Featured Image Credit: Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images
Topics: Jake Paul, Francis Ngannou, Boxing, Anthony Joshua, Gervonta Davis
Ben McCrum
Topics: Jake Paul, Francis Ngannou, Boxing, Anthony Joshua, Gervonta Davis
Jake Paul tried to organise a superfight that would have potentially been even more dangerous than his upcoming bout with Anthony Joshua.
On December 19, YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul will fight two-time unified heavyweight champion Joshua at Miami's Kaseya Center.
The bout will take place over eight three-minute rounds with the fighters set to use 10oz gloves in what will undoubtedly be the biggest challenge Paul's career.
Paul was originally scheduled to fight lightweight world champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis on November 14, but the fight was cancelled after several allegations were raised against Davis by his ex-partner.
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In the wake of the cancellation, several names were tipped to replace Davis, and one of them has now spoken out to confirm exactly what happened in the negotiations with Paul.
Following the announcement that Davis would not be Paul's opponent, the likes of Ryan Garcia, Terence Crawford and former foe Nate Diaz were all linked with replacing the lightweight champion.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou was another name tipped as a potential opponent for Paul following the pair's feuds on social media.
And now, Ngannou has confirmed that Paul's team had made contact about him stepping in for Davis, but the UFC star never took the offer seriously.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani show, Ngannou revealed: “Nakisa (Paul's manager) reached out and let me know that Gervonta Davis is having some situation, so he’s not going to be in the fight anymore.
"They were looking for a replacement, and then they thought about me.
"I was very confused. How can you guys go from Gervonta Davis to me? I didn’t even believe it.
"I personally didn’t talk money, but he was ready to pay. They had an intention to pay me a good amount of money.”
When asked why he didn't accept the fight, Ngannou added: "It was so confusing. I didn't know what was going on and then after a couple of days I saw the AJ announcement.
"I'm curious to see, I'm excited to see it."
The last time we see Ngannou compete was when he fought Renan Ferreira in his Professional Fighters League debut in October 2024.
In his last fight in the boxing ring, the former UFC champion was brutally knocked out by Paul's future opponent Joshua in the second round of their March 2024 bout.