Five years ago, Jake Paul stepped into the boxing ring for his professional debut after just one amateur fight. And ever since, he’s believed he was building up toward becoming a world champion. Fast forward to November of last year, he won against the “Baddest Man on the Planet,” Mike Tyson in a unanimous decision win. But now, Jake Paul’s gearing up for what might be his real proving ground. A showdown against a former world champion with 54 wins under his belt, Julio César Chávez Jr., a man who once went 12 full rounds with Canelo Alvarez back in 2017. “Chávez Jr. is Mexican, but I, El Gallo De Dorado, mexi-CAN knock him tf out,” the 11-1, 7 KO boxer fired off on his X after the fight was officially announced.

Jake Paul has just two months left to prove that his last win wasn’t just because Mike Tyson was older. But because The Problem Child actually had skills. Sure, he earned a ton of fame and walked away with a pocket full of cash. But the real test is coming up as he will be stepping up for the first time in 2025, against a legit boxer who isn’t past his prime. And make no mistake — everyone knows this matchup is going to be a whole different story than the last time.

With a 10-round cruiserweight clash looming, Jake Paul has been flooding his social media with clips from his intense training sessions. Meanwhile, after hearing fans talk trash about her son’s upcoming June 28th matchup at Honda Center in Anaheim, Jake Paul’s mom didn’t hold back at all.

On a recent episode of Impaulsive, one of the co-hosts went on calling Jake Paul’s upcoming fight “one of the toughest fights,” he’s taken on yet. And Logan Paul was right there with him, agreeing, “This guy can box. His records are like 54-6 or something. Fought a lot of fights. A lot of experience.”

That got Mike Majlak curious, so he jumped in and asked, “How old is he?” Jake’s mom, Pamela Ann Stepnick, didn’t miss a beat. “He’s 39,” she answered. Hearing that, the guys joked that Chavez Jr. being 39 meant he’s creeping closer to Mike Tyson’s age bracket. But things escalated when The Maverick turned to his mom. He asked, “What do you think about it [the fight], Ma?” That’s when Pamela really let her feelings fly.

She admitted right away that she didn’t really know who Chavez Jr. was at first. So, like any good mom, she did her homework. “I had to look it up,” she said, explaining that’s how she found out his age. Pamela also confessed she made the classic mistake of reading the internet comments. Now that’s something she knows she’s not supposed to do — and saw “the internet making fun of Jake.”

And let’s just say, she wasn’t having it. Pamela made it clear. If all those haters think they’re so tough, they can step into the ring themselves. “If they want to get in the ring, all those haters want to get in the ring themselves, they can then speak,” she said. Otherwise? In her words: “Just shut up.” Hold on, there’s more.

She gave Chavez Jr. his props too, calling him “a very well seasoned boxer.” But at the end of the day, she kept it real. “It’s going to be tough. [But] I think… we will see!” While the 28-year-old’s mom clearly has full faith in her son’s skills, what does Jake Paul himself think about the fight? Let’s dive into it.

Jake Paul is very calculative..

Jake Paul isn’t here for the critics. Just yesterday, he posted a tweet making it clear where he stands. “The only fight I have lined up is Chavez Jr on June 28th on DAZN” Jake tweeted. “I keep hearing all these boxing talking heads saying if Julio takes it serious he wins. Well he’s been training since December when we first approach him…so yall need to shut the hell up when I dispose of him.”

But what about Eddie Hearn? Does he see things the same way? If you remember, the Matchroom head hasn’t exactly been the biggest fan of Jake Paul’s boxing career. And he wasn’t shy about criticizing the whole Mike Tyson fight either.

Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show a few days ago, Hearn shared his honest take. “I prefer [Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight] to the Mike Tyson one,” he said. “Unless Jake makes loads of money, he’s not gonna take any substantial risks. He’s very calculated.”  Hearn pointed out that Chavez Jr. once lost to Anderson Silva — who Jake Paul later beat — but still gave Chavez some credit.

“I don’t think he’s horrendous, Chavez. I mean, if he can just get himself in some kind of shape and condition, it could atleast be competitive. But, size, youth, it’s a good bit of matchmaking. Not awful.” In short: even Eddie Hearn thinks this fight could be a real test — but only if Chavez Jr. actually shows up in shape. So do you think Chavez Jr. will be able to brush up his skills and give Jake Paul his second L of his pro boxing career?