Even after being around for five years in the sport, Jake Paul is still a bit of a gray area in boxing. Both fans and fellow boxers have a mixed opinion when it comes to the YouTuber turned-boxer, who many feel cherry-picks fights against out-of-prime UFC stars and ageing legends like Mike Tyson. He is thus disliked by purists. Yet, casual fans love him for his knockout spectacles and his promotional antics. But then, last year, after his win over Iron Mike, of all boxers, he called out Gervonta Davis for a fight.
The ludicrous nature of the matchup surprised everyone. But then, in March, a shocking revelation arrived that suggested a potential fight between the two was in the works next, until the WBA lightweight champion’s upset draw with Lamont Roach Jr. Then, in April, Jake Paul confirmed that the talks were in fact true and he was supposed to fight the Baltimore native. For most boxing fans, the matchup is as weird as it can get. With Gervonta Davis at 135 lbs and Jake Paul at 200 lbs, there is a massive 65 lbs weight difference between the two. Still, many feel Tank’s ring IQ and knockout power are enough to nullify the massive weight gap. But not his longtime rival and WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson.
Shakur Stevenson doesn’t see a knockout
Yesterday, Shakur Stevenson was on the radio show, The Breakfast Club. Talking to the hosts, DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha God, and Jess Hilarious, the Newark, New Jersey native, in his nearly 27-minute-long chat, discussed his upcoming fight with William Zepeda and a potential fight with Tank Davis later in the year. And so naturally, Jake Paul’s name came up.
Charlamagne Tha God said that if the WBA lightweight champion doesn’t knock out the Problem Child within the first 30-45 seconds, he won’t see it as a real fight, pointing out the rumors that the Mike Tyson fight was rigged. Stevenson immediately interjected: “Whoa, whoa! Why do you feel that way? Jake is big, bro. Tank is little. Jake Paul is like 200-plus on the regular.”
But Charlamagne suggested that the Baltimore native’s power is enough to clean Paul up quickly. However, the 27-year-old southpaw didn’t think it was a valid point. To him, weight was just as important a factor as power. “The power—like, I get the power is real, I get all of that. But at the end of the day, that’s [Paul’] a man that’s like almost a hundred pounds bigger than him [Tank],” Shakur Stevenson posited before adding, “So I don’t see it. I don’t see no knockout.“
Yet, does discussing the weight gap even matter if the fight is not going to happen anytime soon?
Jake Paul still certain of the Gervonta Davis fight
Initially, the Gervonta Davis-Jake Paul fight was to be scheduled after Davis’s March 1 title defense against Lamont Roach Jr., in Brooklyn this year. But, a controversial knee Tank took in the ninth round, which referee Steve Willis had refused to rule a knockdown in Roach’s favor, led many to believe contributed to the fight being a majority draw rather than win for Roach Jr. Davis retained his title, though both parties agreed to a rematch in July this year to decide the deserved winner.
With that said, Jake Paul, who Fight Hype TV jointly interviewed with Amanda Serrano in April, opened up about the fight negotiations. “[We were] almost ready to make [it] happen. But he [Tank] now has to do his rematch with Lamont [Roach] and get that W, then we can run it back. But me and Gervonta were scheduled to fight for sure,” Paul revealed.
So, it seems like it is not a matter of if, but when. Those who wish to see Gervonta Davis fight Jake Paul would surely need to wait until the end of the year to see the bout. Are you awaiting for the fight? Or is it a fight that you would rather not see?
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