A bombshell dropped late last week when a civil suit was filed against world champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis is accused by an ex-girlfriend of battery, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The case now puts his exhibition fight against Jake Paul set for Friday, November 14th, in Miami, in jeopardy.
According to reports, Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions is actively pursuing a replacement mentioning Ryan Garcia, Nate Diaz and even Anthony Joshua.
One after another, each one of those possible replacements have fallen off.
As soon as Garcia, who is signed to Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya publicly nixed the idea by simply regarding the boxing world they both work for two completely different platforms. Since Garcia is signed to Golden Boy and Golden Boy has a contract with DAZN, it is not possible for the fighter from Southern California to fight Paul on Netflix.
Rumors say Diaz is off the table since Netflix would not accept the former UFC fighter as a viable opponent for such big event.
As far as the former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, his promotor Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, who also has an exclusive agreement with DAZN, stated, “many things must fall into place. Without DAZN’s consent or blessing, or a deal that they are happy with, wouldn’t move forward anyway.”
As far as Joshua’s willingness to face Paul, according to Hearn, he simply stated, “just let me know when and where.”
If the Paul vs Davis exhibition would fall through, it would not be the first a fight of this magnitude has fallen of the wayside for reasons outside of boxing. In fact, it is not even the first exhibition fight with major names that has not happened recently.
Just last year the mentioned Ryan Garcia did not go through with this exhibition fight against Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo when Golden Boy Promotions blocked because of Garcia’s exclusive contract with them.
In 1993, the potential undisputed heavyweight showdown between Lennox Lewis and Riddick Bowe did not happen despite being ordered by the sanctioning bodies. Bowe refused to negotiate with Lewis’ promotor and publicly dumped his WBC title into the trash.
The Lamont Peterson vs Amir Khan rematch was canceled after Peterson tested positive for synthetic testosterone. The Nevada State Athletic Commission denied his license and the fight was scrapped days before the event.
Set for October 2022 in London, the much-anticipated Conor Benn vs Chris Eubank Jr was cancelled after Benn tested positive for a banned substance. The British Boxing Board of Control prohibited the bout in the interest of the sport.
It is not even the first Jake Paul fight that has been cancelled.
In 2022 the announced fight in Madison Square Garden against Haim Rahman Jr collapsed after Rahman Jr failed to make the agreed weight and contractual terms fell apart.
Other Musings
-This past October 30th in Montreal, Canada, Mikaela Mayer captured the WBA and vacant WBC and WBO super welterweight titles against an established Mary Spencer with a unanimous decision. In my opinion, Mayer put on the best performance of the year, male or female, taking the fight to Spencer, a career 154 pounder, in her first fight in the division.
-During the WBO annual convention last week in Bogota, Colombia, it was announced WBO super featherweight champion Emmanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete will unify against IBF champion Eduardo “Sugar” Nuñez in early 2026, more than likely in a venue in the United States.
-Former WBC 140-pound champion Chantelle Cameron has left the title vacate following in the footsteps of MVP stablemates Amanda Serrano and Alycia Baumgardner. The reason? In protest of the WBC’s archaic rule for 2-minute rounds and ten-round championship fights.
