Fight Fizzles Out: Jake vs Tank Canceled

It’s not a surprise, but now it’s official. The planned Jake vs Tank exhibition fight between social media star and aspiring boxer Jake Paul and WBA World Lightweight champion Gervonta Davis initially scheduled on November 14 in Miami is now canceled.

In a statement issued Monday night, Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix made it plain the card “will no longer be moving forward.”

“Our team has worked closely with all parties to navigate this situation responsibly,” said 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 finalized. We thank Netflix, the Kaseya Center, and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for their partnership.”

Most Valuable Promotions acknowledges its appreciation for “the continued support and understanding of our athletes, partners, sponsors, and fans as we work to finalize updated event plans.”

Fans who purchased tickets via Ticketmaster for the Jake vs Tank event will get an automatic refund through their original point of purchase within 14-21 days. Fans who purchased tickets through secondary markets should contact them directly. For ticket assistance, please contact Ticketoffice@heat.com.

MVP also said it plans a Jake Paul headlined event on Netflix in 2025. That would be in the 58 days left in the year if you don’t have a calendar handy. Note that it didn’t promise a “boxing event,” so stay tuned.

MVP Left With Few Options After Lawsuit

The lackluster promotion for the fight between Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Jake Paul had to factor into the decision, along with the Davis lawsuit. Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Netflix

Boxing fans learned last week about a civil lawsuit filed by Davis’ ex-girlfriend Courtney Rossel in Miami-Dade County (Florida) Court against Davis. The suit accuses Davis of battery, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

According to the filing, Rossel claims she was working at a Miami strip club past midnight on Monday, October 27 when Davis entered the club and attacked her. Rossel describes Davis choking, grabbing, and pushing her, then hitting her in the back of the head. Rossel also claimed Davis had a history of being violent toward her, threatening to kill her on at least four previous occasions before the strip club altercation.

On Saturday, Most Valuable Promotions issued a single statement that it “immediately initiated an investigation” upon learning about the lawsuit, and that it was gathering information.

The scramble was on for a possible replacement for Tank Davis. Among the potential opponents reportedly contacted were former MMA champions Nate Diaz and Francis Ngannou, former heavyweight boxing champions Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder, undisputed super middleweight champion Terence Crawford, Hall of Famer Andre Ward, Ryan Garcia, Edgar Berlanga, and whoever else you care to believe.

Ngannou called the offer “an insult.”

Undercard Fights Featuring Baumgardner, Johnson Now On December 14

There was a significant clue that the card would be moved, if not outright canceled, for smart boxing observers on the International Boxing Federation (IBF) website.  The sanctioning organization had the two title fights involving IBF champions on its boxing calendar today on a new date: December 14, not November 14.

Alycia Baumgardner and Cherneka Johnson will apparently defend their titles in Miami on December 14. For Now. Photo: IBF Website

The venue appears to be the original venue for the card at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.

Jake vs Tank Cursed From The Start

The Jake vs Tank exhibition fight was cursed from the moment it was announced. Initially scheduled to take place in Atlanta, the Georgia State Athletic and Entertainment Commission refused to sanction the fight. The friendlier Florida commission gave the fight its approval.

At the New York and Miami news conferences to promote the fight, Davis rolled in late (not unusual for him) with zero energy and not much to say. Jake Paul did his best to hype things up, but he couldn’t carry the event alone.

Ticket sales had reportedly in the tank, pun intended.

Davis has been fighting with distractions outside the ring for a decade, but now it seems they are getting the better of him. What took the wind out of his sails was the draw with Lamont Roach Jr., which should have been a victory for Roach Jr. and is acknowledged as one even if it says otherwise in BoxRec.

Davis has been checked out, and now with the lawsuit looming, MVP reached a breaking point with Davis. Good.

Davis has been arrested and pled guilty to domestic violence charges more than once against different women. Davis was arrested as recently as August in Miami. The alleged victim, reportedly the mother of Davis’s children, claimed Davis struck her during a fight in June on Father’s Day. Davis made bail and the charges were dropped.

Gervonta Davis served 44 days in jail in 2023 after violating his 90-day house arrest sentence by moving without permission related to a guilty plea in a 2020 hit-and-run case that injured four people. Davis remains on probation through 2026 for this case.

The civil case describes Davis as someone who “has a propensity and pattern of violence upon women.” Davis was caught on social media roughing up a woman at a charity basketball game in Miami in 2020, and the video quickly spread. He was arrested in both 2019 and 2018 for a bar fight and for allegedly assaulting a police officer.

MVP Shows Respect To Its Women Pros

In an article posted earlier here at NY Fights, we pointed out that MVP couldn’t continue doing business with Davis when it positions itself as boxing’s strongest supporter of women in the sport. If this was a factor in MVP deciding to get out of the Jake vs Tank fight business, we stand up and applaud Nakisa Badarian, Jake Paul, and everyone involved.

MVP promotes many of the world’s top female champions. It staged the most-watched women’s sporting event of all time in the first Taylor vs Serrano fight. It staged the first ever all women’s fight card at Madison Square Garden in July in front of a raucous sellout crowd, a huge success.

With three significant women’s world championship fights on the undercard, it would be disrespectful to continue doing business with Tank Davis given the latest development.

Boxing has long looked the other way when world champions commit acts of violence against women or men, for that matter, outside the ring. Floyd Mayweather served six months in jail in Clark County, Nevada. But Davis’s repeated assaults, many committed in full view of video cameras, and improved sensitivity to this societal issue, leave MVP with no real choice.

For the cynics among you who believe the true motivation is more about the lack of ticket sales, then smart fight fans also deserve our compliments. They weren’t buying into this ridiculous fight, even if it was an exhibition. They would rather see Davis in a rematch against Lamont Roach Jr.

What’s Ahead for Tank Davis?

Tank Davis should have given Lamont Roach Jr. a rematch. Instead, he went for a ridiculous money grab against Jake Paul, and then blew that up. Photo: Esther Lin, Premier Boxing Champions

Davis admitted from the start he was only in the Jake Paul fight event for the money. He dropped huge hints about retiring.

Thanks to his own actions, Davis has lost the respect of boxing fans and he’s lost his $40 million payday. He has no one to blame but himself.

Let Davis retire now. He skips the trip to the bank. Given the year he’s just gone through with more legal problems, and a controversial draw against Lamont Roach Jr. in a fight most people believe Davis lost, we predict he won’t return to the ring. Instead of potentially heading to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Davis will become one more cautionary tale in boxing.