One of boxing’s top superstars, for better or worse, returns to the ring on Saturday when Jake Paul takes on former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a cruiserweight fight. Paul is looking to continue building his credibility as a boxer by taking on Chavez, an experienced boxer, though well past his prime.
Chavez held the WBC middleweight title from June 2011 to September 2012. The son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., Chavez never lived up to his father’s legacy and mixed drug test and weight issues with otherwise inconsistent in-ring results.
Paul has made a career of fighting faded athletes, primarily from the world of mixed martial arts, but he is also coming off of a win over 58-year-old Mike Tyson in a fight that did big business but produced little action.
Paul and Chavez share one common opponent, with Chavez losing a split decision to UFC legend Anderson Silva and Paul taking a clear unanimous decision win roughly one year later.
The undercard does feature a pair of interesting fights. Unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez is set to defend his WBA and WBO titles against Yuniel Dorticos in the co-main event. Ramirez has an incredible record at 47-1 with 30 knockouts. His lone defeat came in a 2022 decision los to Dmitry Bivol for the WBA light heavyweight title. He’s bounced back with three wins since, including a huge victory over Chris Billam-Smith in November to claim the WBO cruiserweight title.
Another featured bout sees the return of promising young prospect Floyd Schofield when he takes on veteran Tevin Farmer. Schofield, 22, has amassed an 18-0 mark so far with 12 knockouts. Farmer, 34, represents his toughest test to date, though the veteran is coming in off three straight defeats.
Plus, boxing Hall of Famer and former UFC champion Holly Holm returns to the boxing ring for the first time in 12 years when she takes on Yolanda Vega. In her boxing career, Holm held titles in three different weight classes and made 16 defenses of those titles before eventually transitioning to MMA.
The action gets underway at 8 p.m. ET on DAZN pay-per-view. The full fight card with odds and complete viewing information is listed below.
Jake Paul vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight prediction, odds, preview, undercard, start time, expert picks
Brent Brookhouse
| Jake Paul -670 | Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. +400 | Cruiserweights |
| Gilberto Ramirez (c) -1115 | Yuniel Dorticos +600 | WBO cruiserweight title |
| Floyd Schofield -195 | Tevin Farmer +160 | Lightweights |
| Holly Holm -910 | Yolanda Guadalupe Vega Ochoa +525 | Lightweights |
| Avious Griffin -1115 | Julian Rodriguez +600 | Welterweights |
| Raul Curiel | Victor Rodriguez | Welterweights |
| Victor Morales Jr. -1667 | Rene Alvarado +850 | Junior lightweights |
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