The Jake Paul circus rolls into Anaheim, California this weekend when he takes on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The debate about whether the YouTuber is good for boxing or not rages on, but his work as a promotor has been impressive – especially in increasing the pay cheques of female fighters.
However, he has kidded the public with his own career for a while now and the charade may continue against Chavez.
Having amassed a record of 10-1 against mainly ex-MMA fighters (his sole defeat coming to part-time boxer Tommy Fury), Paul finally fought a real boxer last time in Mike Tyson. However, Tyson was a staggering 58 at the time and, thankfully, Paul stuck to the script by doing no harm to the ageing legend in an uneventful points win.
Chavez is ‘only’ 39 and is a former middleweight world champion, so looks a big step up for Paul on paper. If Chavez is taking this seriously, then his odds of 9/2 would be very generous, and I would be tempted by the 12/1 about him winning a decision.
However, Paul is a best price of 1/5 because he has done a very good job of hand-picking his opponents so far, and he might have done so with aplomb again here.
At a top price of 1/6 and as short as 1/33, Ramirez has brought his speed up to this division and has shown a very good engine for a big man. He throws plenty of leather and that output may be all too much for an inactive veteran like Dorticos, who still carries knockout power but hasn’t had a serious fight in nearly five years.
Ramirez by decision is a big runner at 7/5, but we don’t know what Dorticos has left, and his lack of recent competitive action could see him overwhelmed by the volume of the younger champion. I’m going with Ramirez to win in rounds 7-12 at 9/4 with Sky Bet.
We should find out if hot prospect Floyd Schofield is the real deal or not when he takes on wily veteran Tevin Farmer at lightweight.
22-year-old Schofield, who is 8/15, has dazzled with his lightning-quick hands and flashy skills on his way to compiling a record of 18-0 (12 early), but Farmer is a notable test for him.
A former super featherweight champion, Farmer is 33-8-1 and may have lost his last three, but showed he still has plenty left to give when pushing the highly-regarded William Zapeda to a pair of close decisions in November 2024 and March this year.
A crafty southpaw with loads of experience, Farmer, who can be backed at 17/10, will present a new puzzle for Schofield to solve and this won’t be easy for the favourite.
It could be cagey at times, with Farmer looking to counterpunch and nick rounds, but Schofield’s superior speed of hand and foot could be the difference, and I fancy the younger man to earn a points victory over the durable veteran at 21/10.
Posted at 1145 BST on 27/06/25
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