NEW YORK — Boxing in its current state is suffering from a perception problem.
The money is there, the interest is there, but outside of a few fights a year between real contenders, like last week’s title bout between Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez, the novelty of it all is wearing thin.
Which brings us to Netflix, which has forced its way into the fight game – for better or for worse – and actually did a decent job with the promotion and execution of the Crawford-Alvarez super middleweight tilt, won by Crawford by unanimous decision. The streaming service said that 41 million had their eyes glued to their chosen device for the fight.
There are 17 weight divisions in boxing and four governing bodies of the sport that crown champions, which makes it hard for the novice fight fan to figure out who is really on top of the boxing world.
Championship, big stakes fights are what people want to see.
The fight coming up on Nov. 14 between former YouTuber Jake Paul and Gervonta “Tank” Davis at the Kaseya Center in Miami certainly isn’t one of them.
This bout was initially supposed to take place at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Georgia and boxing officials there came to their senses and passed on the fight, only for its neighboring southern state and their athletic commission to gleefully pick up the scraps and continue the ridiculous charade of a match between two fighters who have no business in the ring with each other.
Let’s state the obvious.
This exhibition is a downright money play between Paul and Davis, which is good for their bank accounts, especially for the 28-year-old Paul, who pocketed $40 million for his fight with Mike Tyson.
Paul is listed at 6-1 and 200 pounds, while Davis (30-0-1, 29KOs), a three-time world title holder across two weight divisions, fought his last match in March against Lamont Roach Jr. at the lightweight limit of 135 pounds on a 5-foot-5 frame – which, by comparison, might as well be Manute Bol or better yet Shaquille O’Neal against Muggsy Bogues.
During the initial press conference at the Palladium in midtown Manhattan (for some reason, the two will run it back on Tuesday with another yap session in Miami), Paul (12-1, 7 KOs), was supremely confident because he knows he has more advantages in height and reach. When he initially embarked on his fight journey nearly five years ago, Paul started a hit list, which included Davis.
Paul vs. Davis fight details
Most Valuable Promotions CEO Nakisa Bidarian said the fight will be contested at a maximum weight of 195 pounds, over 10, three-minute rounds with both fighters wearing 12-ounce gloves. Davis has fought primarily with eight-ounce gloves, while Paul fought Tyson with 14-ounce gloves, and his other fights were with 10-ounce gloves.
Win or lose, the result won’t count towards their professional boxing records, and the fight will be judged by three people approved by the athletic commission in Florida.
The two fighters didn’t discuss much strategy about who would emerge victorious.
They instead turned the press conference into a comedy roasting show, complete with adults dressed as clowns after Paul told Davis that a clown is someone who “puts his hands on females,’ and Paul added he might have to spar with eight-year-olds to account for Davis’ size.
‘People always have something to say. It’s old news. Keep talking,’ said Paul. ‘At the end of the day, you’re here. So whatever anyone has to say, just keep on saying it. Please. It doesn’t matter at all.’
Paul then commented that Davis ‘can’t read’ like his former promoter and world champion Floyd Mayweather and said that he is going to outbox a pugilist with more than 20 years of experience.
‘I’m much quicker than him,’ Davis countered. ‘He’s much stronger and much bigger, but we all know that it’s harder for taller fighters to fight a shorter one. He’s decent and he’s gonna hold up for a couple of rounds – but once it gets hot in there, you know how things play out.
‘He said he gonna out-box me? Whoop-de-doo,” Davis said, which drew a laugh from the Palladium crowd.
For hardcore boxing fans, our thoughts exactly, especially for whoever takes this exhibition with an ounce of seriousness.