Jake vs Tank Face to Face: Paul and Davis Light Up NYC

 In the first of their face-to-face kickoff press conferences on Monday at Palladium Theater in New York City, Jake Paul and Gervonta “Tank” Davis gave the fans what they wanted: a look at the two standing up close, face to face.

It was as ridiculous as everyone imagined. In his last fight on June 28, the 6-foot-1 Jake Paul officially weighed 199.5 pounds. In Tank Davis’s last fight on March 1, the 5-foot-5 Davis weighed 133.8 pounds. The lightest Paul has ever come in was against Tommy Fury, when he hit the scale at 183.8 pounds.

Jake Paul joked that he would spar eight year olds to prepare for his Nov. 14 exhibition with Gervonta ‘Tank” Davis. Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Netflix

Paul will have a weight limit of 195 pounds for this fight. Davis can weigh whatever he wants.

The viral moment was dished out and gobbled up and it will continue to feed the video jockeys and clickbait chasers until the matchup on November 14 at Kaseya Center in Miami.

Among The Trash Talk, Truth About Jake vs Tank

Paul insists he’s taking this as a serious challenge, saying he will use his reach and size.

“There are a lot of holes in his defense a lot of people haven’t exposed before. I’m excited, he’s elevated me to a new height. I’m more locked in than ever,” said Paul. But he acknowledged boxing fans won’t respect a win.

“They’ll never give me credit until I have the world championship belt. That’s OK. Belts collect dust … I don’t need the credit from these bozos, to be honest. The credit is in my bank account,” said Paul.

THERE is the truth of why this fight is being made. Davis’s next statement reinforced this reality, and Davis revealed more than he may have intended about why he’s taking the fight and how he sees his boxing career.

“He said he’s gonna out-box me? Whoop-de-do,” said Davis.

How does Davis intend to prevail?

“I don’t want to put a lot out there. I’m doing what’s best for me and what’s right for me,” said Davis. “I’ve been doing it since I was seven years old. This is the first camp where I can enjoy myself and be myself.

“Even the rematch of the Roach fight, it was more so… I don’t want to get too much into it. November 14, you got Jake Paul and me. I think it’s going to be a great event. Every time I fight, it’s fireworks. JP is much bigger and stronger. Boxing wins November 14,” said Davis.

At least Davis admits he’s in it for family, which is boxing code for ‘I’m in it for the payday.’ There is nothing wrong with this. It’s called prizefighting for a reason.

A few minutes later, Davis revisited the topic with even more honesty.

Did the poor performance against Lamont Roach Jr. cause Tank Davis to reconsider his boxing career and take one last fight with Jake Paul? Photo: Premier Boxing Champions

“Now that I’m looking at it, this was a good thing, us fighting. We come from two different sides of the world. We’re still on the same path to get the same thing. I think it’s all good.  My headspace that I’m in now is way better than I was before. That’s the only thing that matters to me. This fight’s going to be exciting. It’s going to do a lot of numbers.

We’re two guys from different worlds still on one goal: to make sure our family, our kids is OK. Shoutout to Jake Paul for coming with me and making this event happen,” said Davis.

Paul provided enough spicy insults to keep things interesting. Paul said he’s training for the fight by “hitting below my knees” and claiming he’s sparring eight-year-olds.

Davis responded that he would beat Paul’s ass, but also said he takes someone of Paul’s size seriously.

“We don’t want to say it, but things can go sideways. We’re not taking him lightly. We’re taking Jake Paul as a real fighter. It’s going to be good for the sport. I’m just glad to be here,” said Davis.

Paul then proceeded to verbally hit Davis below the belt.

“I’m going to knock him out. He has a lot of flaws in his defense. Look what Lamont Roach did to him. I’m Lamont Roach’s karmic retribution,” said Paul.

Davis was asked how much he expects to weigh on fight night, and Paul quipped, “With or without the ankle monitor on.” Davis said later he didn’t know.

“That’s corny,” Davis responded. “That’s super corny.”

The two traded insults about Paul’s mohawk hairstyle and the recent domestic violence allegations against Davis, which hardly seem like topics of equal weight. But that’s what this fight is all about.

With this, someone dressed as a clown walked out on stage and made a balloon animal for Davis, which resembled a dog.

As Davis fidgeted with the balloon, he left fans a few more breadcrumbs about his future.

“Y’all want me to lose. When you see people in the limelight too long, they want somebody else to take that spot. That’s what happened to Floyd. It turned from love to hate,” said Davis. Asked point-blank if he planned to retire after this fight, Davis paused, finally saying, “Right now, I’m just doing me right now.”

And if he should lose, how would it affect his legacy? “Ah… I’m not really … I’m not sure. I’m not really big on it, I don’t care at this moment.”

Paul said he’s gunning for a knockout, saying he had manifested a vision of it. “I’m excited to deliver that for the fans, and have one of the most viral knockouts ever.” This is against the rules of an exhibition, but who’s noticing such details? Paul also said he’s still interested in fighting Canelo Alvarez.

What Are The Fight Rules?

The rules for the exhibition bout between Jake Paul and Gervonta Davis on November 14 in Miami. Photo: Most Valuable Promotions

Jake and Paul will fight ten rounds of three minutes, a standard non-title professional boxing match. It will be a breeze for Davis, who, as a world champion, is used to 12 three-minute rounds, the standard for male world title fights in boxing. Paul has fought ten rounds twice; the first time against Nate Diaz, and the second time in his last fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.on June 28. Paul generally fights eight three-minute rounds.

Both fighters will wear 12-ounce gloves. Davis is used to competing in eight-ounce gloves, which are the standard for boxers who compete in the welterweight division or lower.

Paul has fought all but one of his fights wearing ten-ounce gloves. The exception was against Mike Tyson, where both men wore 14-ounce gloves.

Paul vs Davis will take place as an exhibition bout. It will not count toward either man’s official professional boxing record. As part of the event, there will be three commission-approved judges who will score the bout to determine a “winner” if the fight goes the distance.

But don’t get too worked up about a winner or loser. That’s not what this fight is about.

This fight is a money grab that a legitimate world champion made possible. It seems more likely than not that Tank Davis is looking for a big payout before he retires. 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. But he will make a nice trip to the bank.

Jake vs Tank Moves the Road Show To Miami on Tuesday

The second press conference takes place at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, September 23, at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, and will feature Jake, Tank, and additional fighters on the card to be announced soon. Like Monday’s event, it will be hosted by Brian Custer.

Ticket presale for Jake vs. Tank begins Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, September 24 at 12 noon ET on Ticketmaster.com. Fans can sign up for pre-sale on JakevsTank.com.