California’s Anaheim.When Jake Paul fights former middleweight champion Julio C. Sar Ch vez Jr. at Honda Center on Saturday night, he will be taking the biggest gamble of his unusual boxing career.
In front of a boisterous Orange County audience, Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) will face his most successful opponent to date, 39-year-old Ch vez (54-6-2, 34 KOs).
Chvez, who has only engaged in combat once since 2021, is most recognized for not making the most of his well-known father’s genetic potential. After 5 1/2 years and 13 fights into his successful boxing career, he remains by far the most respectable boxer to compete with Paul.
Paul has effectively used his widespread Internet presence and his own diligence to establish himself as a major player in the boxing industry, if not in championship matches. Along his unusual career path, he has established a thriving promotional company, dabbled in mixed martial arts, and grown to become one of the world’s most significant combat sports athletes.
Paul’s solitary defeat came in February 2023 when he faced real boxer Tommy Fury, whose notoriety even surpasses his fighting prowess. Paul has primarily faced mixed martial artists and other internet celebrities.
Paul hadn’t competed since defeating Mike Tyson in a highly anticipated fight last November that fell short of the unrealistic expectations of supporters who were unaware of Tyson’s advanced age of 58.
Before making a comeback late last year, Chvez had been out of the ring for three years. However, Paul’s invitation lured him back, along with the thousands of supporters who eagerly purchased tickets in unwavering support of their champion.
Throughout his long boxing career, Chvez has had many low points while competing under the shadow of his father, one of the most adored athletes in Mexican history. The kid, who has been extensively chastised for his sporadic devotion to the sport, has served bans, failed drug tests, and egregiously missed weight.
He nevertheless achieved great success, taking home the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and successfully defending it three times. Chvez faced generational heavyweights Sergio Martinez and Canelo Ivarez in the ring, but he lost to both.
Anderson Silva, a former UFC champion and amateur boxer, defeated Chvez in 2021. A year later, Paul defeated him via a lopsided ring decision.
Paul’s status as the most well-liked pugilistic sideshow in the world may soon change: He will very certainly be asked to compete under the auspices of a sanctioning organization due to his financial strength, thus he could probably schedule a fight against a top boxer whenever he wants.
Holly Holm, 43, a former UFC fighter who had not competed in boxing for 12 years, defeated Yolanda Guadalupe Vega Ochoa, who had never been defeated, on the strong Anaheim undercard.
Then, in the closing seconds of the tenth and final round, New Jersey welterweight Julian Rodriguez gained an exciting victory by using a cunning left hand to push Avious Griffin sideways against the ropes for a stoppage with five seconds remaining.
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http://apnews.com/boxing is the AP boxing website.
