Love him or hate him, Jake Paul may be a future world champion.
‘The Problem Child’ has carved out a career for himself inside the squared circle, largely booking freakshow fights against former MMA stars and past-their-prime boxers. But no matter what you think about Paul’s choice of opponents or the legitimacy of his wins, there’s no denying that Paul has the sport in the palm of his hands.
That much was evident from his history-making clash against former undisputed heavyweight titleholder ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.
And if he manages to put on another impressive performance against boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. this Saturday night, Oscar De La Hoya thinks Paul may be in line for a top 10 opponent.
“I think Jake can win a world title,” De La Hoya said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “It’s obviously going to take time and experience. Facing Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.—a world champion, 12 rounds with Canelo—that’s experience for him. If he passes that test, say he knocks him out in the later rounds, it’ll be a huge confidence boost and silence a lot of doubters. Then, he can move on to the next challenge—possibly a top 10 in the world!”
Jake Paul still aiming for a clash with canelo
Paul’s clash with Chavez Jr. will be his 13th career fight and first of 2025.
Previously, ‘The Problem Child’ was linked to an improbable showdown with Canelo Alvarez before ‘Canelito’ opted to sign a deal with Turki Alalshikh, paving the way for a long-awaited fight against Terence Crawford.
“Chávez will be my piñata on Saturday… and Canelo is next,” Paul said in a video on Instagram.
Perhaps a win over Chavez Jr. will put a meeting with Canelo back on the table. But for now, ‘The Problem Child’ will have to focus on the task at hand if he hopes to score some respect from big-name boxing promoters, most of whom have already written off his entire act as nothing more than a circus.
