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Andreas Hale
Gervonta “Tank” Davis has once again found himself in legal trouble, just two weeks before his exhibition fight with Jake Paul on Nov. 14.
A new civil lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County has put the WBA lightweight champion in hot water over another alleged domestic incident. According to the lawsuit acquired by ESPN, Davis is accused by ex-girlfriend Courtney Rossel of battery, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
This lawsuit comes two months after Davis’ previous domestic violence case was dropped by a different ex-girlfriend and the mother of two of the boxer’s three children.
ESPN also confirmed with one of the woman’s attorneys, Jeffery Chukwuma, that a report was filed on Tuesday with the Miami Gardens Police Department. Messages left with the department were not immediately returned to ESPN.
According to the complaint, Davis allegedly stormed into Tootsies, the Miami gentlemen’s club where Rossel worked as a VIP cocktail server, in the early hours of Monday and attacked her in a back room of the club that did not have cameras. She says Davis dragged her through a stairwell, kitchen and the back exit before physically assaulting her in the parking garage.
Rossel said she was in a five-month relationship with Davis prior to the incident and cited multiple instances of domestic violence, abuse and threats made by the fighter concerning her safety and well-being. Rossel said in the lawsuit that there were “at least” four previous incidents in which Davis “physically assaulted and choked” her. On two occasions, she says Davis threatened to kill her.
The first of the incidents took place Sept. 2, when Davis allegedly threatened to kill Rossel for not responding to his calls and text messages. A second incident took place Sept. 23 when she says Davis accused her of infidelity and texted “I’ll kill you.” Later that day, Davis allegedly physically assaulted Rossel, choking her in public at Playa Miami, a restaurant in the Lincoln Road Shopping District.
The suit says that Davis sent Rossel a text message after this week’s incident stating, “I’m on my way! To ya house,” which Rossel interpreted as the boxer heading to her home to continue assaulting her.
The lawsuit states that Rossel is currently suffering from PTSD, anxiety and extreme fear while saying that she is living with others because she no longer feels safe alone and is actively seeking therapeutic treatment to address the severe emotional and physical harm caused by Davis.
The attorneys are demanding compensatory and punitive damages along with a request for jury trial.
Davis has had numerous run-ins with the law over the years, including charges related to domestic violence and fleeing the scene of a car accident. Several of his cases have been dropped, but he was sentenced to a 90-day house arrest and three years of probation for a 2023 hit-and-run case in Baltimore.
ESPN reached out to representatives for Davis, who have yet to respond. ESPN also reached out to representatives for Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions to see if this lawsuit would affect the status of the Paul-Davis fight at Kaseya Center in Miami on Nov. 14. Most Valuable Promotions did not respond to the request for comment.
ESPN’s Michael Rothstein contributed to this report.