Jake Paul, the 28-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer, wants a world title shot after beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The fight happened on June 28 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Paul won the 10-round bout by decision. He put on a strong show against Chavez, who didn't bring much to the fight despite being a former WBC middleweight champion. ESPN covered the fight details and analysis.
After the win, Paul made his goals clear:
"My goal is to become world champion and the WBA and WBC plan on ranking me depending on my performance. And once I'm ranked I can go for the title shot."
Before the fight, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said a win over Chavez Jr would put Paul "in a different position" and might get him a world ranking. But that didn't happen. The WBC didn't include Paul in their top 15 rankings, going against what Sulaiman had suggested earlier. You can check out the latest WBC rankings on their website.
Paul had his eye on WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack, who defended his title against Noel Mikaelian on May 3. But Jack got ordered into an immediate rematch. The challenger wouldn't step aside, and a deal was made, leaving Paul without his shot. The WBC rule says a contender must be ranked 15 or above to get a chance at the champion.
There's more to the story. The WBA ranked Paul at number 14, which could have opened the door for a voluntary shot by Gilberto Ramires. But the WBA will review this decision because of the backlash it caused.
Paul's journey to a world title shot isn't over, but it's not going to be easy. He'll need to keep winning and improving his ranking to get the chance he wants.
