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Andreas Hale
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jake Paul’s unlikely rise through the boxing ranks continued with a unanimous decision win over former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Saturday night.
Paul picked up arguably his biggest win to date against a former world champion, albeit one who was a decade removed from his prime years, in front of a sold-out pro-Chavez crowd at the Honda Center with scores of 99-91, 97-93 and 98-92.
“He’s a tough guy,” Paul said. “He’s never been stopped, and he’s a Mexican warrior. I respect Mexican warriors. I respect Mexico, but I’m also a warrior and I came out on top tonight.”
Although it was not quite like the atmosphere of Paul’s blockbuster fight with Mike Tyson in November at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the energy in the Honda Center was on par with many championship fights. Born in Cleveland but now residing in Puerto Rico, Paul fed into being the enemy in hostile territory by walking out to “Lean Like a Cholo” by rapper Down AKA Kilo and wore a robe with the colors of the Mexican flag. Chavez entered the ring to a hero’s welcome on the strength of the last name he shares with his legendary father.
But the past decade of the younger Chavez’s life has been filled with disappointment as the former champion has been in and out of rehab and has a record of 6-5 in the ring. His checkered career has been filled with weight misses and discouraging performances. He entered Saturday’s fight seemingly in the best shape he has been in years, but his effort didn’t translate in the ring.
Although the crowd’s energy was behind Chavez, it wasn’t enough for the Mexican fighter to deliver a crowd-pleasing performance. Instead, Chavez was lethargic for most of the fight, content with getting hit by jabs and offering nothing in return. It was only in the final rounds when he was well behind on the scorecards that Chavez came to life.
Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) controlled large portions of the fight with his jab against a listless Chavez, who spent the early rounds following the influencer-turned-boxer around the ring without letting his hands go. Paul landed 140 of 482 punches (29%), with a majority of the offense coming from his jab with 65 of 302 (21.5%) landing throughout the 10-round fight.
“It was flawless,” Paul said. “I think I only got hit 10 times. He just survived and thought I did great. Going 10 rounds against a former world champion who’s never been stopped. He’s in there with Canelo, all of these guys, and I embarrassed him like that.”
Chavez landed more than 10 punches, but the effort was still abysmal for a former middleweight champion. Chavez, 39, landed only 61 of 154 punches (39.6%) with nine punches landed in the first five rounds.
By the middle rounds, Paul began putting his right hand behind the jab and eased an uppercut into his offense. Chavez (54-7-1, 34 KOs) was never hurt, but he was seemingly content with following his opponent around the ring and hoping to land a game-changing punch that never materialized.
Chavez eventually sprang to life in the final two rounds and landed hard hooks on a fading Paul. To Paul’s credit, he weathered the late storm and continued to throw punches until the final bell.
With the win, Paul is inching closer to his dream to challenge for a world title and made his intentions known following the victory.
“I want tougher fighters, and I want to be a world champion,” Paul said. “‘Zurdo’ [Ramirez] looked slow tonight. That’s easy work. I want Badou Jack. Tommy Fury can get it too. Stop running from me, Tommy.”
