While Gervonta Davis may or may not be out of his controversial (and highly unnecessary) fight with Jake Paul, one name won’t be replacing him: Francis Ngannou.
The former UFC heavyweight champion and current PFL star, who has also transitioned to boxing, dismissed reports of his involvement on Monday.
Davis has been hit by a restraining order from a woman accusing him of domestic violence and death threats, among other allegations. The unnamed complainant filed a civil lawsuit against Davis under the 11th Circuit Court of Florida in Miami-Dade County recently.
That has called his availability for the Paul fight into question.
While Ngannou had been suggested as a replacement, he isn’t biting.
“No. There’s no such thing happening. How can they go from Gervonta Davis to Francis Ngannou? I mean, Gervonta Davis is a fantastic boxer but, he’s a one shot knockout artist but come on, the weight difference and everything, it makes no sense,” Ngannou told TMZ recently (h/t Fightful). Gervonta Davis, you count and say, okay the size different, he can level up. But at this point, for me, it makes no sense.”
“He said, ‘Yeah, Jake Paul, he’s fighting and I’m like, ‘No bro, come on. Don’t disrespect me like that. They even come out after and say, ‘What if the numbers are good?’ He sends out some number and I’m like, ‘It’s not about the number. If it was about the number, we could have started up.’ I’m just not interested, it makes no sense for me. It’s not what I’m looking at right now.”
Francis Ngannou has amassed an 18-3 record and, for those keeping track, is MMA’s lineal heavyweight champion. He hasn’t lost a fight inside the cage since 2018, but has fought just once since 2022 – a win over Renan Ferreira in 2024. In boxing, “The Predator” lost a split decision against Tyson Fury, and was knocked out by Anthony Joshua.
