Jake Paul Sparring Footage For Chavez Jr Fight Shocks Fans

Jake Paul is now just one month away from returning to the ring. The controversial YouTuber was last seen in November, where he demolished an outmatched Mike Tyson. Paul’s opposition for his 13th professional fight is at least slightly younger than Tyson – in the shape of former world middleweight champion, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, Chavez Jr has won world honours and shared the ring with the likes of Daniel Jacobs, Andy Lee and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. Granted, Chavez Jr was only victorious in one of those contests (vs Lee), but he has still tested himself at the highest level.

The problem for many of Paul’s detractors, though, comes with the fact that the most recent of those fights was more than five years ago. Chavez Jr has hardly been active in recent times, only competing once since July 2021.

Paul’s resume is hardly anything to write home about, either. Made up mostly of aging legends and former MMA fighters, the social media sensation lost for the only time in his career when he stepped up against a recognised boxer and Tommy Fury.

Jake Paul & Julio Cesar Chavez Jr’s professional boxing records (as of 28/05/25)

Jake Paul
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr

Fights
12
62

Wins
11
54

Losses
1
6

Draws
0
1

No contests
0
1

While Chavez Jr himself has faced some less than stellar opposition, Paul will likely need to produce a performance far better than he did against Tyson. Against the veteran heavyweight icon, ‘The Problem Child’ was able to get away with largely only throwing single punches, with his work showing a distinct lack of combinations as the fight wore on.

Tyson wasn’t offering much by way of response, but Paul still only managed to convert 28% of his punches, specifically 78 of the 278 he threw, which included just 31 jabs in the whole fight. Chavez Jr will surely present a stiffer challenge, but Jake doesn’t look to have changed much in his training camp this time around. In fact, a number of fans on social media were taken aback by just how little Paul seems to have improved in general over the last few years.

Jake Paul’s Underwhelming Sparring Footage Ahead of Chavez Jr Showdown

‘The Problem Child’ has been savaged by fans

The 28-year-old influencer released a brief clip of himself in sparring for his clash with Chavez Jr on the 28th of June. Having bulked up to heavyweight for the fight with Tyson, Paul still looked to be carrying some of that extra weight as he laboured his way around the ring wearing a baggy t-shirt. Although the footage only provided a brief glimpse of his sparring, Paul’s shots appeared slow and lacked any real venom.

His underwhelming showing prompted surprise on social media, with many pointing out that he has not markedly improved as a fighter since his January 2020 debut, despite pursuing the sport full-time for a number of years.

“I could have sworn he was better than this… what happened?,” asked one poster, while another stated: “He looks worse than he did three years ago!”

Further criticism concerned Paul’s decision to pack on extra weight. “He needs to drop weight, he’s so slow and sluggish this heavy,” argued a third comment. Others blasted the fighter’s lack of overall improvement since turning pro.

“I thought he would be looking better than that, tbh, with a further fan stating: “He hasn’t gotten better in like five years!” A final critic suggested he hadn’t built on his skills since a pair of victories over former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in late 2021: “Hasn’t improved since beating Woodley.”

It is worth bearing in mind that the above footage only emerged because Paul chose to release it. It remains to be seen whether he is playing mind games with Chavez Jr ahead of their bout. However, given that he’s facing a man who went the full distance with a prime Canelo Alvarez, Paul’s apparent lack of sharpness isn’t a great sign heading into what will be one of the toughest fights of his career to date.