I didn’t ever believe that Jake Paul would fight Anthony Joshua – a match-up between them seemed too far fetched. But I also didn’t ever believe he’d fight Gervonta Davis either.
Paul’s only ever been in boxing for the attention and the money. As much as he says he’s going to be a world champion, unless one of the sanctioning bodies creates a title for him I’d be shocked to see that happen.
But that didn’t mean that the announcement of Paul-Davis, not that long after Paul was given a world ranking by the WBA, wasn’t disappointing for boxing overall. It’s an exhibition; it’s about attracting eyes and views. It’s not about being the best – it’s about doing the things that will get the biggest audiences.
Davis is the long-term professional fighter with natural abilities, but I’m not convinced he’s as to blame for this happening as much as the people around him who’ve supported him for as long as they have. He’s a very physically gifted fighter but one who, at the highest level, remains unproven mentally.
He’s regularly been matched with limited or declining opponents capable of showcasing his punching power. His highest-profile fight before 2025 came against Ryan Garcia, who has accomplished very little at the highest level. Davis’ career has been guided in such a way that he’s not going to turn down the money involved in fighting Paul; he’s long avoided the best competition and he’s doing so again. Davis, aged 31, is yet to enter a 50-50 fight, but he’s just done what plenty of others in his position would also have done – it’s his management, promoters and broadcasters who have allowed him to get what he has without earning it. The fault lies with them above all else.
Today, the most appealing fight involving him would be against Shakur Stevenson. Lamont Roach Jnr, Raymond Muratalla, Andy Cruz and Abdullah Mason would also be appealing potential opponents – and far more appealing than Paul.
The Roach Jnr fight, when it was made, wasn’t considered a 50-50 like one with Stevenson would be and like Vasiliy Lomachenko also once would have been. There have been suggestions for years that Davis lacks the mental strength to match his physical abilities. He and those around him didn’t expect Roach Jnr to prove as tough an opponent as he did, but the way Davis took a knee against him when they fought in March gave those suggestions weight.
If he’d been matched in a way that would have benefitted boxing, and not just a select few, would he even have been someone Paul saw the value in fighting, or would he have lost enough fights that he wouldn’t still be being spoken about as an elite fighter?
Mediocrity, regardless, is what gets rewarded by Paul. He’s not interested in fighting those without limitations – his opponents need to be too small, too old, or not very good. It’s those beneath the highest level who get the biggest purses today.
I don’t expect to ever see Davis-Roach Jnr II. I also don’t expect to ever see Davis fight Stevenson – and in 2025 there are levels between them. Davis has been speaking like he’s wanted out of boxing for years now – which, given he’s never been matched competitively, shows how spoilt he’s been and how accomplished he’s been made to feel. Whether it will or not is another matter, but if neither of those fights happen his reputation should be seriously harmed.
The win over Jose Pedraza, who was dead at the weight when they fought in 2017, is still the best of his career, and I don’t expect him to ever surpass it.
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Daniel Dubois has been criticised for splitting with his trainer Don Charles after losing to Oleksandr Usyk. Charles replaced Shane McGuigan, who replaced Martin Bowers; Dubois has started working with Tony Sims.
But as someone who also regularly changed trainers I don’t think it’s fair that he’s being criticised – him separating from Charles isn’t necessarily a criticism of Charles. Sometimes a fighter reaches a point where he feels like he’s absorbed all he can from his or her trainer, and wants to try to add something else from a different dynamic.
I once changed trainer because of how they worked in the corner, and not because of how that trainer was in the gym. Oscar De La Hoya went through a lot of different trainers; Usyk has changed trainers too.
I took something from all of my trainers, which I wouldn’t have gotten if I’d stayed with one throughout my career. One I learned from after we stopped working together and I’d had time to absorb some of what he was trying to teach.
Charles, who led Dubois to victories over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Joshua, did a good job with Dubois, and I can almost guarantee Dubois agrees.
