It has been a rocky road for the Gervonta Davis vs. Jake Paul exhibition fight. The bout was originally announced for November 14th at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, but it quickly ran into hurdles. Facing strong opposition from one of Georgia’s top boxing officials, the fight was soon relocated to Miami, Florida. “You can’t do a fight like that as a pro fight,’’ Timothy Shipman, executive director of the Florida Athletic Commission, told USA TODAY Sports. “It’ll be an exhibition fight.’’
The biggest issue stems from the glaring weight disparity between the two men. Gervonta Davis last fought at 133 ¾ pounds, while Jake Paul tipped the scales at 199 ½ pounds in his most recent outing—a staggering 66-pound difference. Shipman noted that the number of rounds and glove weight are still to be finalized. However, the waiver for the fight does require both fighters to wear “larger gloves” to provide extra protection and reduce the risk of injury. Ryan Garcia, though, believes this setup could actually favor Paul.
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Ryan Garcia predicts doom for Gervonta Davis
Since Shipman’s update, Ryan Garcia has weighed in with a blunt assessment of how the rules could play out on fight night. “Bigger gloves helps Jake more then you know,” Garcia wrote on X earlier today in response to the development. Davis, known for his knockout power, has earned a reputation as one of boxing’s most dangerous finishers. But according to Garcia, the larger gloves combined with Paul’s natural size advantage tilt the balance in Paul’s favor.
“Gervonta has a chance to hurt Jake with smaller gloves but that was hard even so bc of Jake’s size and now you give him big gloves forget it,” Garcia added in a follow-up tweet. “Jake will be super comfortable with this change watch.” Of course, Garcia’s opinion comes with history—he was stopped by Davis in April 2023 via seventh-round knockout. Still, while Garcia predicts Paul will benefit most from the rule changes, does it really matter?
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It’s important to note that as an exhibition, the fight won’t produce an official winner or loser. Exhibition bouts don’t affect professional records and are staged primarily for entertainment rather than competition. Despite that, predictions for the fight continue to pour in.
Dana White provides a surprise prediction for Jake Paul vs. Davis
Dana White and Jake Paul aren’t exactly the best of buddies, having clashed for several years. However, the UFC CEO recently offered a surprising take on Paul’s upcoming clash with Gervonta Davis. Speaking on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast, White admitted he respects Davis’ skills but questioned the matchup.
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“You guys need to fight guys your f—ing same size,” he told Logan. “Gervonta, I think, hits way harder than f—— Floyd, but he’s too small. Your brother’s going to be able to get inside on him, put his weight on him, tie him up.” Despite Davis’ knockout reputation, White believes Paul’s physical advantages could decide the fight.
That said, despite Gervonta Davis’ history of dominance, many experts are leaning toward Jake Paul in a fight that technically isn’t supposed to have a winner. Still, the debate continues—what do you think?