It’s hard to believe that Jake Paul entered the pro ranks at the beginning of 2020. Over 5 years have passed, and say what you want about Paul, he has made a dent in boxing for better or worse.

(Credit: Esther Lin / Most Valuable Promotions)

To be fair on the promoter side, Jake and his team have done a great job getting boxing on Netflix, not once but twice. Sure, Mike Tyson was a great dancing partner and yes, the fight sucked but Paul as a promoter has put on some good fights overall and invested in womans boxing. Jake squaring off against faded MMA names was a gimmick that grabbed the attention of combat sports fans. Names like Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, and Tyron Woodley were perfect opponents to help sell the event.

Many UFC fans swore that their fighter would represent the MMA sport well by taking out this smart-ass youngster. Only for the ‘bad guy’ to get the last laugh by soundly defeating said foe in most cases. Jake made quick work of Ben Askren, then had a split-decision victory over Woodley. In the rematch with Tyron, Jake Paul left no stone unturned as to who won their first meeting by scoring a nasty stoppage. Both Nate Diaz and Anderson Silva were well past their prime as fighters at the time Jake beat them. Even so, many folks would turn around and take credit away from Jake, even though they thought Jake Paul would lose.

Funny thing is, when Jake finally did step up and fight a real professional boxer, he looked bad in a decision loss to Tyson Fury’s younger brother Tommy. Now here we are, Jake is matched with a former name in the sport, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. They do have a common opponent in Anderson Silva. Chavez Jr looked horrible in a split decision loss to Silva just over 4 years ago. Julio’s most recent bout came via 6 6-round win over MMA fighter Uriah Hall in July of 2024. The main question we must get to is, how over the hill is Junior?

In 2019, Chavez Jr quit on the stool versus Danny Jacobs in his last meaningful bout. Outside of the ring, lifestyle caught up to Chavez long ago, so can we take him seriously? Yes, this boxing podcaster would easily pick Julio to beat Jake Paul if he were anywhere remotely close to his prime. With too many unknowns about a 39-year-old who hasn’t taken all his fights seriously, it makes it difficult to pick him. However, if you feel like Jake Paul will get beaten, Julio is sitting around +425 to +475 as an underdog. If you’re taking out a flyer just in case Chavez wins, you could match it with -129 Jake by decision or +157 Jake by KO.

My Official Prediction is Jake Paul by decision.
Side Note: Keep an eye on the undercard, which features an entertaining matchup between Gilberto Ramirez and Yuniel Dorticos. Along with an exciting fight, featuring Floyd Schofield and Tevin Farmer. My Picks: Ramirez by Dec and Minor Upset by Farmer by Dec.

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Written by Chris Carlson, Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, I-Heart Radio, Amazon Podcasts, Google Podcasts & More! Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio