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Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Julio César Chávez Jr. and Jake Paul insist their bout is not staged, with much on the line
While Julio César Chávez Jr.'s name and lineage evoke history, discipline and glory, Jake Paul's name is linked to a modern phenomenon that has challenged the traditional codes of boxing. Paul's arrival in the boxing spotlight was not by conventional means and although his bout with Chávez may appear to be a marketing spectacle, both fighters could benefit from a win. At age 39 with 61 professional fights (54-6-1, 34 KOs), Chávez returns to the to the Honda Center in Anaheim Saturday to face Paul, offering pre-fight speeches that mix confidence, maturity and a sense of duty. Away from the show, the Mexican says he focused on serious and deep preparation. 'We are preparing to the fullest, thoroughly, to arrive better than ever physically, well-focused. We have to be 100% for the fight,' Chávez told L.A. Times en Español, making it clear that this is not just another adventure, but a fight that could open up more opportunities. The son of Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez Sr., he knows that many see him as the last stepping stone to catapult Paul into boxing legitimacy, but he doesn't share that view. 'He's not going to beat me. I'm a better boxer than him,' Julio César Chávez Jr. said. The endorsement he received from Mexican boxing star Saúl 'Canelo' Álvarez was interpreted as a vote of confidence in his ability. 'It's important to listen to him,' Chávez said. 'I think Canelo knows I'm the better boxer than Jake Paul. ... We're going to hit him hard.' Paul said if he defeats Chávez, it will close the door on the Mexican fighter's comeback after a stint in rehab. 'He's going to retire,' Paul said. He dismissed Álvarez's endorsement of his opponent. 'It's definitely a sign of respect from Canelo, but he showed me the utmost respect by turning down $100 million not to fight me,' Paul said, alluding to a potential fight against Álvarez that was being negotiated as recently as May before the Mexican star chose another opponent. 'He knows it's not an easy fight.' With a dozen fights under his belt, Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) has been consistently criticized for facing weaker opponents, with the latest one raising strong suspicions that opponents accept limitations that favor Paul. In November 2024, Paul faced aging legend Mike Tyson, whom he defeated by unanimous decision. Critics on social media immediately took issue with both fighters. There were moments it appeared Tyson could have finished Paul, but then seemed to back off and avoid throwing crucial punches. Chávez made it clear that this fight is not part of a setup nor does it have an agreed script. 'I don't lend myself to that kind of thing,' Chávez said. 'The fight is normal and that's all I can tell you.' For the Mexican fighter, this bout represents something more than a purse or a chance to gain viral fame. 'It's like an activation,' he said. 'There is the opportunity to fight for the world championship, even a rematch with Canelo.' And while some have suggested that a Chávez loss would mean the end of his career, he dismisses that emphatically, 'It hasn't crossed my mind, I'm not going to lose,' he said. 'I'm thinking about winning and having a few fights after that.' Paul, for his part, has made controversy a promotional tool, but he has also sought, in his words, to make it clear that his ambition is serious. In response to rumors potential opponents canceled before the fight with Chávez was finalized, Paul explained that 'a cowardly Mexican was afraid to fight me. ... Another great boxer did not deliver. We talked to [influencer and boxer] KSI, Tommy Fury... That led us to Chávez and to keep on the path of facing real opponents, former world champions and remain active on my way to becoming world champion.' Paul, as is his custom, did not miss the opportunity to psychologically attack his rival. This time, he pointed to the symbolic weight of the Chávez surname. 'It's added pressure for Chávez Jr., he doesn't handle pressure well,' Paul said. '... His dad wants this for his son, more than his son wants it. That can create a lot of problems and insecurities that I'm going to expose.' Paul defends his history as a self-taught boxer who came to change the rules of the game. 'I never wanted the respect. It's about proving myself, creating one of the best sports stories to inspire the next generation,' he said. 'Without me, boxing would be dead.' For Paul, the bout is another step in his attempt to silence the purists and reassert himself as more than a YouTube celebrity with gloves. For Chávez, it represents a chance to reclaim his lost place, to prove that his lineage is not just a family name but legitimate talent. 'I'm not worried, I'm preparing to win ... I grabbed the fight because I'm going to win it,' Chávez insisted, downplaying any risks. In the face of the doubts surrounding the showdowns, both fighters assured fans will see a real fight on Saturday. 'At the end of the day, above the ring, we are all the same,' Chávez said. Paul is not worried about what people think of him. 'I don't pay attention to what the boxing world says,' he said. 'Naturally, this world loves to shoot themselves in the foot and wants to keep criticizing me, but what we've realized is that they obviously have no power, no control, no weight because I'm still involved in the biggest events.' This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Angels fail to capitalize on chances and bullpen implodes in loss to Nationals
Game 81. The halfway point of the 2025 season arrived at Angel Stadium — and the Angels, albeit squarely in contention at .500, were dealing with a bit of organizational uncertainty. Angels general manager Perry Minasian announced before Friday's game that manager Ron Washington would remain on medical leave for the rest of the season because of an undisclosed health issue. Bench coach Ray Montgomery took over the reins on June 20 as the acting — now interim — manager as the Angels entered Friday winners in seven of their last 10 games. The Angels are in a much better spot than 2024. This time last season, after game 81, they were 11 games under .500 — squarely out of the postseason hunt. Friday, however, even after losing 15-9 in a three-hour, 11-minute slog of a series opener against the Washington Nationals (34-48), the Angels (40-41) still are just two games out of the third American League wild-card spot. In a game where the Angels and Nationals combined for 24 runs and 30 hits — with the 19 hits and 15 runs given up by the Angels' pitching staff representing season-worst marks — what ultimately separated the teams was the Angels' inability to come through with runners on base. In the sixth and seventh innings — down one and two runs, respectively — the Angels had opportunities to take the lead or tie the game with runners in scoring position, but failed to capitalize. From there, the Nationals' lead would grow — with Hunter Strickland giving up four runs in the ninth as part of a 10-run barrage against the Angels' bullpen. In the early innings, the Angels had plenty of opportunities against Nationals starting pitcher Jake Irvin, who struggled against the heart of the lineup. Jo Adell struck a 92-mph fastball high and away to right field for a solo home run — his 18th overall and 11th in June — in the second. An inning later, Nolan Schanuel and Taylor Ward received hanging breaking balls — a high curveball and slider, respectively — and pulled the ball for short-porch home runs. Three home runs across three innings helped the Angels build a three-run lead. Across 4 ⅓ innings of work against Irvin, the Angels' lineup continued to click. They tallied nine runs (eight earned to Irvin) on nine hits — just enough for an early lead as José Soriano tossed his worst outing of the season. Soriano couldn't exit the fifth against the Nationals. The shutdown pitching he had featured in his last three starts — giving up just two runs across 20 ⅔ innings — looked like a distant memory. The right-hander struck out four and walked two, while giving up eight earned runs and nine hits. Angels shortstop Zach Neto (shoulder) returned to action, striking out in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter. Neto said before the game that he'd likely be able to hit before throwing — something he's yet to do — after jamming his shoulder on a stolen base attempt Tuesday.
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Count Kings GM Ken Holland among those who prefer how NHL drafts used to be held
For Ken Holland, the Kings' decidedly old-school general manager, new isn't necessarily better. Take the NHL draft, for example. Holland presided over more than a quarter-century of drafts with the Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers, and they were generally held in one place, with everyone from the executives doing the drafting to the players being drafted on site. On Friday, for the first time in a non-pandemic environment, the draft was conducted semi-remotely, with the top 93 draft-eligible players and their families filling some of the seats in the half-empty Peacock Theater in Los Angeles while team representatives made their selections from their home markets. And whatever the league was attempting to accomplish with the decentralized format, other than saving on travel, it didn't work. After each pick was announced on a giant video board that took up two-thirds of the theater's massive stage, players made their way up the aisle to be greeted by commissioner Gary Bettman. They then pulled on a team jersey and hat before being led into the Draft House — a small virtual reality room in the center of the stage — for what amounted to a congratulatory Zoom call with the club's brass. The young men were celebrating the biggest moment of their lives yet they came off like Dorothy speaking to the Wizard of Oz. Much of it was awkward, especially when James Hagens, the eighth selection, was left waving at Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney after the audio in the Bruins' war room in Boston went mute. That was just one of multiple technical glitches that included echoes and timing delays that left players and executives talking over one another. When it became obvious the painfully slow-paced event would plod past 4½ hours, the Draft House was closed to some teams. Brady Martin, the fifth pick, didn't even bother to come to L.A. So when Nashville announced his selection — via a celebrity video taped at a golf course — the NHL showed a video of Martin working on his family's farm. Russian goaltender Pyotr Andreyanov wouldn't even get that treatment. When he was announced as the 20th overall pick, the NHL had nothing to show, making Andreyanov the first no-show of the no-show draft. Matthew Schaefer, a 17-year-old defenseman from Hamilton, Ontario, who was taken with the No. 1 pick by the New York Islanders, said being part of video draft did not spoil his big day. 'I'm just honored to be picked,' said Schaefer who cried, alongside his dad and brother, when his name was called. 'I dreamt about it my whole life. It's such an honor. Especially the first pick overall.' For Holland, however, none of that counts as progress. 'I'm old and I'm old fashioned. So I like the old way,' said the Kings general manager, whose view was shared by other GMs around the league. 'You draft some player in the sixth round and all of a sudden you hear 'yay!' way up in the corner. It's him, it's his family, and they're all excited to hear [his] name announced by an NHL team. 'This weekend, to me, is about the young players.' Aside from the technical difficulties, the actual draft went largely to form. The Ducks, as expected, took Roger McQueen, an 18-year-old forward from Saskatchewan, with their top pick, the 10th overall selection. The Kings, meanwhile, traded their first pick, No. 24 overall, to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After moving down seven spots they took right-handed-shooting defenseman Henry Brzustewicz, 18, a Minnesota native, with the penultimate pick of the first day. Round two through seven of the draft will be conducted Saturday. The Ducks, who had a top-10 pick for a seventh straight year, see the 6-foot-5 McQueen as a raw talent who can develop into a top-line center. 'He has a big body. But what goes along with that is his skill and skating ability,' said general manager Pat Verbeek, whose team has 10 picks this weekend. For the Kings, this draft was the first public move in what could be an intense couple of weeks. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and winger Andrei Kuzmenko are unrestricted free agents and the team would like to re-sign both before they hit the open market Tuesday. 'If we re-sign Gavrikov, there's not going to be a ton of change,' Holland said. 'If we don't, then there's going to be change.' Gavrikov, 29, emerged as a solid presence on the blue line, playing a career-high 82 games and posting the best goals-against average of the 17 defensemen to play at least 1,500 minutes. Former Kings GM Rob Blake made Gavrikov a contract offer last March, said Holland, who has since sweetened the deal twice. Replacing him, the GM said, could require a couple of signings. Kuzmenko, 29, re-energized the offense after coming over from Philadelphia at the trade deadline, with the Kings going 17-5 and averaging nearly four goals a game down the stretch. 'We like Kuzmenko. Kuzmenko likes it here; he likes his role,' Holland said. 'I'm talking to him. I talked two, three, four times this week with his agent. So we'll see.' Signing both players would put a big dent in the Kings' $21.7 million in salary-cap space. 'We have a lot of cap space but it doesn't take much and it's gone,' Holland said. 'We've got to figure out how we want to spend our money and they need to figure out how much money they can get.' Aside from Gavrikov and Kuzmenko, the Kings don't have many loose ends to tie up. The team is confident it can get forward Alex Laferriere, a restricted free agent, to agree to a short-term deal and it has to decide whether to re-sign David Rittich, an unrestricted free agent, as the backup to starting goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper. Two players who could be moving on are forward Tanner Jeannot and defenseman Jordan Spence, both of whom are looking for more ice time and may have to leave to get it.
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Justice Department abruptly fires three Jan. 6 prosecutors, sources say
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Friday fired at least three prosecutors involved in U.S. Capitol riot criminal cases, the latest moves by the Trump administration targeting attorneys connected to the massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, according to two people familiar with the matter. Those dismissed include two attorneys who worked as supervisors overseeing the Jan. 6 prosecutions in the U.S. attorney's office in Washington as well as a line attorney who prosecuted cases stemming from the Capitol riot and insurrection, the people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. A letter received by one of the prosecutors was signed by Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi. The letter did not provide a reason for their removal, effective immediately, citing only 'Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States,' according to a copy seen by the Associated Press. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment Friday evening. The terminations marked yet another escalation of the moves that have raised alarm over the Trump administration's disregard for civil service protections for career lawyers and the erosion of the Justice Department's independence from the White House. Top leaders at the Justice Department have also fired employees who worked on the prosecutions of President Trump and demoted a slew of career supervisors in what has been seen as an effort to purge the agency of lawyers seen as insufficiently loyal. Trump's sweeping pardons of the Jan. 6 rioters have led to worries about actions being taken against attorneys involved in the massive prosecution of the more than 1,500 Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify Joe Biden's election victory. Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of all of them on his first day back in the White House, releasing from prison people convicted of seditious conspiracy and violent assaults on police. During his time as interim U.S. attorney in Washington, Ed Martin in February demoted several prosecutors involved in the Jan. 6 cases, including the attorney who served as chief of the Capitol Siege Section. Others demoted include two lawyers who helped secure seditious conspiracy convictions against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio. In January, then-acting Deputy Atty. Gen. Emil Bove ordered the firings of about two dozen prosecutors who had been hired for temporary assignments to support the Jan. 6 cases but were moved into permanent roles after Trump's 2024 presidential win. Bove said he would not 'tolerate subversive personnel actions by the previous administration.' Trump, the only felon to ever occupy the White House, was impeached on a charge of inciting insurrection in the attack on the Capitol. He was also indicted on felony charges related to Jan. 6, but that case was dropped after Trump was elected in November. Richer writes for the Associated Press.
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
California closes $12-billion deficit by cutting back immigrants' access to healthcare
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Friday a budget that pares back a number of progressive priorities, including a landmark healthcare expansion for low-income adult immigrants without legal status, to close a $12-billion deficit. It's the third year in a row the nation's most populous state has been forced to slash funding or stop some of the programs championed by Democratic leaders. Lawmakers passed the budget earlier in the day following an agreement of a $321-billion spending plan between Newsom and Democratic leaders. But the whole budget will be void if lawmakers don't send him legislation to make it easier to build housing by Monday. The budget avoids some of the most devastating cuts to essential safety net programs, state leaders said. They mostly relied on using state savings, borrowing from special funds and delaying payments to plug the budget hole. 'It's balanced, it maintains substantial reserves, and it's focused on supporting Californians,' Newsom said in a statement about the budget. California also faces potential federal cuts to healthcare programs and broad economic uncertainty that could force even deeper cuts. Newsom in May estimated that federal policies — including on tariffs and immigration enforcement — could reduce state tax revenue by $16 billion. 'We've had to make some tough decisions,' Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire said Friday. 'I know we're not going to please everyone, but we're doing this without any new taxes on everyday Californians.' Republican lawmakers said they were left out of budget negotiations. They also criticized Democrats for not doing enough to address future deficits, which could range between $17 billion to $24 billion annually. 'We're increasing borrowing, we're taking away from the rainy day fund, and we're not reducing our spending,' said Republican state Sen. Tony Strickland prior to the vote. 'And this budget also does nothing about affordability in California.' Here's a look at spending in key areas: Under the budget deal, California will stop enrolling new adult patients without legal status in its state-funded healthcare program for low-income people starting 2026. The state will also implement a $30 monthly premium July 2027 for immigrants remaining on the program, including some with legal status. The premiums would apply to adults under 60 years old. The changes to the program, known as Medi-Cal, are a scaled-back version of Newsom's proposal in May. Still, it's a major blow to an ambitious program started last year to help the state inch closer to a goal of universal healthcare. Democratic state Sen. María Elena Durazo broke with her party and voted 'no' on the healthcare changes, calling them a betrayal of immigrant communities. The deal also removes $78 million in funding for mental health phone lines, including a program that served 100,000 people annually. It will eliminate funding that helps pay for dental services for low-income people in 2026 and delay implementation of legislation requiring health insurance to cover fertility services by six months to 2026. But lawmakers also successfully pushed back on several proposed cuts from Newsom that they called 'draconian.' The deal secures funding for a program providing in-home domestic and personal care services for some low-income residents and Californians with disabilities. It also avoids cuts to Planned Parenthood. Lawmakers agreed to let the state tap $1 billion from its cap-and-trade program to fund state firefighting efforts. The cap-and-trade program is a market-based system aimed at reducing carbon emissions. Companies have to buy credits to pollute, and that money goes into a fund lawmakers are supposed to tap for climate-related spending. Newsom wanted to reauthorize the program through 2045, with a guarantee that $1 billion would annually go to the state's long-delayed high-speed rail project. The budget doesn't make that commitment, as lawmakers wanted to hash out spending plans outside of the budget process. The rail project currently receives 25% of the cap-and-trade proceeds, which is roughly $1 billion annually depending on the year. Legislative leaders also approved funding to help transition part-time firefighters into full-time positions. Many state firefighters only work nine months each year, which lawmakers said harms the state's ability to prevent and fight wildfires. The deal includes $10 million to increase the daily wage for incarcerated firefighters, who earn $5.80 to $10.24 a day currently. The budget agreement will provide $80 million to help implement a tough-on-crime initiative voters overwhelmingly approved last year. The measure makes shoplifting a felony for repeat offenders, increases penalties for some drug charges and gives judges the authority to order people with multiple drug charges into treatment. Most of the fund, $50 million, will help counties build more behavioral health beds. Probation officers will get $15 million for pretrial services and courts will receive $20 million to support increased caseloads. Advocates of the measure — including sheriffs, district attorneys and probation officers — said that's not enough money. Some have estimated it would take around $400 million for the first year of the program. Newsom and lawmakers agreed to raise the state's film tax credit from $330 million to $750 million annually to boost Hollywood. The program, a priority for Newsom, will start this year and expire in 2030. The budget provides $10 million to help support immigration legal services, including deportation defense. But cities and counties won't see new funding to help them address homelessness next year, which local leaders said could lead to the loss of thousands of shelter beds. The budget also doesn't act on Newsom's proposal to streamline a project to create a massive underground tunnel to reroute a big part of the state's water supply. Nguyễn writes for the Associated Press.
