YouTube star Jake Paul was on the lookout for the perfect opponent for his next dance in the squared circle. He tried to entice unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez with millions, but Royal Advisor His Excellency Turki Alalshikh came in and swooped the Mexican superstar right from under ‘The Problem Child.’ But Paul didn’t give up!

Later reports revealed that the Cleveland-born influencer was in talks with WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis for an exhibition boxing match. However, it could only have happened if ‘Tank’ beat opponent Lamont Roach Jr. This, of course, didn’t happen as Lamont Jr. nearly caused an upset, settling for a majority draw instead. You know what this meant!

Jake Paul forced to go back on his word

Paul had to go back to the drawing board, looking for another opponent. There was some chatter about a potential fight against former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. However, that’s not happening anytime soon. Even rival Tommy Fury, who has already defeated Paul once, was in the conversation. But even that fight doesn’t seem to pan out. This left Paul with one choice to follow up his fight against Mike Tyson—Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The son of the legendary boxer with the same name had called out Paul back in November after the Paul-Tyson fight. However, Paul was too arrogant back then to accept the challenge. In an interview, he said, “I want someone tougher [than Chavez Jr.] and I want a real belt, not just something that gets put up for entertainment value.” Paul went as far as to say that Chavez Jr. would be “easy work, and I want someone tougher to shut people up.” Notably, even the WBA president, Gilberto Jesús Mendoza, had chimed in. 

He claimed that if Paul and Chavez Jr. fought, his sanctioning body would be happy to provide them with a belt. However, there was only radio silence from Paul’s end. Now that he has run out of options, it appears Paul has humbled himself to accept Chavez Jr. as the opponent. The pair is expected to fight on June 28 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

However, it appears the internet hasn’t forgotten what Paul had said about Chavez Jr. 

‘The Problem Child has a problem

Despite Paul’s widespread following, he is often criticized by his own fans for his actions, and choosing to fight Chavez Jr. was no different. One user reminded Paul about the age difference between them. “Bro, he’s 40…. Your 28. Fight someone who’s not old and slow. This is why I don’t respect [or] like him as a boxer. [F] The business side of things, great for boxing,” the user commented. However, when Paul agreed to fight someone 31 years older, an 11-year age gap might not be of any consequence to him. 

Another user branded Jake Paul a loudmouth with nothing to back his claims. “Always talks but never actually fights the tough fight,” the user wrote. However, in Paul’s defence, he did try to make the big fight. 

Someone else called the younger Paul a weight and age bully. “If Jake was who he says he is, he’d be fighting a champion who’s his own age, size, and weight like Jai Opetaia – instead of age-bullying and weight-bullying retired fighters… 🥴🤦🏾‍♂️🙄,” the user wrote. Jake Paul has fought only one legitimate boxer around his own age, Tommy Fury. And he lost the fight. 

The next user wasn’t surprised by Paul’s choice of opponent. “Typical of him to fight 40-year-olds who are inactive,” the user wrote. Paul is mostly looking for a big name, age doesn’t really matter till the bout can make him money. 

Amid all this criticism, this user came to Paul’s defence. “I mean, the guy was in negotiations to fight Canelo and Gervonta. No wonder he said this,” the user wrote. If Gervonta Davis wins his rematch against Roach Jr., a fight against Davis might still be possible, maybe next year. 

That said, it appears Jake Paul had to settle for what was available to him, even though right after his fight against Mike Tyson, he was flooded with challenges. Would you be down to watch the Paul vs. Chavez Jr. fight?