Jake Paul vs Julio César Chávez Jr: What Are the Betting Odds?
Jake Paul is returning to boxing for the first time since his controversial bout with 58-year-old Mike Tyson last November.
Paul will be facing off against former middleweight champion Julio César Chávez Jr, so you can expect it to be a much closer fight than the Mike Tyson one.
Although it’s been a while since Chaves Jr won the WBC Middleweight Championship all the way back in 2011, the 39-year-old is still an active fighter on the circuit and won’t be a pushover for Paul. In fact, it has the potential to be quite a good fight, even though Chávez Jr appears to be doing this for nothing more than one last payday (and you can’t blame him).
Interestingly, this will be only the second time that Paul has ever faced a professional boxer. The previous was when he went up against Tommy Fury, where he lost via a split-decision and looked out of his depth for most of the fight. It was a big step up from the YouTubers and former UFC fighters that he’d beaten before that, so Paul will be looking to avoid a repeat outcome this time.
Given what happened in the Tommy Fury fight, this upcoming one genuinely could go either way. Paul has proven knockout power with his overhand right and will be fighting someone fast-approaching the end of his career. On the other hand, Chávez Jr brings over 21 years of professional boxing experience to the table and could easily end up out-boxing Paul on the night. And truth be told, at his very best, Chávez Jr is a level above Tommy Fury.
So, what are the odds saying? Let’s take a closer look.
🥊💰 Jake Paul vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr Current Betting Odds
✓ Jake Paul: -650
✓ Julio Cesar Chaves Jr: +570
Most bookies have Jake Paul down as the overwhelming favourite heading into the Chávez Jr fight. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. After all, Paul is now 7 years deep into his boxing career and he’s going up against a much older (and slower) fighter who most boxing fans have been calling “finished” for years now. Whether Chávez Jr even has any desire to win this fight also remains to be seen, but all signs point to this being nothing more than one final payday for him, even though he could easily take it the distance with Paul if he wanted.
Odds-wise, you want to be looking at Ladbrokes when placing your bet; they are the #1 app on BettingTools, and when looking, they had the best odds for Paul to claim victory over Chávez Jr.
“I wanna take revenge for Mike Tyson” — Chavez Jr
When speaking to TMZ this week, Chávez Jr was asked about his upcoming fight with Jake Paul and how he feels going into it. He threw several strays at Paul during the interview and even claimed that he’s looking to “take revenge” for Mike Tyson following Paul’s win over him last November. This could be nothing more than Chávez Jr playing up to the media, but there’s a strong chance that the Mexican fighter has legit problems with Jake Paul following what he did to Mike Tyson.
Chavez Jr “Lazy as Hell” and “Overrated as Hell” — Paulie Malignaggi on ProBox TV
Lots of former boxers and influencers have been speaking out about Paul vs Chávez. One of them is former two-weight world champion Paulie Malignaggi, who went on a mini-rant during an appearance on ProBox TV. He labeled Chávez Jr “lazy as hell” and “overrated as hell”, while also warning that there’s a strong chance “that guy will show up overweight”.
Based on Chávez Jr’s reputation, this is a very real possibility and it ultimately sheds light on why Paul’s camp has hand-selected him for the fight. Sure, he’s a former world champion, so the match has legit credibility behind it. But at the same time, Chávez Jr is a loose cannon and there’s every chance that he’ll show up unprepared, allowing Paul to beat him. You simply don’t know what you’re going to get here.
Yes, Canelo Failed to Knockout Chávez Jr — But That Was 8 Years Ago
One of the big talking points heading into this fight is that Canelo Álvarez failed to knockout Chávez Jr when they fought back in 2017. The argument is that if Canelo couldn’t knockout Chávez, then what chance does Jake Paul have? However, some boxing fans are experiencing selective memory loss here, as the fight between Canelo and Chávez Jr was nothing short of a masterclass from Canelo. He won all twelve rounds on all three judges’ scorecards, dominated Chávez Jr from the first bell, and it seemed as though he was almost playing with him at times. Not to mention, it’s now an almost decade-old fight, so using it as a warning to Paul is somewhat pointless (Paul himself had yet to even have his first professional fight in 2017).
Can Jake Paul Handle Mexican-Style Boxing?
On his day, Chávez Jr can hurt you. He’s a classic front-foot Mexican-style fighter who (if motivated) will no doubt look to pressure Jake Paul. This is something that Paul has never really experienced, either, despite having 12 fights under his belt. So far, he’s only faced a mixture of YouTube influencers, former UFC and MMA fighters, and just one professional boxer (Tommy Fury), which is why it will be interesting to see how Paul handles Chávez Jr’s style if he brings his A-game to the fight. It could potentially get messy — and we might even be looking at a closer fight than some are anticipating.
Is Jake Paul Classed as a Professional Fighter?
After being active on the boxing circuit for over five years now, Jake Paul is classed as a professional fighter (he officially went pro back in 2020) due to being licensed by state athletic commissions. For instance, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has licensed him for his fights in Las Vegas. Even though some fans don’t like it, this makes Paul a professional boxer, despite only facing one actual boxer his entire career. One thing’s for sure — if Paul does manage to beat Chávez Jr, especially by knockout, it would give him the boost in credibility that his camp has been chasing.
Summary
June 28. Honda Centre, Anaheim. The Jake Paul saga will continue when he goes up against the former WBC middleweight champion Chávez Jr. Will it be yet another case of someone getting embarrassed by Paul for one last payday? Or will Chávez Jr show up motivated and cause a headache for the “The Problem Child”? Based on what we know, this has a Jake Paul points victory written all over it, but don’t be surprised if he gets rocked once (or maybe even twice) by Chávez Jr on his way out.
