Jake Paul’s upcoming exhibition against Gervonta Davis has been dismissed as an ‘absolute clown show’ by Barstool’s Dave Portnoy.
Responding to footage from Monday’s press conference in New York, where Paul towered over the WBA lightweight champion, Portnoy shredded the November 14 bout for the obvious size mismatch.
‘I’ve said it once I’ll say it again,’ Portnoy wrote on X. ‘Jake Paul is arguably the greatest marketer of all time. One absolute clown show after another and somehow people keep paying him and showing up. This is insane.’
Technically, the upcoming bout from Miami isn’t pay-per-view, but part of the basic subscription to Netflix.
Still, Portnoy’s point about the size discrepancy was apt.
The 5-foot-6 Davis typically fights at 135 pounds, while the 6-foot-1 Paul is a natural cruiserweight fighting at the 200-pound limit. And given Paul’s 76-inch reach — an 8.5-inch advantage over Davis — it appears the influencer boxer has once again chosen his opponent very carefully.
The 5-foot-6 Gervonta Davis (pictured left) typically fights at 135 pounds, while the 6-foot-1 Jake Paul (right) is a natural cruiserweight fighting at the 200-pound limit
The 6-foot-1 Paul looks down on the 5-foot-6 WBA welterweight champion Davis
Dave Portnoy did concede that Paul knows how to draw an audience for his boxing matches
Portnoy is hardly the only critic of this bout, which was initially set in Georgia.
‘This is the dumbest [expletive] I’ve ever heard,’ Rick Thompson, chairman of the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission (GAEC), told USA Today. ‘It’s a money grabber, and I’m not OK with that.’
Paul’s previous fight ended with an easy unanimous-decision win over a rusty Julio César Chávez Jr. And prior to that, he famously beat a 58-year-old Mike Tyson by unanimous decision in a bout that was seen on Netflix by 108 million people.
Truthfully, the former YouTuber has yet to face an elite pro at the top of their game, let alone beaten one in the ring.
Of course, Davis (30-0-1) is still just 30 and currently ranks among the best fighters at any weight class, but moving up to face a cruiserweight in Paul (12-1) is a different challenge altogether.
Fortunately for Davis, the bout is an exhibition and won’t impact his record. And because the bout is an exhibition, fans will not be given a chance to gamble on Davis-Paul.
The good news is there will be a winner on November 14 as a three-judge panel is expected to be on hand to score the fight.
