The Nov. 14 showdown between Jake Paul and Gervonta Davis has relocated from Georgia to neighboring Florida, ESPN learned on Wednesday. The clash – which will be live streamed on Netflix – will now take place at the Kaseya Center in Miami after originally being slated for State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
“New city, same mission, seek and destroy the tank,” said Paul in a statement to ESPN. “Kaseya Center. Friday, November 14. I’m bringing the heat, and Miami will see me take down this angry elf while the world watches live on Netflix.”
The venue change comes on the heels of USA Today’s report that Most Valuable Promotions, co-founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, had withdrawn their request for event permits and rule waivers required to hold the event in Georgia. Rick Thompson, chairman of the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission (GAEC), told USA Today that the promotional outfit was “promoting something they should not have been.”
A pair of news conferences set for Sept. 17 in New York and Sept. 18 in Atlanta have been rescheduled for Sept. 22 in New York and Sept. 23 in Miami.
“Unfortunately, we made the decision to withdraw the event from Georgia after several interviews conducted by Commissioner Rick Thompson, who seems to have a personal agenda, publicly misrepresenting the facts and undermining what was set to be a massive event for Atlanta, featuring multiple world championship bouts and the launch of efforts to revitalize world-class boxing in Georgia,” Bidarian told ESPN. “No tickets were ever on sale, and every step of this process was coordinated in close communication with the Commission’s Executive Director. This event would have delivered significant value to the city, the state, and the sport.”
The biggest point of contention surrounding the fight has been over the weight limit for the fight. Paul most recently competed at cruiserweight and weighed in at 199.4 pounds for his June fight with Julio Cesar Chavez while Davis tipped the scales at 133.8 pounds in March when he battled Lamont Roach Jr. to a majority draw. Bidarian told ESPN that those details will be revealed next week.
“From the outset we were clear with GAEC on the agreement between the fighters, which is what the matchup will be,” Bidarian said. “We will share details next week at our New York press conference.”
