Why Jake Paul’s Now Fighting Anthony Joshua Instead of Gervonta Davis

Longtime boxing fans and avid fans of the sport collectively groan whenever they hear about a new Jake Paul fight. The YouTuber-turned-pugilist has managed to leverage his internet fame and continued practice of the sweet science into big business. Love him or hate him, his bouts draw in massive numbers: His Netflix bout against Tyson even crashed the platform with how many simultaneous viewers were brought in.

His next contest was slated to be against the much lighter Gervonta "Tank" Davis, one of the biggest names in the sport with an impressive resume of wins to back it up. However, the fight was ultimately canceled. So what happened?

Friday, Nov. 14, was originally when Paul and Davis were supposed to step inside the squared circle under the shining lights of the Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla.. However, that fight was canceled after domestic abuse allegations were levied against Tank.

The news was shared by Most Valuable Promotions (the fight promo business co-founded by Paul) in an official statement on Nov. 3. It reads: "Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix have announced that Jake Paul vs. Gervonta Davis, originally scheduled for Friday, Nov. 14 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla., will no longer be moving forward."

The press release continued with a statement from the company's CEO, Nakisa Bidarian: "Our team has worked closely with all parties to navigate this situation responsibly ... 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 finalized. We thank Netflix, the Kaseya Center, and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for their partnership."

The write-up also told fans who purchased tickets that they would be automatically refunded and that a new event slated for 2025 would indeed happen.

During a press conference prior to the bout cancellation, Paul referenced allegations of Davis purportedly hitting a woman. Tank responded, stating that he's had relationships with several women and that if he were physically abusive, other women would indeed lash out.

Most Valuable Promotions didn't waste any time in finding a replacement fight for Jake Paul. Replacing Gervonta Davis is former boxing heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Paul commented on the size difference between the two, which he illustrated with cardboard cut-outs of each.

The bout between Joshua and Paul is slated to take place on Friday, Dec.19, a little over a month after his initial fight against Tank. Like before, this contest is also set to take place at the Kaseya center.

The 36-year-old Joshua stands at 6'6" and has regularly weighed in at over 250lbs for his fights. While he is coming off a knockout loss against Daniel Dubois in September 2024, Joshua is a former champion.

He lost two hard-fought contests against fellow boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk (unanimous decision and split decision) and went on to improve his record with four more wins, one of which came against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, whom Joshua knocked out in the second round of their fight. This means that Joshua isn't a stranger to high-profile matches.

Paul's decision to fight Joshua may silence a lot of his critics. Joshua, while not a young fighter in his prime, did fight competitively against a ranked heavyweight opponent just a year ago and is a title holder. Ire from viewers unhappy that Paul seemed reluctant to go against an "actual" boxer closer to his weight class. Paul previously fought Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., where he won a unanimous decision. The fight was set at a 200lb weight limit.

This means that Paul has already fought a legitimate boxer in Chavez Jr., who had a record of 54 wins and 7 losses, with 34 of those victories coming by way of knockout. Do you think Paul has a shot against Joshua? Or will the English pugilist make easy work of the influencer-turned-fighter?