Boxing

Francis Ngannou-Jake Paul Replacement Report Has Boxing Fans All Saying The Same Thing

The fact that Francis Ngannou could step in as Jake Paul's Gervonta "Tank" Davis replacement is sparking a boxing fan frenzy.
Grant Young|
IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

On November 1, Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) company released a statement regarding the domestic violence lawsuit filed against Gervonta "Tank" Davis earlier this week, who is scheduled to fight Paul on November 14.

"Most Valuable Promotions initiated an investigation upon learning of the civil lawsuit filed against Gervonta Davis in Miami-Dade County on October 30, 2025. At this time, we are gathering information and reviewing the details to ensure any decision we make is thoroughly vetted. We unequivocally condemn any form of violence and are committed to handling this matter with diligence and respect for all involved," the statement read.

"We will make a determination on next steps once we have completed our review and consulted with the appropriate parties. Until then, we will now be commenting further," it concluded.

This lawsuit has put the Paul vs. Davis exhibition bout in serious jeopardy, and this statement has many convinced that there's now no chance the fight will be taking place, at least not on the scheduled date.

What's more, there have been several reports from boxing insiders that Paul's team has reached out to several names to come in as potential replacements for Davis. The first name to surface was Ryan Garcia, but Oscar De La Hoya (who promoted Garcia through Golden Boy) already shut this idea down.

The three other names that Paul's team has reportedly contacted to replace Davis are Terence Crawford, Nate Diaz, and Francis Ngannou.

Jake Paul
IMAGO / NurPhoto

Boxing Fans Assert Francis Ngannou Would Squash Jake Paul

All three of these names are much bigger physically than Gervonta Davis. However, Jake Paul (who is listed at 6'1" and last fought at 200 pounds) would still have a significant size advantage over Crawford (who is highly unlikely to accept any fight right now) and Diaz.

The same can't be said for Ngannou, who is listed at 6'4" and 257 pounds, and is arguably the hardest puncher in the entire world right now.

This has boxing fans on social media saying Ngannou would put Paul's lights out if he did indeed step in to replace Davis.

"Ngannou? Well I hope it’s him," X user @mo_konnect wrote.

User @Blood_InThe_Eye added, "Absolutely zero chance Jake Paul signs to fight Ngannou."

"That’ll be funny Jake will never fight Francis, Francis will just murder him," said @CamilleLean1.

"Jake Paul wants to commit suicide inside the ring for his legacy?" wrote @mohammed_omari.

"Francis Ngannou vs Jake Paul?" added @jasoneg33 with a clip of MMA legend Chael Sonnen saying, "Could you imagine?"

"He’s getting hammered Ngannou must end this madness forever," said @Billy_PMS.

X user @Wh0lesomehumour added, "if he boxes ngannou i’ll never speak bad of him again."

"Francis Ngannou being thrown around for Jake Paul," wrote @BlaineHenryTFL with a GIF of soccer legend Thierry Henry trying (and failing) to refrain from smiling.

"Ngannou would murder that fraud," said @WrestleThread.

"Ngannou would kill him," added @clarkejoseph49.

It sounds like Paul's detractors would be happy to see Ngannou accept this fight summons.

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Grant Young
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Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.