This past weekend Julio Cesar Chavez Jr suffered the seventh loss of his career at the hands of YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
The 39-year-old Mexican promised to retire Paul but, after ten rounds, left many feeling it was him who would announce be was hanging up his gloves. Paul controlled the action from the off against a hesitant, often absent, Chavez Jr, who frustratingly only turned up the heat in the final two rounds before losing a wide unanimous decision.
Post-fight, the controversial American reeled off a familiar hit list, naming world champions Gilberto Ramirez and Badou Jack, as well as two-time heavyweight titlist Anthony Joshua, lightweight knockout artist Gervonta Davis and a rematch with Tommy Fury.
Paul’s ultimate target is Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, the 67-fight elite talent who beat Chavez Jr in his prime. Asked by Ser Ebro en los Deportes about fights with Canelo and Ramirez, Chavez said that Paul is not at the level yet.
“He’s progressing, but I don’t think he’s ready yet. Those are top fighters, very active and at their peak. Jake’s not there yet. But he’s putting in the work.”
Talks with Canelo previously collapsed after coming close, with the Mexican changing his plans to stick to the more traditional side of the sport, signing a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season which takes its next step in September when he faces Terence Crawford.
The fight still has scope for the future given how much money it would generate, but Paul may now turn his attention to ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez for a shot at the unified cruiserweight world titles. However, it is hard to imagine anybody in boxing, outside of the American’s team, picking him to win that fight, so more spectacle fights against faded or inexperienced operators is the most likely course ahead.
