Eddie Hearn hates exhibitions.

The British promoter would prefer to see Gervonta Davis in a rematch with Lamont Roach. If Davis were to win, a long-discussed lightweight showdown with Shakur Stevenson would be the next step.

Hearn also understands the realities of the boxing business that cemented Davis’ decision to face Jake Paul in an exhibition that has been harshly criticized since it was officially announced Wednesday for Nov. 14 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

In fact, Matchroom Boxing’s chairman wouldn’t be surprised if the unbeaten WBA 135-pound champion’s Netflix “fight” with Paul marks the last bout of the Baltimore, Maryland, boxer's career.

“I think this kinda shows you where Gervonta is at,” Hearn told The Ring. “And by the way, Gervonta is probably making, I don’t know, $30 [million], $40 million. So, do you blame him? I guess it just comes down to if you’re in a room and you’re trying to make a business decision, and you’re getting $5 [million], $6 [million], $7 [million], $8 million to rematch Lamont Roach in a 50-50 fight, or you’re getting $30 million to fight Jake Paul.”

Hearn wouldn’t have accepted any alterations to boxing’s Queensberry rules had Paul proceeded with a fight against Anthony Joshua, the two-time heavyweight champion Hearn’s company promotes.

Davis, 30, and Paul, 28, are 65 pounds apart based on the last time each fighter officially weighed in. The safety concerns caused by such a wide weight disparity should make it impossible for the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission to justify sanctioning thisl as a legitimate boxing match.

Adjusted rules might be best at this stage of Davis’ career, according to Hearn, because one of the sport’s most vicious knockout artists suggested before his stunning majority draw with Roach on March 1 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn that he doesn’t want to box anymore.

Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs) exercised his contractual right to an immediate with Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs), but the targeted dates of June 21 and August 16 were pushed back in part because his handlers explored the possibility of opposing Paul (12-1, 7 KOs).

“We’ve just gotta have a little bit of common sense outside of our sport,” Hearn said, “in terms of who these people are and the kinds of decisions they’re gonna make. Not everyone would turn that down. I get that in an ideal world and in an ethical boxing world, [Davis would] say, ‘I’m not doing an exhibition with Jake Paul. I’m going back and fighting Lamont Roach.’

“But Gervonta Davis is half checked out of the sport. ... So, this may be the last fight for him. Maybe he’s going, ‘I just don’t wanna do it anymore. I don’t have the hunger to do it. I get my payday here, and then maybe I’ll come back and do another fight next year. Or maybe you’ll never see me again.’ I don’t think we can blame these young men. To each their own.”

As someone who has promoted the unbeaten Stevenson over the past year, however, Hearn realizes this exhibition probably eliminates the possibility of him ever facing Davis.

“In a romantic boxing world,” Hearn said, “you’d want Gervonta Davis to rematch Lamont Roach and then fight Shakur Stevenson in one of the best fights in the sport. But he can fight Lamont Roach and Shakur Stevenson and make half the money that he’s gonna get to fight Jake Paul.

“And you never even know if Gervonta Davis is gonna make it to a fight. Anything could happen. But this is a freak show, and we understand that freak shows do numbers. We saw that with Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.”