Still fresh off his November victory against former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, Jake Paul is clearly confident heading into his next bout. Keen to think like a future world champion, Paul is channeling a memorable maxim from one of the UFC’s most outspoken and successful stars.
Jake beat Tyson by unanimous decision in a record-breaking live event on Netflix late last year and now has his sights set on another former world champion. On June 28th, he will lock up with Julio César Chávez Jr.. Chávez won the WBC middleweight title in 2011, defending it three times before losing the championship to Sergio Martínez in 2012.
Chávez, 39, should present a more difficult challenge than the 58-year-old Tyson. However, despite holding an impressive 54-6 record, Chávez’s form has been on the slide in recent years. He has lost three of his last six fights – as many losses as he suffered in his first 55 fights. Chávez’s appearances have been sporadic of late as well. Chávez has registered just one fight since 2022.
Paul, who sits on an impressive 11-1 record and has won his last five fights, has been encouraged by Chávez’s lack of form. Sharing a confident clip to his 28.5 million Instagram followers, Paul captioned the post with an iconic mantra from a former UFC two-division champion.
Hurling a product from his new personal care brand W into the air, he juggled the can with a series of precise punches and kicks before landing the can right side up on a nearby mat. To note, he was met by cheers from his entourage as well as excitement from his golden retriever, Thor.
“Precision beats power – June 28th I KO Chavez,” read the post from ‘The Problem Child’, referencing an often-repeated catchphrase from the preeminent UFC trash-talker Conor McGregor.
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Where did McGregor’s iconic phrase originate from?
McGregor has adopted a number of seemingly sagacious mantras over the course of his career, balancing out his often expletive-laden social media tirades. But when did ‘Notorious’ first utter those famous words?
McGregor saved the clever adage for one of his most impressive UFC victories. MMA fans will have to go all the way back to 2015 to one of the quickest and most devastating knockouts in UFC history to discover its origins.
Uttering the phrase, ‘Precision beats power, and timing beats speed,’ McGregor perfectly summed up his measured 13-second knockout of José Aldo to become featherweight champion at UFC 194.
Known for his hard-hitting Muay Thai background, McGregor was aware that he wasn’t going to match Aldo for power in the title match. He instead adopted a more precise approach that paid off massively.
While Chávez Jr. is more of a presser than Aldo, he is still capable of summoning power, having achieved KOs in 34 of his 54 wins. Paul, on the other hand, while much bulkier than McGregor, will be aware of the power that Chávez possesses.
And when that power comes, hopefully, that mantra will be at the forefront of his strategic approach.
