Jake Paul and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. previewed their bout and went face-to-face for the first time at the kickoff press conference. The pair approaches their cruiserweight showdown taking place at Honda Center in Anaheim, CA on June 28.
Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) is back in the ring following his eight-round unanimous decision victory over Mike Tyson in a heavyweight bout last November. The 28-year-old Cleveland native vowed to “embarrass” his next opponent and “shock the world” with his power punches.
“This fight has been brewing for quite some time now,” Jake Paul said from the Avalon Hollywood Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday. “The fans have wanted to see this, and I want to continue to elevate and raise the level of my opponents. This is a former world champion, and he has an amazing resume following in his dad’s footsteps […]. This guy is a great fighter, and I want to test myself against the best in the world.”
“I’m going to shock the world once again and prove how good and how powerful I am. This is his toughest fight to date, and I’m going to embarrass him and make him quit like he always does.”
“I don’t want any excuses. When I beat this man, all the boxing media, like you always do, are going to discredit it. I’m going to expose and embarrass him. He’s the embarrassment of Mexico. Mexico doesn’t even claim him, and he’s going to get exposed on June 28. They say he’s training hard. They say this is the most focused he’s ever been. Good. As he should be. People don’t realize how good I actually am, and when he feels those first few punches, he’s going to want to quit and go back to his stool.”
“I’ve always said that I’ll fight really tough people and fight big money fights. This is prize fighting, so I’m giving the fans what they want with every single fight by taking on tougher opponents.”
“Yeah, 100%,” Paul said when asked if he was thinking about a future matchup with ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez if he beats Chavez Jr. “This is what I came here to do: to become world champion and create one of the greatest sports stories the world has ever seen. Going from Disney Channel to YouTube to world champion in six to seven years? That’s the most relatable and best sports story that any kid can get behind. I’m here to inspire the next generation and do what no one has ever done before in the world’s hardest sport, and that is boxing.”
“Man, the Mexicans love me. I’m stepping into my home environment. They love me more than they love this guy. Mexico doesn’t even claim him. I love my Mexican fans, and they’ve always been rocking with me since day one. I’m going to show him who the real Mexican warrior is.”
“That’s not a champion’s mindset,” Paul commented on whether Chavez Jr. will be his very best after getting back in the gym to train. “You have a big fight and all of a sudden you start training hard? I train as hard as possible, no matter who I’m fighting, and that shows you the type of person [Julio] is.”
‘Mike Tyson wasn’t even a fighter’
Chavez Jr. (54-6-1, 34 KOs) aims for his third straight win after scoring a unanimous decision against former UFC fighter Uriah Hall last July. The 39-year-old former WBC middleweight champion from Mexico promised his next rival something “he’s never seen before.”
“Jake is crazy,” Chavez Jr. responded to being called an embarrassment and a quitter. “I think he’s overrated. He hasn’t fought anybody in his life. On June 28th, he’s going to see what’s up. To start off, he’s never knocked anybody out. Give me one name he’s knocked out, just one. It’s like if I fought with my dad. It’s going to be a good fight. When he was born, I was already a champ.”
“I feel very good. I feel refreshed and renewed. I haven’t taken blows to the head, so I’m a lot better than he is.”
“I need to prepare 100%. This is an interesting fight. It might not be easy, but I’m going to do the best I can to be the best person I am, but I think I’m going to take him.”
“He’s never fought anybody like me. Mike Tyson wasn’t even a fighter. He doesn’t know what he’s going to see or what to expect because he’s never seen it before. In boxing, you learn step by step, and he’s missing many.”
The press conference also featured other fighters battling it out on the night.
In the co-feature to Paul vs Chavez Jr, Mexico’s two-division champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs) defends his unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles against Miami-based former two-time 200-pound champion Yuniel Dorticos (27-2, 25 KOs) of Cuba.
Among the undercard bouts, former UFC bantamweight champion and WBC welterweight champion Holly Holm (33-2-3, 9 KOs) of Albuquerque, New Mexico makes her ring return against unbeaten Yolanda Vega Ochoa (10-0, 1 KO) of Mexico.
Other matchups are expected to be confirmed shortly.