Jake Paul will face Gervonta “Tank” Davis in a boxing match on Nov. 14 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Netflix announced Wednesday. The bout is expected to be the biggest test to date for Paul, a social media star with 28 million followers on Instagram and 21 million followers on YouTube.
Paul (12-1) became a professional boxer in January 2020 and has impressed despite limited experience in the ring. He has faced criticism for his competition, however. Most of his opponents have been nonboxers — a former NBA Slam Dunk champion in Nate Robinson, and MMA fighters like Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, Ben Askren and Mike Perry. He beat a 59-year-old Mike Tyson, and his lone loss came to boxer Tommy Fury, the half-brother of former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Paul, 28, is coming off a unanimous decision against former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in June.
Davis is without question Paul’s most heralded opponent. The 30-year-old WBA lightweight champion is one of the sport’s top talents, amassing a 30-0-1 record. Though he stands just 5-foot-5, Davis is known for his vicious punching power and has 28 knockouts in his career.
He most recently retained his belt with a majority decision draw against Lamond Roach Jr. in March. Davis’ boxing career was in jeopardy after he was arrested on July 11 in an alleged domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend. According to the Miami-Dade County Clerk’s Office, a misdemeanor battery charge against Davis was dropped.
Paul vs. Davis is the latest boxing match promoted by Netflix as it gets more involved in live sports. Paul’s bout with Tyson last November, for example, peaked at 65 million streams, according to the streaming service. Netflix is also promoting Terence Crawford vs. Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 13, and has WWE Raw and multiple NFL games on Christmas Day.
Not everyone in the boxing world is happy Paul vs. Davis is happening.
Ryan Garcia, a former WBC interim lightweight champion who lost to Davis in 2023, wrote on social media that “boxing is officially the WWE … integrity of the sport is getting ruined every day.”
Source link
