Anyone sick of this guy yet? One would think that after the disastrous matchup of Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul that the world would perhaps kind of turn their back on this guy and while we obviously aren't going to see the sort of record-setting numbers that we saw with Tyson vs. Paul, I believe that this one will be a huge money-maker as well unfortunately.
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The fight is slated for June 28th and Jake's intentionally selected opponents for very specific reasons this time is Julio Chavez Jr. Unless you are a boxing enthusiast going back many years, there is a good chance that you have never heard this name and there is a reason for that: Chavez is mostly well-known for quitting in the 5th round of a middleweight fight that seriously upset the boxing world and lead to a near riot in the crowds because of it.
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I'll make the recap quick: Chavez Jr had been the world champion prior to his bout vs. Daniel Jacobs but it had been rumored that his heart was no longer in boxing and this was kind of on display when he missed weight by 5 lbs during the weigh-in. His performance during the fight was very lackluster and he refused to continue in the 5th round, not even getting up off of his stool in the corner.
His father was more of a legend than he was and there is a lot of talk, probably true talk, that if it weren't for his father, he never would have gotten the opportunity to be champ based on his own merits. This was in 2017. The last time that Chavez Jr. could have been considered "good" was in 2011.
When I first saw the announcement the name didn't mean anything to me, but when I started reading I was like "oh yeah, I remember this clown" and quickly realized why Jake Paul would have entered into negotiations with the guy in the first place.
There is also another glaring reason: Both Chavez Jr. and Jake Paul share a mutual opponent in Anderson Silva but the difference is that Paul won a decision against "The Spider" while Chavez lost that decision. Seems perfect for Jake Paul, right? Well just to sweeten the pot, it is worth pointing out that Jr. is also 39 years old and has been missing weight, making excuses regarding when and where he would return to fight, and even had his boxing license indefinitely suspended for failing to show up for drug testing.
He has had one fight that was somewhat impressive, but much like Jake Paul's own fights, it was against someone that is not a boxer in ex UFC-fighter Uriah Hall. Even with the deck stacked heavily in his favor, he barely won the decision.
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I'm going to try to give Jake Paul some credit here but this is tough, considering how low the bar has been set as far his opponents are concerned. Chavez Jr. is nearly 20 years younger than his last opponent and unlike Mike Tyson, he has at least tried to fight in the past couple of years including actually winning a fight in 2020.
I don't think the fans are going to be very pumped about this one but then again, much of this has to do with the fact that so much hype was put into the Tyson fight with zero actually delivered in terms of excitement, that no matter what Paul does next the people are not going to turn up and tune in on that level ever again.
I likely will not watch this fight at all but I think that almost all of the people that do so, are going to be turning in, in the hopes that Paul gets worked over by a superior opponent that is actually a boxer. Sure, Chavez Jr was a world champion but this was at middleweight, which in boxing is between 154 and 160 lbs. Heavyweight has no upper limit, but it starts at nearly 180 lbs. Jake Paul normally weighs in at various things but was 220 lbs against Mike Tyson. So to suggest that Jake is, and is going to be significantly larger than Chavez Jr, is basically a guarantee. Paul is also young, so if he weighed in at 227 like he did against Tyson, this is going to be a very fit 227, whereas if Jr. is even close to Jake's weight, it is just going to be McDonald's weight. The fight claims to have a weight limit of 200 lbs and I am certain that Jake will make weight because he has never failed as far as that is concerned and rightfully so, since it is his promotion that sets the guidelines for weight.
I'll appear like a broken record when I say that I have zero enthusiasm for this upcoming fight, and it isn't going to be on Netflix either, which is just fine by me since I have no interest in watching it anyway.
I'd like to see Jake fight someone that is actually an active boxer, but we all know why that doesn't happen. Jake has made at least $100 million from doing these hand-selected fights and if he starts losing left and right, which I believe he would do if he was fighting actual talented opponents, the money train would be over. Chavez Jr. isn't exactly waiting in line at the soup kitchen either, but his net worth is very low in comparison and he is likely very excited for this payday, just like all of Paul's other opponents.
Remember guys! This all stops once the population stops watching!