Gervonta Davis’s trainer insists controversial Jake Paul clash is a ‘risky fight’

Davis will take on Paul in a shock exhibition fight despite being expected to fight Lamont Roach Jr

Gervonta “Tank” Davis’ long-time trainer has admitted he has safety concerns over his exhibition fight with Jake Paul in Atlanta on 14 November.

Calvin Ford revealed that Davis and Paul have been going at it for years behind the scenes, and despite this being an exhibition bout, he will not be taking it lightly.

Ford told Fight Hype: “I’ve got a serious fight coming up. Jake Paul and ‘Tank’ have been going at it for years, and I’ve got to worry about his safety.”

The Baltimore native gave Paul credit for the waves he has created in boxing and insisted a fight against him is a risky proposition, especially with the weight stipulations and size of the gloves they will be wearing still uncertain.

He said: “One thing I can say about Jake is he is good at what he does. That’s why he’s where he’s at. I’ll be honest, this is a risky fight.

“Anything can happen because I don’t know all the logistics. The gloves, the weight class. It’s a lot of stuff I don’t know about yet, but my main thing is to keep him safe.”

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Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved)

Davis, the WBA lightweight champion, surprised the world when he took the fight against Paul for two reasons. The first was that he was supposed to be having a rematch with Lamont Roach Jr, who held Davis to a controversial draw in their initial meeting in March, but the rematch fell through twice.

The second is the outrageous size difference between Paul and Davis, making it difficult to see how even an exhibition fight could be made both safe and entertaining.

When Paul fought Mike Tyson last year, they wore 14-oz gloves; it is assumed that this fight will have larger gloves as well due to its exhibition status, with the added complication of somehow limiting Paul’s weight.

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Back in 2021, Paul’s older brother, Logan, was limited to 190lbs when he had his own exhibition against Floyd Mayweather, and a similar stipulation may be put in place for Davis and Paul's clash later this year.

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