Jake Paul’s boxing showdown with Gervonta Davis appears to be in jeopardy with an alternative opponent now being discussed for his fight on Netflix.
Paul is scheduled to fight WBA lightweight world champion Davis in Miami on 14 November in an exhibition contest.
But stunning developments this week have left the bout in doubt.
On Friday, Davis was accused of battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping by an ex-girlfriend in a new civil lawsuit filed this week.
Davis is yet to publicly comment on the allegations with his trainer Calvin Ford, describing the lawsuit as ‘nonsense’.
Metro has reached out to Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions who are promoting the fight in less than two weeks.
Prominent boxing journalist Chris Mannix now reports the fight is in ‘limbo’ as a result of the domestic violence allegations with Netflix officials and Paul’s representatives exploring ‘potential replacements’ for Davis.
Mannix reports an offer has now been made to Ryan Garcia to fight Paul in December, suggesting a change of date could also be under consideration.
Garcia is another hugely controversial figure in boxing, sharing wild and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories on social media just before his stunning victory over Devin Haney in April 2024.
That fight was later ruled a no contest after it emerged Garcia had failed a drug test. A rematch was expected to follow but those plans were derailed when the American suffered a shock defeat to Rolly Romero in New York earlier this year. It was the second defeat of his career, knocked out by Davis in 2023.
In July last year, Garcia expelled by the World Boxing Council after a series of racist and Islamophobic comments on social media.
Garcia has not fought since that shock defeat to Romero but has previously stated he would relish the chance to fight Paul.
Paul and Davis were scheduled to fight under exhibition rules – meaning the result of the fight will not appear on either man’s professional record.
The two came face-to-face for the first time in September at a press conference where the remarkable size difference between the two men was on show. Paul is 6ft 1ins tall and regularly fights at 200lbs as a cruiserweight. Davis is 5ft 5ins, reigning as world champion at lightweight where fighters weigh between 130lbs and 135lbs.