Jake Paul vs. Gervonta Davis fight: Social media superstar to face ‘Tank’ in exhibition bout in November

After negotiating to face the most dangerous challenge of his career in the form of two-time former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, Jake Paul has now pivoted to a fight with current WBA lightweight champ Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Paul will meet Davis in an exhibition bout at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Nov. 14 that airs live on Netflix, the streaming service announced on Wednesday.

The announcement is strange, as Paul has fought his career at cruiserweight, with the exception of his fight with Mike Tyson, which was held at heavyweight. That makes for a roughly 65-pound difference in where the two men regularly compete as Davis owns a title in the 135-pound division.

Paul had set his sights on the Joshua fight, which was a significant departure from how Paul had approached his boxing career.

Paul began by defeating fellow social media influencer AnEsonGib, former NBA player Nate Robinson and a series of former UFC fighters before losing a close decision to Tommy Fury in 2023. Paul went on to defeat a few more former UFC fighters and two low-level boxers before defeating Tyson in a box office smash that disappointed in action, and most recently, took a decision over former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

All of those opponents have been from outside the world of boxing, or undersized, or well past their prime, outside of Fury. So, the negotiations with Joshua were surprising.

Instead, Paul will now face Davis in a bout that will not count on either man’s professional record, but the influencer-turned-boxer talked up the fight in a post on X while also hinting that the Joshua fight could follow.

“Gervonta who has been disrespecting my name for too long,” Paul wrote. “His nickname might be Tank, but I’m an FPV drone and I’m about to disable tiny boy. Yes, he’s 1 of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world, but my motto is anyone, anytime, anyplace, against all odds. And I like my odds. First, I am going to kill David, then I will go on to slaughter Goliath.”

Davis is the far more accomplished fighter, with several titles in his career and some of the best skills in the sport. But he’ll be giving up a lot of size to Paul, and not only in weight, as Davis is eight inches shorter.

Davis had been linked to a rematch with Lamont Roach Jr. after the two fighters battled to a controversial draw in March in a fight many believe Roach won. The draw kept Davis perfect as a professional at 30-0-1.

The Roach rematch fell apart after Davis was arrested on July 11 for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend. Those charges were dropped on Aug. 12 after the alleged victim declined to press charges.