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Jake Paul is two weeks away from getting back in the ring, and once again there isn’t exactly a perfect opponent in the other corner of the ring.
On November 14, Paul will face Gervonta “Tank” Davis, who normally fights seven weight classes below cruiserweight Paul, in Miami.
This fight is not sanctioned, but as Paul pointed out in a recent interview with Pakinomist Digital, “It’s the same deal. Everybody remembers there’s a winner.”
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Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Jake Paul face off during a “Jake vs. Tank” kickoff press conference at the Palladium Times Square in New York on September 22, 2025. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Paul has been criticized for fighting Mike Tyson (31 years his senior), Anderson Silva (a former UFC star almost 22 years his senior) and boxers like Andre August and Ryan Bourland – not exactly household names. The same criticism is coming again for Davis because of the weight class difference, but Paul, who has constantly talked about his goals to become a world champion (he is eligible for a WBA title fight), argued that this fight is another one that proves his legitimacy as a boxer.
“I think people have said, ‘Fight someone your age, fight one of the best in the world’. This is answering both of those things at once,” he said. “And to be the underdog with half the internet thinking I’m going to get killed and blah, blah, blah, and prove to people that I can box better than someone who’s been doing it their whole life. I think people will be shocked after fight night in terms of my skills and how I strategically came in with a game plan and I executed it.”
That game plan, Paul said, is completely different from his previous one.
“A lot of it is a focus on speed, but also just high-level thinking in the sport, ring IQ, not making any mistakes. Not getting tackled, not getting lazy at any point, alertness, all these things. The list goes on,” he said. “But I have to be the sharpest I’ve ever been for 39 minutes straight, and that’s not easy to do against someone who’s one of the best pound-for-pound.”
Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Jake Paul face each other during a press conference at the Kaseya Center on September 23, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images for Netflix)
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The fight is not sanctioned, which of course would warrant claims that the fight, like almost all of his others, is staged, fixed or rigged to some degree. These allegations reached the point where Paul and his business partner, Nakisa Bidarian, threatened to take legal action, particularly against Piers Morgan.
Morgan “clarified” his comments shortly after Paul and Bidarian said Morgan should expect a lawsuit, and Paul has since noted silence.
“People haven’t been talking. And rightfully so, right?” he said. “Like, stop lying on my name. People can say a lot of things, but when they’re blatant lies that actually slander my brand, people saying fights are rigged, steroids, whatever, that’s where it goes too far,” Paul said. “So you know, hate the games, don’t watch the games, whatever, but as soon as people start getting going.”
After the match, Paul will turn his attention to his fiancee, Jutta Leerdam, who will compete for her first Olympic gold medal in speed skating. Leerdam, 26, won a silver medal in the women’s 1,000 meters at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
The couple got engaged earlier this year, but intense exercise regimes have definitely put a damper on wedding planning. Paul’s training has even gotten in the way of his own support for his wife-to-be.
Jake Paul and Jutta Leerdam during the Daikin NK Allround & Sprint Ice Skating Dutch Championships at Thialf Ice Arena on December 29, 2024 in Heerenveen, The Netherlands. (Henk Jan Dijks/Marcel ter Bals/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
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“It’s intense being an athlete couple and working out all the time. We’re not always there for each other, but we FaceTiming all day, basically supporting each other,” Paul said. “It’s a lot of pressure on both of us, and we just do our best to support each other.
“And after this match, I’m going to try to be there for her as much as possible and support her in her journey to the Olympics. And I know she’s going to do great things.”
