‘The Waterfront’ Star Holt McCallany Breaks Down Jake Paul vs Julio César Chávez Jr.

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Photo Credit: Dana Hawley/Netflix © 2025

We are just 24 hours away from Jake Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (54-6-1, 34 KOs), and actor Holt McCallany from the Netflix hit series The Waterfront, gives his take on this intriguing matchup, which takes place on Saturday Night live on DAZN PPV.

Thursday’s press conference at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, raised the level of interest for Saturday’s fight card. There was genuine heat on the stage amongst the fighters as they said their piece before heading into Friday’s weigh-in. The big question would be if Chavez Jr. would make weight, as the scale has been his biggest opponent in past fights.

Ironically, it was Paul who weighed in at 199.4 pounds, which was just under the cruiserweight limit of 200 pounds. Paul looked in great shape, but you can tell the weight cut is still a little difficult for him. When Chavez Jr. stepped on the scale, he looked fit and came in at 198.4 pounds, which surprised many on social media. We now have a main event on Saturday night, with the global platform DAZN broadcasting it on PPV.

With all the attention this fight is getting, McCallany, a person actively involved in the boxing scene and often seen sparring at gyms worldwide, decided to weigh in on the fight. McCallany is currently the talk of the town, with the new hit series The Waterfront topping the charts in 43 countries on Netflix.

“I tell you what an interesting matchup is and that’s Jake Paul vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.,” McCallany told FightsATW during a recent interview. “Let me start off by saying I was the last guy to get on the Jake Paul train. The last Paul fight I saw was the one against Anderson Silva. People were saying Silva was 46, but I would tell them, ‘But yea, he is still Anderson Silva at 46.’ I thought Silva was going to put pressure and make him earn it. I didn’t think Jake (Paul) would be able to withstand the pressure, but he did. Jake really impressed me that night.

“From that point forward, I began to look at Jake in a different way. I love what he has done for women’s boxing, and now he is starting to fight real boxers. Chavez Jr. has not lived up to all of the potential and hype he had coming up, as he had big shoes to fill with his father (Julio Cesar Chavez) being arguably the greatest Mexican fighter of all time. Chavez Jr., at his best, was a highly trained fighter with a good chin.

McCallany then took a second to think about Chavez Jr. and what he could potentially do if things went well throughout his training camp. “Chavez Jr. has real skills, but I also realize Jake has been working hard and has dedicated himself to the sport,” said McCallany.

“The key in this particular matchup is inactivity. If Chavez Jr. has spent the last few years partying, then he is going to lose to Paul. If Chavez Jr. has stayed in the gym, I give him a chance to make this into a very competitive and interesting fight.

Photo Credit: Esther Lin / Most Valuable Promotions

“It’s not even a question about Jake’s right hand. It’s more of a question of how much pride does Chavez Jr. have left. Do I think Paul gets him out of there? Not necessarily. It wouldn’t be a knockout if he did, but more so a stoppage. If Chavez Jr. trained hard, I think he will go the distance and make it a close fight.”

Sounds like McCallany is leaning towards a Paul victory but isn’t counting out Chavez Jr. to make it a closely contested fight. With the official weigh-in now complete, all that is left is for Paul and Chavez Jr. to get serious and battle it out in the ring on Saturday night. Is this the moment Paul hits a wall in his boxing career, or will he shock the world with a tremendous victory? Is Chavez Jr. finished, or will he bring one last thrill to the Mexican crowd in attendance? All questions that will look to be answered on Saturday night.

Jake Paul vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Betting Odds

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Per DraftKings SportsBook, Jake Paul is the favorite at -575, and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is the underdog at +400.

Jake Paul: TKO/KO +165; Decision -110

Draw: +1800

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.: TKO/KO +800; Decision +900

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Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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