Jake Paul cancels Gervonta Davis battle after newest home violence accusations
Jake Paul has cancelled his fight with Gervonta Davis after the boxer was accused of battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping by an ex-girlfriend
Jake Paul has cancelled his fight with Gervonta Davis following serious allegations against ‘Tank’, including battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping by an ex-girlfriend.
The pair were set to clash in an exhibition match in Miami on November 14, despite the significant weight difference between lightweight Davis and cruiserweight Paul. Whilst the contest wouldn’t count towards their professional records, a victor would still be announced either through stoppage or via two human judges plus an AI official if it went the full distance.
However, Most Valuable Promotions has opted to find a replacement opponent for Paul, with the YouTuber-turned-boxer branding Davis “an actual walking human piece of garbage”.
Davis hasn’t yet addressed the claims, though his trainer Calvin Ford dismissed them as “nonsense”. The legal action alleges Davis assaulted former girlfriend Courtney Rossel at her workplace on October 27 and had previously made death threats against her.
Ms Rossel further claims Davis “physically assaulted and choked” her on at least four separate occasions, seeking £50,000 in damages and a jury trial.
“Our team has worked closely with all parties to navigate this situation responsibly,” stated Nakisa Bidarian, CEO of Most Valuable Promotions. “While we will not be moving forward with this event, our plan still remains for Jake Paul to headline an event on Netflix in 2025.
“Details regarding a new date, location, Jake’s opponent, and additional bouts will be shared as soon as they are finalised.”
Paul posted on social media: “Working with him is an absolute nightmare. The unprofessionalism, the bizarre requests, the showing up hours late to shoots. To the numerous arrests and related accusations and lawsuits. If you support this man you support the most vile sin a man can commit… I’m so sorry to everyone involved.”
“I didn’t want to give this woman abuser a platform to grow his fans and to grow his bank account. My company champions women. I’m so sorry to everyone involved. Mostly to the undercard fighters, to my team at MVP and to my team who worked so hard prepping for this fight.
“Sacrificing time with loved ones and kids just for this fool to lose his unintelligent mind again. It’s scary that devilish men like this can rise to the top of culture and sports, including in positions of power.”
Eddie Hearn didn’t dismiss the possibility of a shock bout between Paul and Anthony Joshua over the weekend. Speaking to iFL TV, he declared: “Just let me know where.”
Hearn’s remarks followed his earlier suggestion that it was improbable Joshua would step into the ring again before 2024 ends.
He stated: “I don’t want to confirm it because you never know but I think it’s very unlikely. At the moment, we’re all working towards our February date which is getting very close to being confirmed.
“Now, would there be a run out in 2025? Again, never say never. What I will say to you is he’s four or five weeks deep into camp so he’s on me to fight.
“Previously he hadn’t been training in camp with intensity. He wasn’t really looking to fight other than February but now he’s almost ready to go so I think realistically as we move into November, February will be the return date but never say never.”
