B/R Staff Predictions for Jake Paul vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

The "Problem Child" is back in the ring.

Jake Paul puts his boxing gloves back on Saturday for a bout against former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the son of legendary Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

Paul has been criticized in the past for taking contests against less-experienced opponents, but that can't be thrown at him this time: Chavez Jr. is a veteran of 62 fights with a record of 54-6-1.

So who's coming away from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California with a win? We tapped the B/R Combat Sports Staff for this one to provide predictions.

Got your own thoughts on the fight? Submit your takes in the comments section of the B/R app.

Another Night at the Paul Circus

Alejandro Salazar/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The adjectives used in conjunction with Jake Paul are plentiful.

And chances are no matter which one you choose, it probably has some validity.

He's brilliant in the sense he's got a device-addled generation of people to help make him a multi-millionaire.

He's a joke in the sense that he's conning those people—and others—into believing he can actually do the things in a boxing ring that he claims he can.

As for me, I'm somewhere in the middle.

I can't argue that the 28-year-old knows his audience. He knows what it will buy. And then he sells it to them at a profit, inspiring contentious blind faith from those for whom the needle has moved the most.

This weekend is another example.

He's sold Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. as the sort of in-ring menace the second-generation opportunist never really was to begin with and hasn't reminded anyone of since the Obama administration. So, by beating said menace, Paul will add even more heft to the aura he's created for his sycophants.

The reality of it all, of course, is far different.

Chavez's best days are more than a decade behind him, and he's more recently been working the novelty side of the street and losing to the likes of an AARP-eligible Anderson Silva.

So Paul can and probably will win, then follow the masquerade with a bratty callout of a fighter he couldn't beat without a baseball bat.

Those with any actual fight sense understand he'd lose convincingly to the world's 30th-best cruiserweight.

But that's not the crowd he's looking to fool. So, the circus continues.

He'll suggest he's championship material for beating Chavez, 39, make some reference to Canelo being afraid of him, then appear again in a few months against the combat sports equivalent of a bearded lady.

P.T. Barnum would be proud. The rest of us? Maybe not so much.

Prediction: Paul by unanimous decision

- Lyle Fitzsimmons

Paul For the Win

Kirby Lee/Getty Images

Let me start off by saying I can't believe we're doing this again.

We've seen Paul fight former NBA players, MMA stars and a Mike Tyson who officially qualifies for AARP benefits.

But let's give credit to Paul. It takes a lot of guts to step into a boxing ring with anyone and the fact that he continues to do so while bringing in new eyeballs to the sport is impressive.

With that being said, he has always found a way to cherry-pick his opponents where he had the distinct advantage. And he's done it again here.

Don't get me wrong, Chavez Jr. is a legitimate boxer and a step up from the competition the "Problem Child" has been facing. But does he have anything left? Sixty-two fights will take a toll on any human being, and I do wonder if Paul is factoring that into the upcoming bout.

This is a step up in class, but Paul wins in some way, shape or form.

Prediction: Jake Paul by unanimous decision

- Lucky Ngamwajasat

Paul Has Miscalculated

Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

If you had told me in 2018 that an upstart YouTuber named Jake Paul would still be boxing in 2025, I wouldn’t have believed you.

If you had told me he would end up picking a fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., I might have believed that. 

It's obvious why Paul wanted this fight. He sees it as a surmountable challenge, and one that he can peddle as a valid accomplishment once he's surmounted it. It won't work, but the logic tracks.

The Mexican is notoriously unreliable in the ring, as evidenced by his 2021 loss to fading UFC legend Anderson Silva. He’s also over a decade older than Paul, at 39. At the same time, he is very experienced, with over 60 fights to his credit.

To Paul, this is a low-risk, high-reward fight. 

I believe Paul has miscalculated twice over, though. His first mistake is assuming beating Chavez in 2025 will do anything to strengthen his credibility as a boxer. It won't, no matter how hard he tries to twist the facts if he wins.

His second and larger mistake is betting he can beat his more experienced opponent. 

At this point, it's obvious there's a level of fighter Paul can beat and a level of fighter he can't beat, and it seems to come down to his opponent's experience.

When Paul fights a rookie boxer like Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley or Mike Perry, he can win. When he fights somebody with a modicum of experience, like Tommy Fury, he runs into trouble. Granted, he beat Ryan Bourland in 2024, but Bourland was never a high-level boxer and had barely fought in years, so the point stands. 

It's a somewhat bold pick, but I think Chavez—perhaps recognizing the value of beating up a controversial celebrity like Paul—will actually lean on his experience and try hard win this fight. If he does, I think he will, probably on points. 

Prediction: Chavez Jr. by unanimous decision

- Tom Taylor