99-91, 97-93, 98-92. With all three judges scoring in his favor, Jake Paul registered yet another unanimous decision victory. Headlining a card at the Honda Center, he defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. over 10 rounds. But instead of adulation, boos confronted the Ohioan. Paul fought back, “All the boos are words, and actions speak louder than words, so y’all can shut the f**k up.”

As it happened after the Tyson fight, Paul’s latest outing has met with some scathing criticisms. A frenzy of comments and discussions has erupted on social media. But amid taunts and condemnation, ‘The Problem Child’ seems to have found some support, even from a few surprising corners. Ryan Garcia dismissed allegations against Jake Paul. Slamming him for ‘staging a fight’ is uncalled for. The young Californian is currently recovering from hand surgery that followed a loss to Rolando Romero.

“You can’t say Jake’s fights are rigged,” stated Garcia categorically. The narrative borders on a joke. Garcia admitted Jake Paul’s opponents might not be who fans want or the most challenging. But that’s part of a typical boxing buildup. It’s not evidence of ‘rigging.’ Perhaps the dislike for the former Disney star stems from his immense popularity. “May not be against the people you want or are qualified to give him a challenge, but it’s just bc he’s popular,” Garcia said. He has 11 professional fights (it’s actually 13 now) under his belt. So Jake Paul is on a similar trajectory as other professional boxers, he claimed.

Fans may recall that Paul faced similar backlash following the Mike Tyson fight last year. As the jibes increased, his Most Valuable Promotions issued a stern statement. But unlike last time, it seems the Cleveland native and his team are now preparing to take the next step in tackling such baseless insinuations.

Months before, Ryan Garcia adopted a different tune while speaking about Jake Paul.

Ryan Garcia: I’ve got your back, Jake Paul, but test me too

A few months ago, Garcia suggested, one day, Jake Paul will have to eventually come back and fight him. The Californian told USA Today, “I mean, he’s going to run out of opponents. There’s only so many 40-year-old dudes out there in the world that have a name. So he’s going to have to come through me sooner or later.”

His logic was simple. In several interviews, Jake Paul spoke about a potential matchup with Gervonta Davis. Even during the post-fight interview yesterday, he mentioned Tank’s name. So Garcia felt. Yesterday, Paul fought a cruiserweight fight against a former middleweight champion. So Garcia reasoned. If he could call out a lightweight champion, then he could fight him as well.

Like many before, Garcia remained apprehensive about Jake Paul’s boxing legitimacy. “He’s a wild card. I mean, I don’t know if he’s a boxer. At the end of the day, he’s never fought in a ranked match at his weight class…so you can’t really say that he’s legitimate,” he said.

Perhaps the debate over Jake Paul’s actions needs deeper introspection. He has been fighting for close to five years. After Tommy Fury and Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is the third bona fide boxer he has faced. What needs to be closely observed is whether Paul extends the format. Or upends his game by fighting ranked contenders.

What are your views on Jake Paul’s boxing credentials? Do you also have doubts about it?