When Jake Paul called out Anthony Joshua and Gervonta Davis following his victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., most of everyone took it as a joke. Aside from the polar opposite height and weight difference between those two fighters, both presented a level of boxing that Paul has never seen before. And no one thinks he’s anywhere next to ready for that.
Despite all of that, the boxing world was stunned on Wednesday, when it was officially announced that Paul will be fighting “Tank” on November 14. The news seemingly came out of nowhere, and it comes while Davis was reportedly considering retirement instead of fighting Lamont Roach Jr. in a rematch of his previous bout. While Davis’ fight against Paul will rake in money for both, it does put his immediate future as a title holder in peril.
WBA may strip Gervonta Davis of title belt for facing Jake Paul
According to several reports, the WBA (World Boxing Association) will evaluate whether Davis will keep his lightweight world title or not. Davis had been ordered to face Roach in a rematch, but opted to go with Paul instead.
Davis losing his WBA title would likely elevate Floyd Schofield to interim champion. Schofield became the WBA’s mandatory challenger to Davis at lightweight following his victory over Tevin Farmer in late June.
Behind Schofield in the WBA’s lightweight rankings are two exciting Cuban boxers, Andy Cruz and Armando Martinez Rabi. While Martinez Rabi is a bit less known, Cruz has stormed onto the professional scene following an extremely successful amateur and Olympic career. Both of them would be looking to challenge Schofield for the title immediately if “Kid Austin” gets the belt.
Davis likely won’t care too much about being stripped of his title. He spent several years somewhat gatekeeping the WBA belt, while avoiding branching out to capture titles from other sanctioning bodies. He would be able to challenge for the belt again after the Paul fight anyway, as long as the WBA won’t hold a grudge.
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