Might Jake Paul be only a win away from a world title shot?

OCEANSIDE, California – The fact that unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez is fighting on the same card as the immensely popular YouTube cruiserweight fighter Jake Paul lets the mind wander.

What if both win their separate bouts, with Ramirez 47-1, (30 KOs), defending his belts against Cuba’s Yuniel Dorticos, 27-2 (25 KOs), and Paul, 11-1`(7 KOs), meeting former middleweight titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr, 54-6-1 (34 KOs), in the June 28 main event at Honda Center in Anaheim, California?

“I can see it, I can see it,” Ramirez promoter Oscar De La Hoya told BoxingScene on Saturday while attending a card headlined by his undisputed women’s flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora at Frontwave Arena.

“We didn’t really plan for this, but the fact you have ‘Zurdo’ with the two world titles …”

When attending the WBA convention in Florida in December, Paul previously told BoxingScene he didn’t much care about being listed in the boxing rankings because of his ability to draw crowds above and beyond those of highly ranked fighters, and even champions.

Paul’s November victory over former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson generated an $18.1 million live gate while a staggering 108 million viewers watched on Netflix.

The prospect of sharing a card with one of the world titlists in his very weight class makes for a natural option to explore.

De La Hoya said if Paul proves himself by defeating former middleweight belt holder Chavez, and perhaps hurting him – which De La Hoya notes Saul "Canelo" Alvarez could not do in their 2017 fight – then a strong case can be made for Ramirez-Paul.

“Chavez is a real fight," De La Hoya said. "I believe he is a real threat to Jake Paul, and I’m glad and happy that Jake Paul stepped up to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr. It’s not an easy fight.”

Paul’s lone loss was to a professional boxer, Tommy Fury.

Defeating Chavez would likely confirm the strides Paul has made after a string of victories over MMA and older fighters, and allow him to press for world championship glory in his dream pursuit.

“The winners fight?” De La Hoya said. “Who knows? Maybe that’s [Paul’s] path to the world title. We’ll see.”

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.