Jake Paul rules out Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr, wants someone ‘tougher’
Dec 13, 2024 • 10:37 PM ET
ORLANDO, Florida – Jake Paul is not interested in fighting Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr, nor being included in any sanctioning body rankings – but he has promised to become a world champion.
A month has passed since Paul defeated 58-year-old Mike Tyson, a spectacle that encouraged Gilberto Mendoza, head of the WBA, to float the idea of a showdown with Chavez for one of his organization’s many titles – despite Paul being unranked and the Mexican more than a decade removed from his most recent meaningful victory.
“I want someone tougher [than Chavez] and I want a real belt, not just something that gets put up for entertainment value,” Paul said Friday. “It’s great and all, but, honestly, he’s easy work and I want someone tougher to shut people up.”
Given Mendoza’s statement and MVP staging a show to kick off this year’s WBA convention in Orlando, there has been speculation that the 27-year-old Paul will soon find himself with a world ranking. Should that occur, it will mean little to him.
“Fuck the rankings. It’s just a number. Who cares?” Paul said. “People just want to classify things and do a numbers chart. I’ve never looked at the rankings. I couldn’t care less. I know I’m the best in the world and I’m going to be world champion.”
MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian added: “The rankings are, he’s the No. 1 box office draw in boxing. He’s ranked No. 1 above everybody else. That’s why [Daniel] Dubois is calling him out, that’s why [Artur] Beterbiev is calling him out, that’s why Gervonta Davis is calling him out, that’s why Ryan Garcia is calling him out, that’s why everyone and their mom is calling out Jake Paul. Claressa Shields is calling him out. So it’s pretty apparent who the No. 1-ranked fighter in the world is across all weight classes.”
Paul would not be drawn on who will come next, however.
“I mean, there’s a long line out there,” he said. “They can take a ticket and get in line to see who I want to fight next. I don’t say that as shit talk – I’m the biggest payday in the sport of boxing right now, so everyone wants to fight. When you’re the hot girl on the block, you can do what the fuck you want.”
Matt Christie, a lifelong fight fan, has worked in boxing for more than 20 years. He left Boxing News in 2024 after 14 years, nine of which were spent as editor-in-chief. Before that, he was the producer of weekly boxing show “KOTV.” Now the co-host of “The Opening Bell” podcast and regularly used in the UK as a pundit, Matt was named as the Specialist Correspondent of the Year at the prestigious Sports Journalism Awards in 2021, which was the seventh SJA Award he accepted during his stint in the hot seat at Boxing News. The following year, he was inducted into the British Boxing Hall of Fame. He is a member of the BWAA and has been honored several times in their annual writing awards.
![Eddie Hearn [right] of Matchroom has formed a strategic alliance with Jake Paul [center] and Nakisa Bidarian of MVP](/img/v1/1920?src=https%3A%2F%2Fphoto.boxingscene.com%2Fuploads%2Fmvp-matchroom-jake-paul-eddie-hearn.webp)
