That’s because Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission (GAEC) was not on board with the weight discrepancy between “El Gallo” and “Tank.” Paul regularly fights at or around 200 pounds while Davis tipped the scale at 135 pounds for his showdown against Ryan Garcia.
It stands to reason that Paul and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) were hoping the disparity in skill would make up for the discrepancy in weight, at least in the eyes of the commission. That’s how Paul’s brother, Logan, managed to score his exhibition bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr. back in June 2021.
GAEC chairman, Rick Thompson, was not impressed.
“This is the dumbest (expletive) I’ve ever heard,” Thompson told USA Today Sports. “It’s a money grabber, and I’m not okay with that. I’m going to make my biggest case that this is not good.”
Sounds like that case was made.
MVP subsequently withdrew its request for the permits and rule waivers required to hold the event in ”The Peach State” and will no longer be up for vote when the commission meets later this week. Not a good look for MVP when you consider that Paul and Co. were advertising the Nov. 14 card without GAEC approval.
“I believe it’s in the public’s interest to know that because they’ve been promoting something they should not have been,” Thompson told USA Today Sports in a follow-up interview. “They probably evaluated a situation, knew that their weight differences were too much.”
MVP is expected to hold a special pre-fight press conference on Monday in New York City, which is likely to include a new location for its Netflix extravaganza.
“We’re getting older now, but sometimes I still see … sometimes you gotta take a step back and see how far you’ve come,” MVP wrote in a tweet on Wednesday afternoon. “Jake Paul is about to fight Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. Enough said. Friday, November 14 LIVE on Netflix.
Paul vs. Tank will now take place at Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla. (more on that here).
