Jake Paul Now Leads the “Circus” Created by Conor McGregor & Floyd Mayweather

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul is finally going to box with someone who’s in their prime in his upcoming fight. However, much to the surprise of the boxing community, Gervonta Davis, one of the faces of the sport and a lightweight, has been announced as his next opponent. They are set to clash on November 14 in Atlanta in an exhibition fight to be streamed live on Netflix. This is good news for Paul, but for others, not so much, as a debate has taken a new shape recently.

While some people may be opposed to Gervonta Davis‘ decision to fight Jake Paul, it’s important to note that one of the GOATs, Floyd Mayweather, also competed in such a boxing match against MMA superstar Conor McGregor, although it wasn’t an exhibition match per se. A couple of insiders yesterday spoke about this situation, highlighting an important factor surrounding Tank and Money Mayweather’s decision to compete in what they termed as “circus fights,” which has now become Paul’s domain.

The vestiges of Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor still remain, only in a different form

When Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather got together to promote their boxing match, the fight fans went wild. It ended up becoming one of the biggest combat sports events in history, with both fighters making hundreds of millions of dollars. So why can’t Gervonta Davis do it? That’s exactly what talkSPORT Boxing’s Gareth A. Davies contended. “We had Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather six or seven years ago. That was MMA meeting boxing… That was a circus,” he stated on his YouTube show.

But his co-host and fellow veteran combat journalist, Adam Catterall, claimed that Tank hasn’t yet made the kind of impact Floyd Mayweather made after 49 pro career fights. And hence, it made sense for ‘Money’ to entertain Conor McGregor’s proposal. “Hang on! Floyd Mayweather completed the game… There was nothing else for him to do in boxing,” Catterall replied. “Floyd Mayweather and Gervonta Davis are completely different in where they’re at in their careers.”

However, Davies’s claim that such fights also keep fans tuned into boxing holds true, and as far as Jake Paul is concerned, he has come far from being ridiculed to making millions through these fights. The Mike Tyson fight on Netflix caused the platform’s servers to crash because it was too tempting for fans to see how ‘Iron Mike’ would fare in a fight after so many years away from action. As such, there’s a reason why Gervonta Davis agreed to fight Paul, as it entails him earning a hefty paycheck.

“There’s always circus events in boxing. There’s always has been. When money is to be made, people make the matchups,” Gareth A. Davies added. “The only reason Gervonta Davis is taking that fight is to make money.”

While some people are envisioning the financial benefits of such crossover fights, UFC legend Chael Sonnen seems to have an opposing view. He claims that Jake Paul’s fight with Gervonta Davis is a massive letdown. Here’s why?

Chael Sonnen isn’t impressed with Jake Paul vs Gervonta Davis

Before Gervonta Davis came into the picture, Jake Paul was pretty close to making a deal with Anthony Joshua for his next fight. Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn confirmed that discussions were going on. But the YouTube star backed out, as reports claim ‘AJ’ did not want an exhibition fight. While the prospect of watching Paul fight a prime Davis is intriguing, UFC Hall of Fame legend Chael Sonnen claims ‘Tank’ isn’t as big a draw as Joshua is.

“It’s not as bad a fight as you guys think. For one, it’s the exact opposite of Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul. For two, the fight that was dangled and rumored in front of us turned out to be the exact opposite,” Chael Sonnen stated on YouTube. “The one big glaring issue for me is your partner being Tank Davis. Tank is not the guy who knows how to sell a fight. Tank cannot sell a fight in his own division.”

Despite the debates and criticisms, the Jake Paul vs Gervonta Davis fight is on and is going down in November. There will be no winners or losers in an exhibition fight, but it will be interesting to see the outcome of this fight, both from financial and competitive perspectives. What do you think about this boxing? Let us know in the comments down below.