The boxing world is coming to terms with Gervonta Davis boxing Jake Paul in an exhibition later this year.
Paul entered professional boxing with a vast following on social media. Still essentially a novice pro, he might have lost to Tommy Fury but has beaten big-name MMA fighters in boxing, outpointed a 58-year-old Mike Tyson and most recently defeated a former world champion in Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
However when he meets Davis in November he’ll be boxing a current world champion who’s 30 years old. The complication is that Davis is a lightweight, and Paul boxes at cruiserweight and above.
That is a significant difference. Paul is about six foot one inch tall and around 200lbs, Davis just over five foot five and he boxes at 135lbs.
Further details, about a weight limit for this exhibition, the size of the gloves and number and duration of the rounds, are still to be confirmed.
But it’s an event that will divide opinion in the sport. In terms of ability, Davis is one of the most highly regarded boxers in the world. But instead of taking a rematch with Lamont Roach, who held him to a draw last time out, or taking on a rival world champion like Shakur Stevenson, Davis has elected to box someone whose career-best win probably came against Anderson Silva.
Judged on skill level and in-ring accomplishments, there should be no comparison between Davis and Paul. But the gulf in weight between them is huge and it’s hard to envisage how that will shape proceedings when they step into the ring.
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Johnny Fisher, Gary Logan, and Andy Scott debate whether Jake Paul should face Anthony Joshua after Paul was granted a top 15 world ranking by the WBA.
Heavyweight contender David Adeleye thinks it won’t, necessarily, be a straightforward outing for Davis.
“Let’s just say Gervonta doesn’t train and he comes in heavy and he’s carrying excess,” Adeleye told the Toe2Toe podcast.
“If Jake Paul’s tucking up and absorbing punishment, walking forward, walking forward, then there’s a weight advantage.
“It’s dangerous. If Jake does anything kind of okay, he will show a lot of people why there’s weight classes in this sport. But Gervonta Davis is a skilled fighter, he’s world level.”
Trainer and Sky Sports Boxing pundit Gary Logan added: “70lbs is 70lbs. Joey Maxim wasn’t supposed to beat a Ray Robinson that went up from middleweight to light-heavyweight and a combination of the temperature that night and his mass, all he did was just keep walking Ray Robinson down.”
But he still criticised Davis’ decision to take part in this exhibition, saying: “He’s obviously, sadly, not about legacy. He’s not about legacy. The great fighters, the fighters that want to be great, alright they want to get paid but they’re about legacy. They’re about where do I stand in history.”
He added: “This is what boxing has become. Boxing is now threatening to eat itself.”
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Jake Paul says a fight against Anthony Joshua fight is looking likely for next year, and admits he wants the ‘challenge’. Pictures courtesy of MVP.
Adeleye thinks Davis might have “fallen out of love” with boxing.
“Probably doesn’t like how certain things are, doesn’t like the business, certain things behind closed doors. Obviously had his last fight, he’s probably seen how all of his supporters have turned on him and he’s probably thought: ‘You know what, I’m doing it for me now. Because these people aren’t going to be here for me,'” the heavyweight suggested.
“He’s looking at it as he’s going to get more money to fight Jake Paul as he’s ever going to get to fight somebody else. So he’s taking it.”
Adeleye though doesn’t blame Davis for that. “If that opportunity was given to a lot of fighters, a lot of fighters would take it,” he said.
“There’s no fighter that’s going to sit there and say I don’t want that fight.”
