A tantrum from his legendary father woke up Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Saturday night at a packed Honda Center in Anaheim, but his good reaction in the second half of the fight against Jake Paul was not enough and he fell by decision.

The judges scored the cruiserweight bout 10 rounds with scores of 99-91, 97-93 and 98-92 to close out an evening in which Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramírez successfully defended his 200-pound crown.

Chávez, 39, had said in an interview with La Opinión that he wanted his young children to know him as a boxer and that he wants to be an example for them and the rest of his family. Despite the loss, the Sinaloan native achieved that goal. After the fight, he admitted that it took him a while to get into the fight.

The event, it was said, broke the box office record for boxing at the Honda Center, although the figure was not disclosed.

Chávez dedicated the first round to studying his opponent and getting his feel for the ring. He threw virtually no punches, while Paul landed a good overhand right hand and later the Mexican complained of a blow to the neck, even turning to look at the referee.

It wasn't until there were 42 seconds left in the second round that the Mexican threw his first real punch, a right to the body, but then Paul connected with a combination to secure the round.

The crowd began to boo Chávez Jr.'s inactivity in the third round, and he looked really uncomfortable. So much so that his father, wearing a red headband like the ones he popularized in the 1980s, made a face of discomfort that was seen on the arena screen and then got up from his chair near the ring to yell at his son.

Almost immediately, "Junior" connected with a good left hook to the head that was celebrated by the fans, most of them supporting him. Incidentally, Paul walked into the ring wearing a robe in the colors of Mexico, receiving loud boos.

Julio César gained confidence and went forward in the fourth round, always cautious, but releasing his jab a little, landing a good right hand and throwing to the body.He pressured Paul and clearly won the round. It was similar in the fifth, although with less success connecting. The referee called the Sinaloan fighter on the attack for a low blow, but also asked the Cleveland native not to grab his opponent's head.

Paul landed a strong uppercut in the sixth round, but Chávez Jr. responded with his best moments in the ring in several years; he landed a right hand to the head that shook Paul into a corner. The legend's son was growing.

However, Paul had a better round 7, counterpunching Chávez Jr. after a good one-on-two from the Mexican and then connecting with a long right hand. When the Culiacán native tried to attack, the blond fighter hugged him.

Chávez showed good energy in the eighth round, unleashing quick punches that found their destination. Paul also landed his punches in a closely matched round. Chavez Jr. emerged in the ninth round, a very good three minutes where he repeatedly put Paul in trouble. His quick combinations to the head were effective, and when the crowd was on its feet, he raised his arms, feeling like he was achieving his objective. The same trend continued in the tenth and final round, where Paul took to hugging. Chavez Jr. looked tired, but he kept coming forward and connecting against a man who looked surprised.

Paul, 28, improved to 12-1.

Zurdo Ramirez gets a hard-fought decision victory

In the co-main event, Mexican Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez came from behind to defeat Cuban Yuniel Dorticos by unanimous decision, a veteran who forced the champion to give his all to remain the WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion.

The judges scored the fight 115-112, 115-112 and 117-110, but regardless of what one judge saw throughout the 12 rounds, Dorticos put up a good fight, dominating some rounds and making others very close in a gladiatorial duel that was tested to the limit.

Ramírez (48-1) took a lot of punishment from Dorticos (27-3) in the first four rounds. The Sinaloan looked too stationary, and the Cuban started aggressively and accurately, including a dangerous uppercut in the second round when Ramírez was leaning against the ropes.

The Mexican began to react in the fourth round, when bombs were the order of the day for both sides. Ramírez was more mobile, spinning and throwing more punches. However, Dorticos' right hand continued to frequently land on "Zurdo's" face in round 6, countering a good left.

The Mexican, who constantly ducked to limit the punishment to the head, was going to have to push hard to avoid a possible upset in Anaheim. And that's what he did in the seventh, when he closed out the last 20 seconds very well,only to hit a wall in a tight eighth round, where the question arose as to who had more fuel in the tank.

After a round 9 in which both men kept throwing punches to the head and in which Ramirez almost fell due to a slip, the referee penalized the Cuban with a point for hitting below in the 10th.

Ramirez looked more solid in the final two rounds despite another slip and although he was never able to clearly dominate the action against a warrior like the Cuban, he did enough to retain the championship in a closer than expected decision.

After his 48th victory as a professional - his only defeat was against the great champion Dmitry Bivol -, "Zurdo" Ramirez said that he will go for the unification of the cruiserweights and asked for the undefeated Australian Jai Opetaia.

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