Jake Paul has pulled out of his fight with Gervonta Davis after ‘Tank’ was accused of battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping by an ex-girlfriend. The pair were set to face off in an exhibition match in Miami on November 14, despite Davis being a lightweight and Paul a cruiserweight.
The bout wouldn’t have counted towards their professional records, but a winner would have been declared either by stoppage or by two human judges and an AI official if the fight went the distance. However, Most Valuable Promotions have now decided to find a new opponent for Paul, with the YouTuber-turned-boxer branding Davis ‘an actual walking human piece of garbage’.
Davis has yet to comment on the allegations, but his trainer Calvin Ford dismissed them as “nonsense”. According to the lawsuit, Davis attacked ex-partner Courtney Rossel at her workplace on October 27 and had previously threatened to kill her.
Ms. Rossel also claims Davis “physically assaulted and choked” her on at least four other occasions. She is seeking damages of $50,000 and a jury trial.
Nakisa Bidarian, CEO of Most Valuable Promotions, said in a statement: “Our team has worked closely with all parties to navigate this situation responsibly. While we will not be moving forward with this event, our plan still remains for Jake Paul to headline an event on Netflix in 2025.
“Details regarding a new date, location, Jake’s opponent, and additional bouts will be shared as soon as they are finalised.”
Paul took to social media to vent his frustrations, stating: “Working with him is an absolute nightmare. The unprofessionalism, the bizarre requests, the showing up hours late to shoots. To the numerous arrests and related accusations and lawsuits.
“If you support this man you support the most vile sin a man can commit… I’m so sorry to everyone involved.”
Ryan Garcia was initially suggested as a potential replacement for Davis, but promoter Oscar De La Hoya has dismissed this idea. He explained: “Let me tell you why this fight is not going to happen.
“Ryan Garcia fights for DAZN and Jake Paul fights on Netflix. Golden Boy has a contract with DAZN. Ryan Garcia has a contract with Golden Boy.”
In the meantime, Eddie Hearn hasn’t ruled out a surprise match between Paul and Anthony Joshua. Speaking to iFL TV, he said: “Just let me know where.”
Hearn’s comments followed his earlier suggestion that it was unlikely Joshua would return to the ring before the end of the year.
He stated: “I don’t want to confirm it because you never know but I think it’s very unlikely. At the moment, we’re all working towards our February date which is getting very close to being confirmed.
“Now, would there be a run out in 2025? Again, never say never. What I will say to you is he’s four or five weeks deep into camp so he’s on me to fight.
“Previously he hadn’t been training in camp with intensity. He wasn’t really looking to fight other than February but now he’s almost ready to go so I think realistically as we move into November, February will be the return date but never say never.”