Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Jake Paul has no interest in taking on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr for a WBA belt.

The major boxing organisation’s president, Gilberto Mendoza, floated around the idea of sanctioning a fight between Paul and the former WBC middleweight champion for one of the WBA’s many trinkets earlier this year.

Chavez Jr even recently declared he had received an offer to square off with Paul following the YouTuber’s controversial professional bout with Mike Tyson in November.

JUST IN: VIDEOS: Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 simulation predicts another 12-round affair with shock winner

However, Paul has put an emphatic end to such talk.

“I want someone tougher [than Chavez] and I want a real belt, not just something that gets put up for entertainment value,” Paul said on Friday.

“It’s great and all, but, honestly, he’s easy work and I want someone tougher to shut people up.”

Chavez Jr, son of first-ballot Hall of Famer Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, held the WBC’s version of the 160lb world title from 2011 to 2012 before dropping it to Sergio Martinez.

He fell to a one-sided unanimous decision defeat to Canelo Alvarez five years later and hasn’t looked the same since.

The 38-year-old is now competing in crossover clashes with over-the-hill MMA fighters and lost to former UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, in 2021.

Paul beat Silva over the distance a year later so a fight with Chavez Jr would likely be seen as a step back.

‘The Problem Child’s’ ultimate goal is to become a world champion but he will need to receive a ranking from a major sanctioning body before that dream can be realised – although Paul doesn’t seem particularly bothered about the idea of having a number next to his name.

“F*** the rankings. It’s just a number. Who cares?” Paul said.

“People just want to classify things and do a numbers chart.

“I’ve never looked at the rankings. I couldn’t care less.

“I know I’m the best in the world and I’m going to be world champion.”

His manager, Nakisa Bidarian, then added: “The rankings are, he’s the No.1 box office draw in boxing.

“He’s ranked No.1 above everybody else. That’s why [Daniel] Dubois is calling him out, that’s why [Artur] Beterbiev is calling him out, that’s why Gervonta Davis is calling him out, that’s why Ryan Garcia is calling him out, that’s why everyone and their mom is calling out Jake Paul.

“Claressa Shields is calling him out. So it’s pretty apparent who the No.1-ranked fighter in the world is across all weight classes.”

Paul’s next fight is expected to take place in early 2025, though it remains unclear who will be standing in the other corner.

“I mean, there’s a long line out there,” Paul said of his next opponent. “They can take a ticket and get in line to see who I want to fight next.

“I don’t say that as s*** talk – I’m the biggest payday in the sport of boxing right now, so everyone wants to fight.

“When you’re the hot girl on the block, you can do what the f*** you want.”

Keep Reading

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.”

READ: Daniel Dubois to defend IBF heavyweight belt in February – and not against Anthony Joshua

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.

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.

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.”

Keep Reading