Jake Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) will take the next step to becoming a world champion when he faces former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (54-6-1, 34 KOs) on June 28 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Most Valuable Promotions revealed details about the fight to ESPN on Friday.
The 10-round fight, which MVP will co-promote with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, will be contested at a weight limit of 200 pounds and air on DAZN pay-per-view.
“Five years ago, I stepped into the ring for my pro debut after a single amateur fight, and every fight since has been a step towards becoming world champion. I just defeated the baddest man on the planet, and now I’m going against a former champion who conman Canelo couldn’t finish,” Jake Paul, 28, said in a statement to ESPN.
“Chávez Jr. is Mexican, but I, El Gallo De Dorado, have the will and heart of the great Mexican fighters. On Saturday, June 28, live on DAZN pay-per-view, I will knock out Julio and make Chávez Sr. proud in ways Jr. never has. Another massive event from Most Valuable Promotions, with some Oscar De La Hoya seasoning added to the show. Viva La Puerto Rico.”
The fight announcement comes just months after a proposed fight between Paul and Canelo Alvarez fell apart at the eleventh hour in favor of a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season. Paul then pursued a fight with Gervonta “Tank” Davis. However, Davis’ controversial majority draw against Lamont Roach Jr. in March derailed those plans, as it is now expected that Davis will pursue an immediate rematch with Roach. With two blockbuster showdowns falling apart, Paul turned to a former world champion and the son of a boxing legend in Chavez.
“Chavez Jr. has always been on the short list of fighters that Jake Paul has targeted,” MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said to ESPN. “After the Tyson fight, the original plan was to fight Chavez Jr. next. However, the Canelo opportunity presented itself and we paused discussions with Chavez.”
Chavez, 39, will be the second former world champion Paul has faced, although the previous champion to lose to the former YouTuber won his first world championship more than a decade before Paul was born. In November 2024, Paul won a unanimous decision against former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, 58, in a record-breaking event on Netflix. Chavez last held a major world title in 2012. Since losing the WBC title to Sergio Martinez in 2012, Chavez’s career has been uneven and inconsistent, with the Mexican going 8-6 after starting with a 46-0-1 record.
Chavez’s performances have tailed off significantly, with a one-sided decision defeat to Alvarez in 2017 and an embarrassing loss to former MMA champion Anderson Silva in 2021. He was last in action on the undercard of Paul’s fight with Mike Perry last July when Chavez outpointed MMA fighter Uriah Hall in a six-round fight. Although Chavez is far from the form he had early in his career, the former champion believes that his issues are behind him and he will be able to turn back “El Gallo.”
“First of all, I will show what I can do now that everything is in the right place in my life – mentally and physically,” Chavez said in a statement. “I feel rejuvenated and 10 years younger. Second, I want to thank MVP for taking the risk of fighting me. Unfortunately for their Problem Child, they’re going to have a big problem this June-one they won’t know how to resolve. Hopefully, when I beat him, people won’t underestimate this win.”
In the co-main event, unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs) of Golden Boy Promotions will defend his titles against former unified champion Yuniel Dorticos (27-2, 25 KOs).
Ramirez won the WBO and WBA titles in 2024 after a tenure at super middleweight where he held the WBO title from 2016 to 2018 before vacating to move up to light heavyweight. Ramirez’s lone loss came against current light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in November 2022. Dorticos, a Cuban defector who is now fighting out of Miami, is a former cruiserweight champion on a three-fight winning streak.
“Once again, Golden Boy is proving that we’re willing to work with anyone to deliver the biggest and most exciting events in boxing. We’re thrilled to partner with Jake Paul, Nakisa Bidarian, Most Valuable Promotions, and DAZN to bring this blockbuster night to fans around the world,” said Oscar De La Hoya, chairman and CEO of Golden Boy.
Paul and De La Hoya share a common enemy in UFC CEO Dana White, who will hold UFC 317 during the promotion’s annual International Fight Week opposite Paul-Chavez Jr. at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“I am excited to work with Oscar De La Hoya, who is the only former fighter to successfully operate a promotional company,” Bidarian said. “Like Jake Paul, Oscar has his haters, but that’s because both move the needle like very few do and are not afraid to speak their mind.”
