A whopping 8-inch (20-centimeter) height difference. And the weight? Just forget it.
When he fought Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Jake Paul tipped the scales at 199.4 pounds. Gervonta Davis, on the other hand, weighed 133.8 pounds when he faced Lamont Roach Jr. on March 1. Yet, the YouTuber-turned-boxer and the lightweight champion are all set for a clash on November 14. At the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, they will headline a Netflix card. It’s a catchweight bout. Still, even for an exhibition, it has attracted considerable attention. Almost verging on skepticism.
But as Queen’s iconic lead singer Freddy Mercury sang, “The Show Must Go On!” Lest the chartbuster’s opening lines, “Empty spaces, what are we living for?” reverberate before even they exchanged jabs, Jake Paul and his team cranked up the hype. And to that end, they roped in a well-known face – 27-year-old Hollywood star Sydney Sweeney.
JUST IN: Gervonta Davis Hints At Jake Paul PED Usage During
A star-studded voice for Jake Paul vs. Gervonta Davis
“Guys only want one thing… Jake vs. Tank 🍿,” the Instagram post from Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) read. A few details about the upcoming pressers: ” Press conference tour is going down. ⬇️
📍 NYC – Wednesday, Sept 17 | 6PM ET Palladium Theatre 📍 ATL – Thursday, Sept 18 | 6PM ET State Farm Arena.”
So the video has Sydney Sweeney showing up like a genie. “Let’s face it, guys only want one thing,” she says. A collage of Jake Paul and Gervonta Davis‘ clips follows. So far, so good. Only, the video was edited. To begin with, Sweeney’s dialogue and footage actually pertain to the ‘Dr. Squatch Natural Body Wash’ promotional video that was released last October.
It’s an exhibition, a spectacle. Still, the sheer physical mismatch has attracted scathing criticism across the board. ‘USA Today‘ shared the reaction of a top official from the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission (GAEC). “This is the dumbest (expletive) I’ve ever heard. It’s a money grabber, and I’m not OK with that,” he’s reported to have said.
Hence, considering the widespread backlash, it’s understandable that Jake Paul and Tank’s team are taking up the cudgels to hype the duel.
It may be big, but it’s still an exhibition
One only needs to listen to Terence Crawford. The world champion is days short of the momentous clash with Canelo Alvarez. Yet, the noise of the Jake Paul-Gervonta Davis exhibition echoed in his ears as well. Speaking about the matchup, the former undisputed champion said, “I don’t think it’s a real fight. They’re going in to make money. Jake is too big, and if he connects, it could be over quickly.”
“If they’re really going to fight, Jake is too big. Tank won’t be able to get past that jab. This could be over in seconds,” he told the ‘Full Send‘ podcast. Days before, similar thoughts were shared by Tank’s team as well. Comparing the November 14 match with the 1976 mixed fight between Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki, coach Barry Hunter shared how fans love these types of bouts.
Stressing that it’s going to be a ‘good exhibition,’ co-trainer Boog Williams added, “I don’t think it’s going to be what you saw in Tyson and Jake Paul. You know what I’m saying? You know, man, Tyson is a little old in age now, but you know, like, I’ve been seeing Tank spar with bigger guys. So, I think it’ll be—it’s going to be a good one.”
So fans should expect more publicity in the days to come. Even for a non-professional fight, they shouldn’t miss the tussle between a cruiserweight contender and a lightweight title holder.
