At last, a new opponent for Jake Paul.
Almost five months since he fought Mike Tyson, Paul is headed back to the boxing ring, Paul announced Friday he will square off against Julio César Chávez Jr.
The 10-round bout will take place June 28 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. and be aired on DAZN, according to Paul.
The wait for Paul included a deal with Canelo Alvarez falling through and speculation Paul might fight Conor McGregor or Gervonta Davis. But those deals never materialized, either. Nor did a fight with YouTuber KSI or Tommy Fury. And so now Paul, 28, will square off with the son of legendary Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Sr.
Coming off his victory over Tyson by unanimous decision Nov. 15, Paul is 11-1 with seven knockouts.
Julio César Chávez Jr., 39, is 54-6-1 with 34 knockouts. He was the WBC middleweight world champion from 2011 to 2012. But he has not showed championship form for many years.
In July, Chávez won his first fight after a layoff of almost three years. He beat Uriah Hall by unanimous decision in a six-round bout. He’d lost four of his previous seven fights dating back to 2017.
Paul overhauled his training team after losing to Fury in 2023. Since then he has won his past five bouts, which included knockouts against Mike Perry, Ryan Bourland and Andre August.