Jake Paul’s bold claim that defeating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. would earn him a place in the WBC cruiserweight rankings has fallen flat.

In the latest WBC update, released two weeks after the Chavez Jr. fight, Paul is nowhere to be seen—not in the Top 15, not even in the Top 40.

This scenario unfolds despite the YouTuber stating that a win over former middleweight champion Chavez Jr. would secure him an official WBC position.

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Paul did his part by outpointing Chavez Jr. over ten rounds in Anaheim. However, he expected recognition from boxing’s traditional sanctioning bodies.

But WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman, who had previously flirted with Paul’s ranking eligibility, has withheld a spot entirely, even from their expanded list of 40 cruiserweights.

Fighters with far lesser profiles and less media traction, such as Veljko Raznatovic and Tristan Kalkreuth, feature instead.

WBA to review Jake Paul’s ranking
Hardcore boxing fans will applaud the WBC’s move, especially given Paul’s #14 ranking by the WBA, which remains in place pending a formal review.

Craig Parker, who Paul replaced on the WBA list, spoke exclusively to WBN about the situation.

Asked by WBN if he made a complaint, as stated by Ring Magazine that pro boxers had, Parker denied he was one of them.

“No, my team and I didn’t feel the need to do that,” he told WBN.

“I spoke publicly not just for myself, but for a lot of boxers who felt the same way. That was enough. Now, I’m locked in on what I’m doing and what’s coming next (August 5).

“I think if they put him there, then stand on it. That’s on them.

“Now it just gives him the chance to step in the ring with real fighters, guys like me who earned it the long way,” he added.

WBC Cruiserweight Rankings – July 2025

Meanwhile, the current WBC cruiserweight champion remains Badou Jack, with Michal Cieslak holding the interim strap.

Top contenders include Noel Mikaelyan, Ryan Rozicki, and Chris Billam-Smith, all of whom boast proven resumes in the division.

For Paul, this snub could be a reality check, or perhaps a power play from a sanctioning body unwilling to be swayed by social media stardom alone.

With no WBC International, Silver, or even fringe title in sight, it seems for now: No belt. No ranking. No exception.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr was arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) days after his defeat to Jake Paul.

The Mexican was taken into custody due to his outstanding warrant in Mexico and allegations that he’s affiliated with the Sinaloa Drug Cartel.

The July 2 arrest took place in California and per an official statement by the Department of Homeland Security, his deportation process is under way.

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Mexico’s Attorney General’s office, known as FGR, has now released more details about the former WBC middleweight champion. And per reports from mimorelia.com, he was a soldier and enforcer for ‘El Nini’ Nestor Ernesto Perez Salas.

According to information gathered from tapped phone calls between December 2021 and June 2022, he was reportedly directed by ‘El Nini’ to beat up captured rival members. The rivals were tied up and hung from the ceiling for Chavez to beat as if they were a punching bag.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr’s immigration records were also released by US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Records reveal that he entered the USA in June 2023 on a legal visa, but it expired in February 2024. Chavez Jr applied for permanent resident status based on his marriage with American citizen Frida Munoz, who happens to be a former partner of Sinaloa Cartel head Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s son.

Back in December 2024, Chavez Jr was billed as an ‘egregious public safety threat’ by authorities, but was allowed to enter the United States again in January 2025, through the San Ysidro port in California.

Chavez Jr has several criminal convictions against him. He was charged with drunk driving in 2012 and January 2024, and was also convicted of illegal assault weapon possession.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr’s arrest took place in Studio City, Los Angeles, a high-end neighborhood that’s mainly home to celebrities. His family have since released a statement:

We are completely confident in his innocence and quality as a human – as well as in the justice systems of both Mexico and the US. We hope this situation will resolve itself according to the law and the truth.

Chavez Jr’s father, Julio Cesar Chavez, is widely considered one of the greatest Mexican boxers of all time. Chavez Jr, meanwhile, won the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defended it four times. He lost to Jake Paul via unanimous decision in his most recent outing.

Jake Paul took on experienced boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in his 13th professional fight in Anaheim, California on Saturday night, and it’s safe to say The Problem Child was barely tested in the 10-round contest, which went the distance and saw the judges score unanimously in Paul’s favour.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer took on former middleweight champion Chavez Jr in front of a raucous crowd that broke the gate record for boxing events at the Anaheim Center. Paul’s last ring outing was a massive money fight with Mike Tyson, while the ex-champion defeated former UFC star Uriah Hall last summer.

The crowd in attendance were not impressed with the fight, however, and ended up booing Paul out of the building afterwards.

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After very little action to speak of for five-and-a-half rounds, the fight sprung to life at the end of the sixth with both men landing big shots on their rivals. The seventh and eighth were much of a muchness, before a fiery finish to the ninth.

The aftermath of Paul’s victory had him calling out everyone from unified cruiserweight world champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, who was victorious in the co-main event, to WBC cruiserweight titleholder Badou Jack, Gervonta Davis, Anthony Joshua, and Tommy Fury.

Paul seemed indifferent to the crowd’s reaction, claiming afterwards: “All the boos are words, but actions speak louder than words. It was flawless. I think I only got hit 10 times. He’s been in with [Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez] and all those guys, and I embarrassed him like that. Easy work.

Paul vs Chavez Jr Punch Stats

Compubox have released the numbers & they aren’t pretty reading

Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) controlled large portions of the fight with his jab against a listless Chavez Jr, who spent the early rounds following the influencer-turned-boxer around the ring without letting his hands go. Paul landed 140 of 482 punches (29%), with the majority of the offence coming from his jab, with 65 of 302 (21.5%) landing throughout the 10-round fight.

Chavez Jr, meanwhile, landed more than the 10 punches that Paul had claimed, but the effort was still abysmal for a former middleweight champion. The 39-year-old landed only 61 of 154 punches (39.6%) with nine punches landed in the first five rounds.

While the idea of Paul fighting for a world title will baffle many, he is expected to be ranked by the WBA after his win over Chavez Jr, with some rumours saying the WBC will rank him as well, clearing one of the hurdles for someone to cash in on his polarising popularity with a title fight.

“The WBC ratings committee has been following Jake Paul’s career,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told ESPN before the fight. “If he defeats Chavez Jr, and depending on how the fight plays out, the committee will make the decision. It’s very likely [Paul will be ranked] if he wins convincingly.”

Jake Paul was booed out of the arena despite beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr as he made his biggest step up to date on Saturday night in Anaheim.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer took on former middleweight champion Chavez in front of a raucous crowd that broke the gate record for boxing events at the Anaheim Center. Paul’s last ring outing was a massive money fight with Mike Tyson, while the ex-champion defeated former UFC star Uriah Hall last summer.

Paul had been insisting in the lead-up that he was fighting in order to gain a world ranking and pursue cruiserweight gold. And he set that up by having Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez defend his belt against Yuniel Dorticos on the undercard.

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Jake Paul vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr result

Despite being a former California resident, the Anaheim crowd were not receptive to Jake Paul or his brother Logan as they made their way into the ring. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr got a rapturous welcome, harkening back to his days as a world champion.

Chavez used to fight as low as middleweight, but didn’t look significantly outsized by Paul who attacked the body in the opening exchanges. Both were tentative when it came to looking for big shots, but it was the YouTuber who took control early throwing the bigger shots and making his rival miss wildly.

In the second round, Paul found his range and managed to impose the size difference that was evident in the fight’s build-up. The Mexican didn’t look like he was even going to commit to a punch through two as the fans began to loudly boo in the arena, and he did land one almost at the end of the second.

The third was more of the same as Chavez struggled to land anything of note, but he did come alive in the fourth when Paul began to put on more pressure. In the fifth he started well and landed a combination to delight the California crowd, but was met with a big shot from the social media star.

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At the halfway point, it was arguably still anyone’s fight even though Paul was on top. Chavez looked slow and unwilling to truly engage, save for a few punches out of the clinch and a little combination towards the end of the sixth.

After very little for five and a half rounds, the fight sprung to life at the end of the sixth with both men landing big shots on their rivals. The seventh and eighth were much of a muchness, before a fiery finish to the ninth.

Chavez clearly hurt Paul towards the end of the round, and needed to push for a finish in round ten, which he did to the best of his ability. However, it was too little too late as Paul survived the late onslaught and won the Unanimous Decision with three scorecards reading 99-91, 97-93 and 98-92.

Zurdo Ramirez struggles with Yuniel Dorticos in co-main event

Part of the promotion for tonight’s main event was a promise that Paul might end up going for cruiserweight gold with a win. To help with this marketing effort, Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez was given a defence against Yuniel Dorticos.

The two-weight world champion was supposed to handily defeat Dorticos, but it appears the challenger didn’t read the script and put him through his paces for 12 rounds. The judges ended up scoring it fairly wide, which seemed unfair on the underdog’s efforts.

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After the fight, the talk was not of Paul but a potential world title unification with Jai Opetaia. The pair hold three of the four belts at 200lb, and have been on a collision course for a long time – with plans hopefully in place for a meeting soon.

Instead, it is likely Paul will pursue a meeting with WBC champion Badou Jack, who is turning 42 this year and is better known as a super-middleweight than a cruiserweight.