Is it too late for 39 year old Julio Cesar Chavez Jr to do big, big things in the sport? Chavez, despite being a WBC middleweight champion for a time ultimately fell short of living up the his enormous potential. But now, as he approaches his fight with the hugely popular Jake Paul, a seemingly rejuvenated Chavez has laid out some lofty plans for after he beats “The Problem Child.”
Now, a Chavez win over Paul later this month is far from a sure thing, but the son of a Mexican idol does seem to be taking things seriously and is training hard. And if he does get the win on June 28, Chavez says he wants the biggest and the best in the world.
From Paul to the Pinnacle—Julio’s Killer Wish List
Speaking with Ariel Helwani, Chavez said he will fight a return fight with Paul after he beats him, as this is a “money fight,” but that he then wants a Zurdo Ramirez, a Jai Opetaia, an Artur Beterbiev, or a Dmitry Bivol.
“I wanna rematch with Jake Paul. A rematch with Jake Paul is a money fight, so that’s why I don’t wanna say no this thing,” Chavez said. “For real, what I want is to fight the best. I’d love to fight Zurdo Ramirez. I’d love to fight a cruiserweight champion. [Jai] Opetaia is a super, super strong guy. I’m here because I want to fight the best. If Opetaia offered me, if Ramirez offered me, after this or another fight, I’m there. I’d really like to fight Bivol at cruiserweight or the other guy, Beterbiev. That’s my goal. They are killers.”
Again, a lofty list from Chavez. But have any of these fights got any real chance of taking place? To repeat the question, is it too late for Chavez now? Chavez says we will have to wait and see what happens on June 28.
“So, wait until after June 28, and after that, we’ll do another interview and talk about that fight,” Chavez said.
It goes without saying that it would be some heck of a story if Chavez, at this late stage of his career, actually managed to defeat a Bivol, a Beterbiev, a Ramirez or an Opetaia!
But at least Chavez is thinking big. Now, can he become the first man to stop Paul when the fight rolls around?
