Boxing

Gervonta Davis Hints At Jake Paul PED Usage During Tense Back And Forth Exchange

Gervonta Davis doesn't want to see Jake Paul trying to gain an even bigger advantage when they fight in November.
Grant Young|
Gervonta "Tank" Davis speaks during a 2024 press conference.
Gervonta "Tank" Davis speaks during a 2024 press conference. | GERVONTA DAVIS having fun and full of energy during the press conference on May 5, 2024.

Jake Paul won't need any Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) in order to have a gigantic physical size advantage over Gervonta "Tank" Davis when these two fighters meet in the ring on November 14 in Atlanta, Georgia (so long as the fight actually gets sanctioned by the GAEC).

Paul is officially listed at 6'1" and weighed in at 199.4 pounds for his fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. back in June. As for Davis, he's listed at 5'5" (although there's a chance he's even shorter than that) and weighed in at 133.8 pounds for his most recent fight against Lamont Roach Jr. in March of this year.

This unprecedented size disadvantage that Davis is going to have against Paul is one reason why so many boxing fans have been sour to the idea of this fight ever since it was announced last month, and it is also the reason why it will likely have to be an exhibition bout rather than a sanctioned professional fight that will show up on each guy's record.

Jake Paul is closing in to strike Julio Chavez Jr.'s face at the Honda Center in Anaheim California on June 29th, 2025.
Jake Paul is closing in to strike Julio Chavez Jr.'s face at the Honda Center in Anaheim California on June 29th, 2025. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Despite there never having been proof of Jake Paul using PEDs throughout his boxing career, many of his detractors like to claim that he did use them to help him gain strength and an advantage early on, given that he started the sport later than most. And these detractors point to the fact that Paul sometimes has acne as proof that he does take steroids.

Gervonta Davis Makes Comment About Potential Jake Paul PED Usage

While Gervonta Davis has largely been off social media ever since his draw against Lamont Roach, he posted a photo of himself sparring with what looked to be a heavyweight on his Instagram on September 8. This received a reply from Jake Paul that read, "Gervonta sparring a guy with cankles... Buddy bring in a real athlete I'm telling you".

This prompted Gervonta to respond on his own Instagram story, writing, "Hey Jake, don't worry.. I been doing this for a min. But if we get in the ring and later I find out something in ya blood I will not stop.. See you soon tho . #Imtellinyou".

Of course, Davis is referring to PEDs when speaking about finding something in Paul's blood after the fight.

The good news for Davis is that Paul has never actually tested positive for steroids or anything else in his blood, and one would assume he wouldn't be inclined to start now against a guy who is so much smaller than him.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

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.