Apparently, we’ll be taking the good with the profligate bad in the promotion for the card headlined by Jake Paul and Gervonta “Tank” Davis’ exhibition scheduled for November 14 at the Kaseya Center in Miami.
Thankfully, Tuesday’s press conference at the event venue offered some good following a Monday presser in New York that felt like an extended barefoot traipse through a summer-ripened pig pen.
And it came, mostly and perhaps predictably, from the card’s featured women. Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxing raconteur, and Davis, an uneasy pound-for-pound star, traded quiet and respectful pleasantries to start Tuesday’s affair, with Paul, 12-1 (7 KOs), donning his promoter’s hat to pump up Davis’ resume.
“This is the toughest fight for me from an experience standpoint,” Paul said. “I know he’s in his prime, 30-0 or whatever it is, undefeated, a top-10 pound-for-pound fighter. I respect Tank a lot, and that’s why I’m excited he’s gonna bring the best out of me. And I have to be prepared, I have to be the most locked in I’ve ever been, and that’s what makes this a massive fight.”
For his part, Davis, actually 30-0-1 (28 KOs), was almost Zen-like for his turn at the dais.
When emcee Brian Custer asked whether he felt pressure to perform as the matchup’s only proven, longtime professional, he spoke like a man of the people.
“I feel like it’s no pressure on me. The only pressure on me is when I put pressure on myself,” said Davis, a two-division titlist who also happens to be almost half the size of Paul. “That’s why I’m not going out here saying I’m gonna knock him out or anything like that. We just gonna put on a great show come November 14. The fans win that night. I just want to put on a great show so everyone can be happy.”
The attention then turned to the co-main.
Alycia Baumgardner defends her unified 130lbs titles against Leila Beaudoin – and, more broadly, the plight and progress of women’s boxing. Baumgardner will face Beaudoin in a bout scheduled for 12 three-minute rounds – the same as any men’s championship prizefight; the women typically fight for world titles over 10 two-minute rounds.
Baumgardner, who vacated a belt and gave up her undisputed status at 130lbs when the sanctioning body wouldn’t agree to let her fight under men’s standards, swaggered onto the stage with a nearly visible chip on her shoulder. She emphasized the importance of the moment and her ability to advocate for women’s boxing and address the need for gender equality in the sport on this platform.
“And not only speak about it, but come November 14 you will see what women have always been able to do, and that’s fight,” Baumgardner said. “That’s show up and do a job. And one thing about me, I love to take a challenge. As an athlete, as a warrior, I need that.”
Paul and his Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) co-founder Nakisa Bidarian have objectively made the women an equal priority for their company as the men, even beyond cash-cow fights such as those in the Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano trilogy.
Paul – and even Davis, not exactly a poster boy for women’s rights allies – voiced enthusiastic support for Baumgardner and women’s boxing at large.
“She’s a superstar, a knockout artist, has it all – all the characteristics that it takes,” Paul said of the 31-year-old Baumgardner, 20-7 (7 KOs). “She’s the future of women’s boxing. And MVP – Nikisa and I – have always believed in people like her and Amanda Serrano on the women’s side of things that arguably, nine times out of 10, have more entertaining fights than some of the men these days.
“So, we are big believers, supporters, and Netflix has backed us, and the movement has taken over. And now it’s not just women’s boxing – it’s boxing.”
Civility and good vibes can get a Jake Paul promotion only so far, though, and “The Problem Child” finally found occasion Tuesday to punch down – almost literally – and instantly burrow under Davis’ skin.
When a soft-spoken Davis spoke in somewhat vanilla terms about his experience edge versus the size advantage of Paul, who weighed 227¼lbs when he fought an exhibition against former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson last November, Paul found his opening.
“You’re boring as fuck, man,” Paul said to Davis across the dais.
“I just want to apologize to the audience for this guy. I’m always the one who has to sell the fights.”
The remark lit Davis’ fuse: “I’ll kick your ass for real. What you do? You just play around.”
Having sufficiently stirred the pot, Paul gave it several more turns.
“At the end of the day, I gave this little guy an opportunity,” he said. “He should be thanking me. I’m paying him, I’m his boss. He reports to me, and I’m gonna fucking son him on November 14.
“I’m your daddy.”
Good or bad, Paul never abides indifference – which is part of the semi-toxic magic that he brings to the sport and his promotions. Even if he and Davis conclude a 10-round square dance with congratulatory back slaps and knowing glances celebrating easy eight- and nine-figure paydays, Paul’s gift is making the public believe it could miss out on something far bigger on fight night.
“I’m sleeping this guy,” Paul said. “I’m gonna create the most viral knockout ever.”
Jason Langendorf is the former Boxing Editor of ESPN.com, was a contributor to Ringside Seat and the Queensberry Rules, and has written about boxing for Vice, The Guardian, Chicago Sun-Times and other publications. A member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, he can be found at LinkedIn and followed on X and Bluesky.
