who most recently squeaked by ex-UFC fighter Uriah Hall in a six-round bout in what was Hall’s second professional boxing match.
Also, Chavez never held a cruiserweight title during his career. He did fight for a light heavyweight title in 2015 but lost after being stopped in the ninth round.
It’s also been well documented that Chavez has faced personal issues outside the ring, which included his arrest in 2024 for illegal possession of an assault rifle. Following his arrest, Chavez was admitted to a rehabilitation center for treatment after openly admitting to substance abuse problems in the past.
Still, Chavez is going to attempt to turn back the clock when he faces Paul in a boxing match scheduled for June 28 from Anaheim, Calif., with the bout airing on DAZN pay-per-view.