Jake Paul‘s next opponent could be former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
The son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez revealed that a meeting has been set this week with Paul’s camp.
“It’s an option, we’re looking into it,” Chavez told TUDN in Mexico. “Let’s see, this week I have a meeting. I’d be interested in fighting a champion, but fighting Jake Paul for the fame and the media would put me in a position to fight against others. I’m not looking for it, it’s been presented. It’s not concrete, but let’s see what happens.”
The 38-year-old former boxing champion holds a 54-6-1 record with 34 wins via knockout.
Chavez Jr. dethroned Sebastian Zbik in 2011 to capture his first WBC middleweight title. He defended the belt three times before losing to Sergio Martinez in 2012 for the unified WBC and The Ring middleweight championship.
In 2017, he lasted 12 rounds against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez but lost via unanimous decision.
Now at the tailend of his career, Chavez Jr. fought two former UFC fighters in his last two fights with contrasting results. He lost to former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva via split decision in 2021. Then he defeated Uriah Hall by unanimous decision in the Paul-Mike Perry undercard in July.
Ex-UFC Champion Challenges Jake Paul to MMA Fight Without Pay
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has called out Paul for mocking Conor McGregor.
“Yo Jake Paul, watch how you talk to MMA royalty. I’ll fight you in MMA. No weight class for no pay. That’s a great deal. But I bet YOU won’t. Stop disrespecting people in my [expletive] sport, homie. Fighting [ Mike] Tyson was your last straw. Go back to boxing wrestlers,” Jackson wrote in a post on X.
Jackson, 46, held a 38-14 record in his colorful MMA career, winning 20 by knockouts, four by submission, and 14 via decision. He captured the UFC light heavyweight title with a first-round stoppage of Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell in 2007. He also won the Bellator Season 10 light heavyweight championship and unified the UFC light heavyweight championship and the Pride FC middleweight championship.
Jackson was irked when Paul mocked McGregor following his unanimous decision win over Tyson, the 58-year-old boxing legend.
“Dear Conor, I know you told my team you would fight me at 170lbs. That’s never happening. But let’s run it in MMA. No weight class. Just like how it used to be done. But you won’t,” Paul wrote on X.
Canelo Alvarez Open to Fighting Jake Paul But on One Condition
Alvarez is not ruling out a potential mega-fight with Paul but on one condition.
It just won’t happen while he is the WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight champion.
“When I’m done with boxing, why not?” Alvarez said on Full Send Podcast. “Maybe, maybe I’ll do it.”
Alvarez clarified it still could happen before he retires from the sport.
“Yeah [when I’m done competing at the top],” Alvarez said. “I think it’s good because what happens is there are other people who never watch boxing or they don’t know anything about boxing, [and] they want to watch Jake Paul because he brings fans from another world, right? That’s good because everybody [gets to] enjoy it. Maybe [I’ll fight Jake Paul in the future]. Maybe.”
Paul has repeatedly challenged Alvarez in the past, and most recently after he beat Mike Tyson via an eight-round unanimous decision on November 15.
“Canelo needs me, so I’m not even going to try and call him out,” Paul said in the post-fight interview with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. “He knows he wants a payday. So, he knows where the money man is at.”
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