Boxing

Shocking Jake Paul vs Gervonta Davis Size Difference Has Boxing Fans Furious After Faceoff

The first face off between Jake Paul and Gervonta "Tank" Davis is catching the ire of boxing fans.
Grant Young|
American professional boxer, influencer and actor Jake Paul arrives at the Netflix Live Event on July 10, 2025.
American professional boxer, influencer and actor Jake Paul arrives at the Netflix Live Event on July 10, 2025. | IMAGO / NurPhoto

The biggest reason why fans were upset about the announcement that Jake Paul would be fighting Gervonta "Tank" Davis in an exhibition bout in November is the ridiculous size difference between them.

Paul is listed at 6'1" and last fought as a cruiserweight, which has a 200-pound weight limit. Gervonta Davis is listed at 5'5" (although there's a case to be made that he's even shorter than that) and last fought as a lightweight, which has a 135-pound weight limit.

This difference in weight is why the fight had to be moved from its initial venue in Atlanta, Georgia, to Miami, Florida. The Georgia commission, which would have overseen the event, refused to sanction a fight between such vastly different-sized boxers, even if it was an exhibition.

Gervonta "Tank" Davis during an April 20, 2023 press conference.
Gervonta "Tank" Davis during an April 20, 2023 press conference. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

While the boxing community was well aware that Jake and Tank were in different stratospheres when it came to size, these two hadn't been side by side until this fight's initial press conference on September 22. Therefore, when these two faced off, it marked the first time that the boxing world could actually see the stark size difference between them.

And fans aren't happy about what they saw.

Boxing Fans React to Jake Paul, Gervonta Davis Size Difference

An MMA podcast called Show Me The Money Podcast's X account posted a photo of Paul and Davis doing a face off with the caption, "The size difference between Jake Paul and Tank Davis is INSANE🤯".

The post has been altered, making Davis look smaller than he did in the actual face-off. Still, the post has gone viral, amassing nearly 1 million views in about 12 hours. And the general reaction has been negative, to say the least.

"they only fight old men, disabled folks, or guys half their size. never someone on their level," one fan commented on the photo.

"This isn't a fight it's scripted entertainment.. only way this b******* gets 'sanctioned'," @Murcie_Lago added.

@Blow_My_Ego said: "As a collective we need to blackball this BS so they stop thinking this is cool".

There have been numerous other similar reactions.

Another video of Paul looking down on Davis is also going viral, with the caption being, "Jake Paul looking at Gervonta Davis like he’s a little kid in their first face off 😭💀".

Jake also got in on the fun, making his own X post that read, "Bring your kid to work day".

Despite the negative reaction to this size difference, many fans will still surely be tuning in to see how Davis can handle a much bigger opponent.

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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.