Jake Paul and Gervonta “Tank” Davis finally squared up in New York City this week — but it wasn’t just the insults that caught fans’ attention. The first press conference for their November 14 exhibition bout went viral thanks to the stark size difference between the 6’2” YouTuber-turned-boxer and the 5’5” lightweight champion.
The mismatch was immediately seized upon by social media, where fans dissected the moment from every angle. “The height difference will give Tank all kinds of body shot advantages,” one Instagram user wrote. Another added: “That’s a really big size difference.”
“Tank measured every inch – from the feet to the wrist and then Jake moving to his other side. Tank is going to sleep Jake,” one person posted, while one skeptic bluntly asked: “How is this sanctioned??”
Paul himself leaned into the online banter. Sharing a clip of the staredown, he captioned it: “Bring your kid to work day”.
Hafthor Björnsson Enters the Chat
Amid the viral debate, strongman Hafthor Björnsson also weighed in. The 2018 World’s Strongest Man, also known for his role as “The Mountain” in Game of Thrones, shared a (seemingly edited) photo of the face-off with his own cutting remark.
“Jake Paul fighting small people. He should try to fight someone like me… let’s see how that goes!” Björnsson wrote in a Facebook post.
The Icelandic giant, who has himself stepped into the boxing ring, threw fuel on the fire surrounding the unusual pairing, framing Paul’s clash with Davis as an uneven spectacle. That being said, surely Paul vs Björnsson.
The rules announcement at the launch press conference only added to the drama. MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian confirmed the fight would take place over 10 three-minute rounds at a 195lb catchweight, with 12oz gloves, and commission-approved judges deciding a winner if it goes the distance.
“There will be a victor because the fighters have agreed and the commission has approved a maximum weight of 195lb for this exhibition,” Bidarian said.
But Davis was caught off guard by the detail: “Y’all said it was 190[lbs],” he said, to which Bidarian replied: “The fight is 195lbs as you know.”
For Davis, who has never boxed above 140lbs, the gap is enormous. Paul, by contrast, weighed as much as 227lbs when he faced Mike Tyson in a heavyweight exhibition last year.
The night wasn’t short on fireworks. Paul wasted no time in attacking his opponent verbally, branding Davis “stupid as f—” and mocking him with the line that he “can’t read” like former promoter Floyd Mayweather.
He went further, calling himself Davis’ “karmic retribution”, joking that he would be fighting with an ankle monitor on, and inviting “clowns” onto the stage before referencing Davis’ legal troubles.
Davis, for his part, threatened both Paul and his coach J’Leon Love as tempers flared.
When the pair came face to face, the confrontation remained limited to light shoulder touches — but the striking height contrast between the two was enough to dominate the narrative.
Paul, who holds a 12-1 professional record, is targeting a statement finish. “There’s a lot of holes in his defence that a lot of people haven’t exposed before. I haven’t got a knockout in a long time, so I’m itching. I’m just excited to be able to deliver that for the fans and have another most viral knockout ever.”
Davis, with 30 wins and one draw to his name, promised his trademark explosiveness: “Every time I fight, it’s fireworks. I’m much quicker than him. He’s much stronger and much bigger, but we all know that it’s harder for taller fighters to fight a shorter one.
“He’s decent and he’s going to hold up for a couple of round, but once it gets hot in there you know how things play out.”
Originally slated for Atlanta, the fight was relocated after the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission chairman Rick Thompson blasted the concept. “This is the dumbest (expletive) I’ve ever heard,’’ he told USA Today. “It’s a money grabber, and I’m not OK with that.”
“They probably evaluated a situation, knew that their weight differences were too much,’’ Thompson added.
Now set for Miami’s Kaseya Center, the showdown is officially on — 10 rounds, 12oz gloves, judges in place, and both men cleared by USADA testing.
But as the size gap goes viral and figures like Hafthor Björnsson join the conversation, Jake Paul vs Gervonta Davis is shaping up to be more than just an exhibition. It’s a spectacle that has the entire sporting world watching closely.
Featured image credit: Instagram/JakePaul/thorbjornsson
