Win over Chávez makes Jake Paul feel like a ‘real fighter' and not just a YouTuber
While Chávez was slowly reacting to his opponent, Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) was scoring points, forcing the son of Mexican legend Julio César Chávez to row against the current in the bout's final rounds. Julio César Chávez Jr. seemed disconnected in the early rounds and spent time complaining to the referee about alleged headbutts and ill-intentioned punches from his opponent.
'I reacted too late,' said Chávez (54-7-1, 34 KOs) after Saturday night's bout at the Honda Center in Anaheim, where his frustrated father was among the fans. Julio César Chávez frequently stood up from his seat and shouted directions to his eldest son.
'He's a strong fighter and after the first three or four rounds, he got tired, so I think he's not ready for championship fights, but he's a good fighter,' Julio César Chávez Jr. said of Paul — a Youtube star turned boxer — after the loss.
Despite his poor start and loss, Chávez was not booed. Paul earned that right from the first moment cameras captured his walk to the ring before the fight began.
The decibels erupted when Paul appeared wearing the colors of the Mexican flag on his robe as he walked to the ring to the rhythm of Kilo's 'Dance like a cholo.'
'It's one of the songs I used to dance to when I was a kid,' Paul said during a news conference after the fight.
Paul did it, he said, in honor of Mexican legend Julio César Chávez.
'It was an ode to his father,' Paul assured. 'I wore the same outfit as his dad every time I walked to the fights. It's a respect to his dad. But also, when I got in the ring, I said, 'I'm going to be your daddy tonight.''
After speaking with reporters, Paul improvised a face-off when he crossed paths with Gilberto Ramirez, the evening's co-main event. Ramirez is the World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) cruiserweight champion after defending his belts against Cuba's Yuniel Dorticos.
Ramirez is not exactly a fighter known for creating an intense pre-fight atmosphere, but he presents another opportunity for Paul to cement himself as a legitimate boxer. Paul has said he has faced difficulty scheduling fights after his unconventional move from YouTube stunts to sanctioned boxing.
'I still want to do it. I'm used to these guys not being good promoters and at the end of the day, I'm going to fight these guys,' Paul said. 'Today, I feel like it was the first day of my boxing career, I'm just warming up and this is the second chapter from here on out.'
Paul has been consistently criticized for not facing trained boxers. Chávez was just the third boxer Paul has faced in his 13 fights since debuting in January 2020. In 2024, 58-year-old legend Mike Tyson was the second fighter he faced.
Paul's only loss came at the hands of Tommy Fury in February 2023.
'I don't think I was a fighter at the time, I was barely two and a half years into the sport,' Paul said, reflecting on his start in the sport and loss to Fury. 'I didn't really know what I was doing. I didn't have the right equipment around me, the right conditioning. My lifestyle outside of the ring was still like that of a YouTuber, a famous actor or whatever it was at that point in time. I wasn't completely focused on boxing.
'... Chapter one is over today and now I'm moving on to chapter two. ... People still hold the Tommy Fury fight against me, but now I've beaten a former world champion and I'm coming to collect on that loss to Tommy.'
In the co-feature, Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) defended his cruiserweight titles against mandatory challenger Dorticos (27-3, 25 KOs). Ramirez won by unanimous decision after the judges' scorecards read 115-112, 115-112, 117-110.
'I think it was a good performance, he can hit. I don't know why it was so close in the scores, but it is what it is,' Ramírez said.
He is eager to lock in a unification fight against International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Jai Opetaia.
'We're going to unify titles,' Ramirez said. 'I just had to follow my plan, listen to my corner and get the job done, that's all.'
Although Ramirez entered the fight as the favorite to defend his belts, the Mexican was slow, allowing the scores to be closer than expected. Dorticos was decisive in the early rounds, but as time went on, Ramirez made up ground. Dorticos lost a point after the referee penalized him for connecting consecutive low blows.
Making her return to professional boxing after a 12-year absence, former UFC champion and ring veteran Holly Holm (34-2-3, 9 KOs) faced undefeated Mexican Yolanda Vega Ochoa (10-1, 1 KOs) in a 10-round bout. Holm dominated from the start, setting the pace with her jab, controlling her opponent's attack and using precise combinations. Vega opted to press, but landed constant clean punches and was unable to connect meaningful combinations that would turn the tide of the fight.
Holm won by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 100-90. Her performance was resounding because of her tactical control, mobility and ability to neutralize Vega's offense, who was unable to break her strategy or avoid the cleaner punches.
'I love kicking so much that I loved MMA for a while, but then I started to feel a growing pain from wanting to box again, so it's been fun to come back and just get those boxing arms going,' Holm said. 'I only sparred in wrestling shoes twice, I was barefoot the whole camp, I was looking for my groin protector the day I flew in, it was in the dumpsters in my garage. I'm still training with the same team, with the same trainers, I did the whole camp. I haven't sparred in a ring in I don't know how long, so this feels great.'
With a great combination and a powerful uppercut, Mexican Raúl Curiel (16-0-1, 14 KOs) knocked down Uruguayan Victor Rodríguez (16-1-1, 9 KOs) in the fourth round and although the Uruguayan managed to get to his feet, he did not have the power to stop an onslaught from Curiel. The referee stopped the fight at the 2:09 mark during the fourth round.
The fight determined the mandatory challenger for the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title.
'It was an eliminator for the title, so I pushed myself,' said Curiel, a Tampico, Tamaulipas, native. 'I knew it would end in knockout. I didn't know which round, but knockout. I was strong.'
Rodríguez finished the fight in bad shape, with his nose injured and one eye swollen and bleeding.
Now Curiel wants to fight Rolando Romero, the WBA welterweight champion who most recently beat Ryan Garcia by unanimous decision in May.
'With whoever, whatever champion is available,' Curiel said. 'Let's fight Rolly. We fight all the champions.'
Welterweight Julian Rodríguez (24-1, 15 KOs) earned a dramatic win over Avious Griffin (17-1, 16 KOs), who lost his undefeated record and at times appeared to be in control of the bout. With five seconds left in the 10th round, Rodríguez knocked Griffin down in such a way that he almost knocked him out of the ring.
The fight was mostly evenly matched and two of the judges had the bout as a draw, while the third gave Rodríguez the win by two points.
'All the sacrifice, all the pain to get to this point,' Rodriguez, who was clearly exhausted, said in the ring. 'It was pure emotion. Now I'll be back in the gym in the next two or three weeks.'
In a lightweight bout, Floyd Schofield (19-0, 13 KOs) wasted no time and in just 78 seconds of the first round took out veteran Tevin Farmer (33-9-1, 8 KOs). Schofield knocked Farmer down twice and the referee stopped the bout at the 1:18 mark.
In February, Schofield had a fight scheduled against World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Shakur Stevenson in Saudi Arabia, but he was unable to make it because he was hospitalized twice prior to that bout. Schofield has not explained the reasons for his hospitalization.
'I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,' Schofield said after Saturday's win over Farmer. 'They doubted me since what happened in February, and a lot of people didn't believe I would win this fight. It's just a lot of excitement.'
In a welterweight bout, Joel Iriarte defeated Kevin Johnson by unanimous decision: 78-74, 80-72, 79-74.
Bantamweight Alexander Gueche was the winner against Vincent Avina: 80-72, 80-72, 79-73.
At heavyweight, Joshua Edwards knocked out Dominic Hardy in the first round.
Super featherweight René Alvarado beat Víctor Morales by unanimous decision: 96-94, 99-91, 99-91.
John Ramírez defeated Josué Jesús Morales at bantamweight by unanimous decision: 79-73, 80-72, 80-72.
This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.
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They spent six months working with ballroom dancer, Mariia Usanina to choreograph a waltz-salsa fusion dance to Stephen Sanchez's "Evangeline." All that effort paid off. "After countless private classes and practices, we flawlessly executed our three-minute routine for our guests under the sunset sky,' the bride says. 'Our bridal party surprised us with confetti cannons during the final big lift, which was undoubtedly one of the most magical moments of our lives.' The couple chose a menu they described as a "seasonal Californian twist on classic American-French cuisine," which consisted of dishes like spinach gnudi, flat iron chimichurri steak, a buratta salad. "We wanted the food to be filling, familiar, and warm but with sophisticated flare," the bride notes. Solla and Paul admit they're not foodies, but they both love sweets, so they wanted to emphasize the evening's sweet offerings. To that end, they worked with Peggy Liao to create their textural three-tiered wedding cake, which contained vanilla bean cake with passionfruit curd, mascarpone, blueberry sauce, and cream cheese frosting. 'Peggy was also kind enough to experiment on a custom flavor for us, a chocolate cake with a Biscoff butter cream and cookie crumble,' Solla says. 'Biscoff cookies holds a special place in our hearts, as its often served on planes we strongly associate it with our many international adventures.' The couple also selected a variety of different small desserts including earl gray cream puffs, fruit tarts, and raspberry rose lychee macarons. As a late-night snack, they brought out a full Korean barbecue station, which the couple says was the biggest food highlight of the evening. Later in the evening, Paul changed into a Banana Republic white tuxedo jacket and Solla changed into a Danielle Frankel silk slip dress. They hired a mobile vendor to set up a fog machine, rave lights, sound effects, and bunkers for a late-night game of laser tag. 'It was intense, cut-throat—the only way to play laser tag,' Solla says. 'Our guests bonded immediately by playing in teams and it made our hearts full to see our friends who had met on our wedding day make plans to hang out for the weekend after.' Solla and Paul plan to spend their honeymoon in Spain and Tahiti for a combination of history and beach relaxation. To couples planning their wedding, Solla recommends getting creative with your vendors to add personal touches. 'I took inspiration from wanting our wedding to embody a childlike, nostalgic fun; hence why we ended up reaching out to mobile laser tag vendors,' she says. 'All to say, our advice is to first brainstorm what you and your partner love to do without thinking of logistical limitations.'Wedding Photographer Kurt Boomer Wedding Planning and Design Moon Velvet Studio Flowers Floraltique Bride's Hair and Makeup Alisha Hopps Invitations and Paper Products Isidore & Augustine Music Alex Mansour Music, Dart Collective, Stephanie Wright Music Catering Colette's Catering Bar That's The Spirit Cake Peggy Liao Live Artist Mallory Clinger Engraved Leather Good Favors Calligraphy by Michelle T Rentals Found Rental Co., Signature Party Rentals, Casa De Perrin, BBJ La Tavola Transportation Stryder Transportation Videographer Flame Films Wedding Content Creator Content By Kam Laser Tag XP Mobile Laser Tag Photobooth Jupiter Booth Dance Choreography Mariia UsaninaRelated: 50 Small Wedding Ideas Perfect for an Intimate Affair Read the original article on Brides
Vox
an hour ago
- Vox
Vox Announces Christina Vallice Joins as Head of Video
Vox editor-in-chief Swati Sharma and vice president of development Nisha Chittal announced today that veteran video journalist Christina Vallice has joined the brand as head of video. She begins her new role on July 7. 'I'm thrilled to welcome Christina to Vox. She is an exceptionally talented video journalist and newsroom leader who will be instrumental in shaping the next chapter of Vox video,' Chittal said. 'She brings a wealth of experience to the role, and understands how to break down complex topics in an accessible way. I can't wait to see how she will take Vox's explanatory video journalism to new heights.' In her role, Vallice will oversee Vox's award-winning video department, continuing the brand's signature explainer videos as well as leading expansion and experimentation with new formats in vertical shortform video and podcast video. She will oversee video strategy and publishing across all of Vox's platforms, including Vox's flagship YouTube channel with over 12 million subscribers, Instagram, TikTok, and website and owned platforms. Vallice joins Vox after serving in leadership roles at the Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, and Vice, following more than a decade producing at NBC News. Most recently, Vallice was the director of video series and events at Yahoo Finance. There she led a team to deliver in-depth, original reporting on the investments that are leading to advancements in tech, science, and AI, newsmaker interviews with prominent CEOs and business leaders, and spearheaded the cross-newsroom coordination for major coverage events. At the Wall Street Journal, Vallice served as the senior executive producer of news and specials, directing a global team spanning New York, London, and Singapore to produce daily news videos, in-depth explainers, international features, video investigations and documentaries across various platforms. Under Vallice, the Journal earned two national Emmy nominations for its first feature-length documentary and its first video investigation. Before her time at Yahoo Finance and the Journal, Vallice was a supervising producer at Vice, and helped launch the award-winning HBO broadcast, Vice News Tonight. Prior to that, Vallice spent 11 years at NBC Nightly News, delivering fast-turn stories under tight deadlines both in edit and in the field, producing coverage on a wide variety of major news stories. Vallice received her master's degree in broadcast journalism from Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications after earning her undergraduate degree at Binghamton University.
