Jake Paul returns to the ring this weekend to face former world middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Though having another former boxing champion – after 58-year-old Mike Tyson last year – may look good on paper, Chavez is well past his best and, at 39, has been inactive due to both a lack of desire as well as issues outside of the ropes.
With that in mind, most in the sport are picking Paul to extend his record to 12-1 at the Honda Center, Anaheim. Promoter Oscar De La Hoya is backing a points win for the YouTuber-turned-fighter, whilst former coach and analyst Teddy Atlas believes it will be a much wider win.
Former world champion Paulie Malignaggi, however, doesn’t see it as a foregone conclusion, even despite his criticism of Chavez Jr as a champion.
“For me, [Chavez] is the worst world champion in the history of boxing, or one of the worst at least … I’m not sure Jake has that craftiness to offset the pressure of Chavez Jr. You have to be able to deal with the pressure of a guy who’s coming at you one dimensionally without having to feel like you have to fight him off every time.”
Malignaggi then questioned whether or not Paul would have the gas tank to keep a pressure fighter off him for ten rounds – just the second time he would be taken that distance.
“For me, Jake has improved over the years but regressed in the last few fights … I think this fight could be complicated … Jake’s not fixing his fights, he’s kind of stacking the deck but as he raises his opposition … Could this be biting off more than he can chew? I feel this could be a risk fight.”
“Chavez Jr has a good chin, you’re not gonna knock him out, but he does quit. If he gets through those early rounds and doesn’t quit, this could get really hairy for Jake late on. I think Chavez is a live underdog.”
The main event will be propped up by an impressive undercard featuring Floyd Schofield vs Tevin Farmer as well as Gilberto Ramirez defending his unified cruiserweight world titles against Yuniel Dorticos.
