Paul states he desires tougher opponents and aims to become world champion, issuing a challenge to former and current WBC champions.
The 28-year-old online star turned boxer achieved victory with judges’ scores of 99-91, 97-93, and 98-92 in the 10-round fight.
This win marks Paul’s successful return to boxing after seven months from his high-profile fight against 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
Chavez Jr., 39, previously held a World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight title but hasn’t held a significant boxing title for 13 years and has fought only once in the last three and a half years. His career has also been marred by personal issues.
Paul, known initially as a social media personality, has a six-fight winning streak and an overall record of 12-1 with seven knockouts (KOs).
‘I want to be world champion’
After the win, Paul challenged several current and former WBC champions to fight him.
“I desire tougher fighters; I aspire to be world champion,” he declared to the streaming service DAZN from the ring.
He challenged Zurdo Ramirez, Badou Jack, Anthony Joshua, Gervonta Davis, and Tommy Fury to “stop running”.
However, Chavez Jr. admitted that Paul is “a good fighter” but not yet prepared to face the champions Paul mentioned.
“He is strong, [he is a] good boxer [but] I don’t think he’s ready for champions,” the Mexican stated.
Paul, who was slated to face Canelo Alvarez before Alvarez signed a lucrative contract with Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season, accused Alvarez of dodging the fight.
In a video from his social media, Paul showed what he claimed was a signed contract with Alvarez for a fight in Las Vegas on May 3.
“The truth is, you can be bought. You’re a money-hungry squirrel chasing your next nut,” Paul said. “These sports-washing, shady characters are paying you millions to prevent our fight because they can’t accept that they can’t create a bigger fight than us.”
Alvarez, a Mexican boxing superstar, recently unified the super-middleweight world titles with a win over IBF champion William Scull in Riyadh.
![Paul celebrating his win [Patrick T Fallon /AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/AFP__20250629__647F3GU__v2__HighRes__JakePaulVJulioCesarChavezJr-1751177214.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C520&quality=80)
Paul vs Chavez Jr: Diverse Paths
The 28-year-old Paul stands out in the sport despite lacking a traditional boxing background, earning at least $60m since his boxing debut, as per various sources.
His match with Tyson, which Paul won, reached a peak of 64 million concurrent streams on Netflix.
Conversely, Chavez Jr. – with a record of (54-7-1, 34 KOs) – last held a main boxing title in 2012 and has faced struggles both in and out of the ring lately.
In November 2021, his controversial loss to 46-year-old former UFC fighter Anderson Silva was a career low, made more notable by Paul’s victory over Silva the following year.
Chavez Jr. has battled personal issues including lack of motivation, weight problems for fights, and legal troubles related to a firearm and drugs.
Paul stands a chance to be included in the WBC rankings due to his win.
“The WBC ratings committee has been monitoring Jake Paul’s career,” ESPN reported WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman as saying before the fight.
“Should he defeat Chavez, and depending on the fight’s outcome, the committee will decide. It’s likely [he’ll be ranked] if he wins convincingly.”
