Boxing

Jake Paul vs Gervonta Davis Fight In Jeopardy After Major Announcement

A major issue has come up in getting the Jake Paul vs. Gervonta "Tank" Davis fight location finalized.
Grant Young|
IMAGO / NurPhoto

The boxing community is still buzzing about the fact that notorious YouTuber turned professional boxer Jake Paul and reigning WBA lightweight champion Gervonta "Tank" Davis agreed to fight on November 14 in Atlanta, Georgia.

This fight announcement was always going to be massive, given that Paul and Davis are inarguably two of the top five most famous active boxers in the world right now. However, the massive size difference between them has been another reason for discussion (and controversy) since news of them going toe to toe was announced.

Paul came in at 199.4 pounds for his cruiserweight fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. earlier this summer and weighed 209.4 pounds at the time of the actual fight, according to MMA Fighting. As for Davis, he weighted in at 133.8 pounds for his most recent fight, which was a draw against Lamont Roach Jr. on March 1 of this year.

Gervonta Davis
IMAGO / Hoganphotos

This size difference has made it likely that Paul. vs. Davis will be an exhibition bout, given that most commissions wouldn't even consider sanctioning a professional fight between two boxers of such vastly different weights.

However, it appears that even if it's an exhibition, the Georgia commission still isn't fully committed to letting this fight take place.

Georgia Commission Hasn't Approved of Jake Paul vs. Gervonta Davis

A September 2 article from Josh Peter of USA Today noted that the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission (GAEC), which oversees all boxing events in the state, has still not approved this fight taking place.

“The commission hasn’t approved this event yet, but it could still be considered at a future meeting,’’ Robert A. Sinners, Communications Director for the Secretary of State, was quoted as saying in the article.

The story later adds that the next GAEC board meeting is on September 18, which is likely when the fate of this fight will be decided.

It's clear that the weight difference between Paul and Davis is the reason for this potential snag in the fight taking place, as the article noted Georgia's rules and regulations state, "No boxing contest or exhibition may be scheduled, and no boxer may engage in a boxing contest or exhibition without the approval of the commission or the commission's representative if the difference in weight between the boxers exceeds (a maximum of nine pounds)."

Paul and Davis will undoubtedly have more than a nine-pound difference between them.

While there's a lot that has to be worked out, it seems that this superfight (at least its location) is up in the air at the moment.

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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.