Copyright Athlon Sports
The boxing world was polarized by the surprise announcement of a Nov. 14 exhibition clash between social media superstar Jake Paul and longtime boxing champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Scheduled for the Kaseya Center in Miami and set to be broadcast on Netflix, the event promised a unique spectacle, complete with rules sanctioning knockouts and the novel inclusion of an AI judge alongside two human officials. However, just two weeks before the fight, the event’s future was cast into doubt following a civil lawsuit filed against Davis containing severe allegations of domestic violence. According to a report from Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, Jake Paul’s team is now actively preparing to find a replacement opponent for the November 14 card. Mannix posted on X (formerly Twitter), announcing the development: Davis’ legal issues could potentially require him to attend a civil trial, placing the high-profile fight in serious limbo. As of now, the bout remains officially on the schedule, but the situation is still rapidly evolving with no replacement names yet reported. The crisis emerges from a civil lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County by Davis’s ex-girlfriend, Courtney Rossel. The lawsuit accuses the boxer of battery, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping, and intentional infliction of emotional distress stemming from an alleged incident in the early hours of October 27 at a Miami gentlemen’s club where Rossel worked. The lawsuit, which is publicly available, references at least four previous incidents where Davis is accused of physically assaulting and choking Rossel, accompanied by threats to kill her on multiple occasions. This is not the first time Davis has faced legal repercussions. He was arrested on previous battery and domestic violence charges in 2020 and 2022, though a separate case from July of this year was dropped after the accuser declined to prosecute. ESPN and other outlets have reached out to both Davis’s representatives and Jake Paul’s promotion, Most Valuable Promotions, but have not received responses regarding the fight’s status. It is still not clear what will happen to this fight. It could get cancelled completely, get postponed to a later date when Davis is no longer dealing with the lawsuit, or Davis could be replaced with another last-minute opponent.
