The Nov. 14 clash between the YouTuber-turned-boxer and the lightweight titleholder was originally scheduled to take place at State Farm Arena in Atlanta but, according to Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, it now will be staged at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
The Georgia State Athletic Commission, which had yet to approve the event, reportedly was uncomfortable with the vast weight difference. Paul last fought at 199½ pounds, Davis at 133¾.
The fight will be streamed on Netflix.
“They probably evaluated a situation, knew that their weight differences were too much," GAEC commissioner Rick Thompson told USA Today. Earlier this month, Thompson described the matchup as "the dumbest (expletive) I’ve ever heard," according to the newspaper.
The fighters didn't let the change of venue prevent them from continuing to promote the event.
“Jake Paul has been cherry picking in the sport of boxing for a while now, but he picked the wrong opponent this time,” Davis said via press release. “He better start losing some weight, chasing some chickens, and pray that helps him some on fight night! Thank you to Netflix for giving me the opportunity to whoop this clown!”
“New city, same mission, seek and destroy the tank,” Paul added. “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."
Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs), 30, enters the bout against Paul after fighting to a majority draw against Lamont Roach Jr. on March 1 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Had referee Steve Willis ruled Tank taking a knee in the ninth round as a knockdown, Roach Jr. (25-1-2, 10 KOs), 30, would have won by unanimous decision and pulled off one of boxing’s biggest upsets this century.
A rematch for Davis’ WBA lightweight title was in the works for Aug. 16 in Las Vegas, but didn’t come to fruition as Davis instead opted to face Paul.
Paul (12-1, 7 KOs), 28, is coming off a one-sided unanimous decision victory over former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on June 28 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
The parameters of the Paul-Davis fight, including whether it’s an exhibition or a sanctioned bout and how the weight issue will be handled, remain largely unknown.