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          Jake Paul now ranked, eligible for WBA cruiserweight title shot

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          Jake Paul tops Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by unanimous decision (1:20)

          Jake Paul makes easy work of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to improve to 12-1 in his boxing career. (1:20)

          • Andreas HaleJul 1, 2025, 11:09 AM ET
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              Andreas Hale is a combat sports reporter at ESPN. Andreas covers MMA, boxing and pro wrestling. In Andreas' free time, he plays video games, obsesses over music and is a White Sox and 49ers fan. He is also a host for Sirius XM's Fight Nation. Before joining ESPN, Andreas was a senior writer at DAZN and Sporting News. He started his career as a music journalist for outlets including HipHopDX, The Grammys and Jay-Z's Life+Times. He is also an NAACP Image Award-nominated filmmaker as a producer for the animated short film "Bridges" in 2024.
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          Jake Paul is closer to achieving his dream of becoming a world champion.

          The World Boxing Association (WBA) has ranked Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) at No. 14 following his win Saturday over former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The social media influencer-turned-professional boxer is now eligible to challenge WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez for a world championship.

          Before the fight, the WBA suggested that it would rank Paul if he defeated Chavez Paul, 28, outworked a listless Chavez (54-7-1) over 10 rounds to earn a unanimous decision at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Ramirez defended his WBA and WBO titles in the co-main event with a decision win over Yuniel Dorticos.

          Paul is ranked one spot ahead of American Craig Parker (20-0, 20 KOs), who most recently fought at heavyweight on April 1 and won via knockout. He is behind Italian Giovanni Cristian Scuderi (12-0, 5 KOs), who hasn't fought at cruiserweight since September 2022 and has spent his past four fights competing at heavyweight.