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Andreas Hale
Two of the biggest names in boxing will clash on Nov. 14 when Jake Paul faces Gervonta “Tank” Davis at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, the two sides confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.
The contracted weight for the fight and number of rounds has yet to be determined. The fight will be promoted by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions and streamed live globally on Netflix.
Talks between both parties have been ongoing since the beginning of the year and there were initially plans to move forward with the fight after Davis’ WBA lightweight title defense against Lamont Roach Jr. However, those plans were put on hold after Roach and Davis battled to a shocking majority draw in March. Rumors of a rematch taking place in August never came to fruition and the two sides picked up on their earlier negotiations, finalizing a deal for the fight to happen in November.
“The original timeline assumed that ‘Tank’ would be fighting Jake [Paul] after he fought Roach,” Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian told ESPN. “The outcome didn’t necessarily change anything per se, but our timeline of waiting around to see what Davis was going to do resulted in Jake fighting Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.”
Although initial reports suggested that Paul secured a fight with Davis after discussions for a heavyweight tilt with former unified champion Anthony Joshua fell apart, Bidarian told ESPN that the Joshua fight is still on the table and was never planned to take place in 2025.
“I think it’s just a matter of hitting ‘go,'” Bidarian said about the ongoing negotiations for Paul-Joshua in 2026. “Jake is looking at it like he wants to show the world that he’s going to fight David and then he plans to take on Goliath.”
As for the upcoming fight, with such a significant disparity in weight with Paul tipping the scales at 199.4 pounds for his fight with Chavez Jr. at cruiserweight and Davis weighing 133.8 pounds when he faced Roach, there are ongoing conversations about what weight the fight will be contested at.
“We’re still figuring that out,” Bidarian said, while not committing to the fight being an exhibition as reported by other outlets. “Jake will definitely have to come down below his 200-pound weight that he’s been fighting at. I can tell you that we’re going to have a fight that will have a definitive outcome, whether by way of knockout or decision.”
The weight disparity draws striking similarities to the exhibition fight between Paul’s older brother, Logan, and Floyd Mayweather in June 2021. Mayweather, who spent much of his career at 147 pounds, weighed in at 155 pounds while Paul weighed 189.5 pounds. No winner was declared in the eight-round exhibition that reportedly sold over 1 million PPV buys and generated over $80 million in revenue.
Paul-Davis will be shown to a much larger audience on Netflix with higher stakes as Paul continues to prove himself as a full-time boxer.
Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) has been campaigning as a cruiserweight and is currently ranked #14 by the WBA following his one-sided decision over Chavez Jr. in June. His plans to be a world champion will be put on hold for a massive cultural event against Davis, who he has targeted for a fight as early as August 2021 when he revealed a wish list of opponents on social media that included Nate Diaz, Tyron Woodley, Tommy Fury, KSI and Canelo Alvarez.
“Gervonta is an angry little elf who has been disrespecting my name for too long,” said Jake Paul in a statement to ESPN. “His nickname might be Tank, but I’m an FPV drone and I’m about to disable his ass. Yes, he is one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world, but my motto is anyone, anytime, anyplace, against all odds. And I like my odds. First, I am going to kill David, then I will go on to slaughter Goliath, and you are all going watch me do it, breaking viewership records again. Atlanta. Friday, Nov 14th. The worst night of Gervonta’s career, live only on Netflix.”
Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs) is one of the biggest attractions in boxing but has never competed in a weight class higher than 140 pounds. He’s fought at lightweight (135 pounds) in his last six fights, dating back to December 2021. His April 2023 fight with Ryan Garcia at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was a massive success at the box office with a reported $1.2 million PPV buys and a gate of $22.8 million, fifth-highest gate in U.S. boxing history. He has been engaging in a war of words with Paul on social media for several years and will look to put an end to their rivalry in November.
Davis, 30, was dealing with legal issues over the summer with a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from an alleged domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend on Father’s Day. Those charges were dropped last week. Davis will resume his boxing career against a former YouTuber who has also become one of the biggest names in boxing.
“This is a fight between the biggest fighters in the world for Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences,” Bidarian said. “It’s really about who is the true face of American boxing and I view it as The Disruptor [Paul] versus The Destroyer [Davis].”