‘Most would fight Jake Paul’: ‘Tank’ Davis’ former opponent understands the business
- Shidonna Raven
- 14 hours ago
- 2 min read
This Article has been curated by UDB
August 31, 2025
Source: Boxing Scene
Source: Image Source: Unsplash
Gervonta “Tank” Davis’ former opponent Liam Walsh has refused to condemn him for agreeing to an exhibition with Jake Paul.
The 30-year-old Davis is widely recognised as second only to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez as the world’s highest-profile fighter, and yet despite the significant appeal of a fight between Davis and his fellow lightweight Shakur Stevenson or a rematch with Lamont Roach Jnr he has prioritised the riches on offer against Paul.
Davis and Paul, 28, will share the ring at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on November 14 in what is expected to amount to little more than a freak show. But where Paul has regardless long sought the match-ups with the greatest commercial potential, Davis has for even longer been considered a fighter capable of earning induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and it is therefore he who is likeliest to be criticised.
There is also the reality that a fight between Davis and Stevenson – Davis is the WBA lightweight champion and Stevenson is the champion of the WBC – would not only be lucrative but perhaps the most appealing that can be made in any weight division, and that Roach Jnr proved Davis’ most difficult opponent and to the extent that he deserved a rematch after they fought to a draw in March.
Walsh, however – a fighter stopped by Davis in one of the then-young IBF junior-lightweight champion’s most impressive statements in 2017 and one who continues to closely follow the sport in retirement – insists that most in Davis’ position would do the same. It is Roach Jnr who Walsh would most like to see his strongest former opponent fight, but the Englishman also recognises that the money involved in fighting Paul is too great to turn down.
“As a purist I want to see him defend against Roach and give Roach the rematch,” Walsh told BoxingScene. “But the amount of money that’s involved – first and foremost, boxing is a business, isn’t it? I can’t say I’m too disappointed – he’s going to do that. Most fighters, if they’re dead honest, would as well.
“The news didn’t overly surprise me. When I read I just thought, ‘Yeah, that’s normal’. He’s a huge name; obviously Paul’s a huge name. It makes a load of money, so why not?
“You’d definitely have to say [Davis] was the best I fought. I didn’t fight any other world-class fighters, apart from Andrey Klimov, who went 10 rounds with a young Terence Crawford. [Davis] was a huge jump up and the best I fought, un
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