Jake Paul is closer to achieving his dream of becoming a world champion.
The World Boxing Association (WBA) has ranked Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) at No. 14 following his win Saturday over former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The social media influencer turned professional boxer is now eligible to challenge WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez for a world championship.
Before the fight, the WBA suggested that they would rank Paul if he defeated Chavez Jr. Paul, 28, outworked a listless Chavez Jr. (54-7-1) over ten rounds to earn a unanimous decision at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Ramirez defended his WBA and WBO titles in the co-main event with a decision win over Yuniel Dorticos.
Paul is ranked one spot ahead of American Craig Parker (20-0, 20 KOs), who most recently fought at heavyweight on April 1 and won via knockout. He’s behind Italian Giovanni Cristian Scuderi (12-0, 5 KOs), who hasn’t fought at cruiserweight since September 2022 and has spent his last four fights competing at heavyweight.
Source: espn.com