Jake Paul may be less than a decade into his boxing journey, but that has not stopped him from shooting for the stars. Following his widely-viewed boxing event with Mike Tyson, the Ohio native has his sights set on one goal — winning a world championship.
On June 28, 2025, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, Paul will return to the ring for a 10-round cruiserweight clash with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., a former world champion in the middleweight division. While Chavez Jr. may be his upcoming opponent, Paul may have his sights set on a reigning world champion who will enter the ring just an hour before him in Anaheim — Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramírez. On the same card, Ramírez will defend his cruiserweight title against mandatory challenger Yuniel Dorticos.
Ramírez is a two-division world champion with a record of 47 wins and one loss at the hands of pound-for-pound combatant Dmitry Bivol. Despite the noticeable gap in experience between the two fighters, it appears Ramírez’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, is not entirely opposed to the idea of getting the two in the ring in the future. During a short interview with reporter Brandy Flores in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 30, 2025, De La Hoya said, “We have the co-main event, which is going to be incredible, with Zurdo Ramírez and [Yuniel] Dorticos.”
“Zurdo Ramirez, as you mentioned, is also on the card. [He’ll be] defending his belts. What do you want to see from him? Do you think there’s any added pressure for him because he is facing a mandatory [challenger]?” Flores asked.
“He is facing a mandatory, but there is no added pressure,” De La Hoya answered. “He does have a lot of great fights ahead of him if he wants to go up against the winner of Jake Paul and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. You never know. Maybe, Jake Paul put him on the card for that reason. That’s the way Jake Paul thinks. I know how you’re thinking Jake, so let’s talk soon.”
Jake Paul has previously called for a fight with a reigning world champion. Earlier this year, reports suggested Paul was on track to fight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at Yankee Stadium in July. However, Alvarez ended up signing a multi-fight deal, including scheduled bouts against William Scull and Terence Crawford. Now, Paul must get by Chavez Jr. The YouTube star turned fighter opened as an -1100 betting favorite.
