'Chicken without a head' - Chavez Sr makes Paul prediction

Julio Cesar Chavez Sr believes his son will leave Jake Paul running around the ring "like a chicken without a head" when they meet on Saturday in California.

Paul, 28, faces 39-year-old Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in a 10-round cruiserweight bout at the Honda Center.

The son of legendary Mexican fighter, Chavez Jr was world champion at middleweight in 2012 but has endured a chequered record since, winning eight of his last 13 fights.

Paul says a win over Chavez Jr will kick off a "title run", but Sr ridiculed the American at a news conference on Thursday.

"Jake Paul just fought against Mike Tyson, who didn't even throw one punch," he said, referencing Paul's drab fight against 58-year-old Mike Tyson last November.

"This is not Mike Tyson. You [Jake] are going to get your ass whooped.

"Julio is going to go in throwing some serious punches, and you're going to be running like a chicken without a head."

Paul has mostly fought ex-MMA fighters in his 11-1 career, his sole defeat coming to Tommy Fury.

Two of Chavez Jr's last three fights have been against ex-UFC fighters and a particular low point was losing to UFC legend and 46-year-old Anderson Silva in 2021.

Weight problems and addiction issues have plagued Chavez Jr's 62-fight career in recent years and he has only fought three times since 2021.

Paul described himself as a "great boxer" but Chavez Jr disagreed.

"No, I don't think he's good. I think he tries, he trains hard, but he's not a good fighter," he said. "He's definitely not a good boxer.

"If he were a good boxer, then everyone else on this stage would be a legend. I don't think he's a good boxer, and everybody knows that."