Jake Paul tops Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., improves to 12-1
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jake Paul‘s unlikely rise through the ranks in boxing continued with a unanimous decision win over former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Paul picked up arguably his biggest win to date against a former world champion, albeit 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.
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 while Chavez entered to a hero’s welcome on the strength of the last name he shares with his legendary father.
Although the energy was behind Chavez, the Mexican fighter turned in a lethargic performance for the majority of the fight. It was only until 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.
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 up 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.”
In the co-main event, Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) retained his WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles with a blue-collar effort, outworking Yuniel Dorticos (27-3, 25 KOs) for a unanimous decision victory.
Judges scored the fight 115-112, 115-112 and 117-110.
It was a shaky start for Ramirez, who looked sluggish and allowed the powerful Dorticos to put him against the ropes and launch punches to the head and body. “Zurdo” woke up in the later rounds and started taking control of the center of the ring while putting together combinations to the head and body. Dorticos was diligent in his approach to work the body, but several punches strayed low. Eventually, the low blows caught up to him, and he was docked a point in round 10 with the fight still hanging in the balance.
By then, Ramirez had built a head of steam and closed the second half of the fight strong by holding court in the center of the ring and initiating his offense. Neither fighter was in danger of being knocked out, but “Zurdo” will take his titles back to Mexico with a solid outing.
Ramirez has now won four consecutive fights since dropping the light heavyweight title to Dmitry Bivol in 2022.
Although Paul is targeting a fight with Ramirez, the Mexican champion is looking for a showdown with undefeated IBF champion Jai Opetaia in the future.
Source: espn.com