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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Donagh Corby

Jake Paul fight undercard set to feature NBA star and ex-WWE wrestler

Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions are on the lookout for a WWE heavyweight to face former NBA star Glen Davis.

The ex-Boston Celtics power-forward would be one of the bigger heavyweights in boxing if he decides to make the switch at the age of 36, tipping the scales at 289lb during his playing career. The 36-year-old is 6'9" and retired from basketball in 2019, although he still appears to be in shape in recent appearances.

ESPN first reported that MVP were looking to get Davis, who won the NBA Championship with the Celtics in 2008, to fight on Paul's August 13 ring return card. No opponent has been named as yet, but the plan is to find him a former WWE heavyweight to face in his boxing debut.

Paul is no stranger to putting on these celebrity fight, having had three-time NBA All Star Deron Williams face former NFL star Frank Gore in a fight on the undercard of his rematch with Tyron Woodley. Williams defeated Gore by split decision in an exhibition bout, before the football player returned to win his next fight months later.

Jake's brother Logan also featured an ex-NFL player on his undercard when he fought Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition bout last summer. Chad 'Ochocinco' Johnson was dropped by bare-knuckle fighter Brian Maxwell in a bout where no winner was declared due to exhibition rules.

It remains to be seen if Davis has as much boxing ability as the likes of Johnson, Gore or Winn, with minimal footage available online. He is said to currently weigh over 300lb, but would likely trim down before competing in the ring.

MVP have also not specified if the 36-year-old would take on an exhibition bout, or look to compete under full professional rules. Gore and Winn had been planning to fight as professionals before a late call by the Florida commission, while Johnson was always going to fight Maxwell in a non-scored bout.

Glen Davis could make his boxing debut on Jake Paul's next undercard (Getty Images)

Who do you want to see Jake Paul fight in his boxing return later this year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

Paul has not named an opponent yet for his August 13 fight date, but there are a number of potential rivals in mind. He focused the first few months of 2022 on promoting Amanda Serrano's world title challenge against Katie Taylor with Eddie Hearn, while allowing future opponents to fight it out on other major cards.

In recent weeks, it has appeared that former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is emerging as the frontrunner, particularly after a dominant showing on Floyd Mayweather's undercard last weekend. He was also entertaining a possible rescheduling of his fight with Tommy Fury, who most recently won at Wembley Stadium against Daniel Bocianski in his first step-up in competition.

Most Valuable Promotions have teased a further announcement about their August show next week in a series of social media posts. They have also retweeted and shared stories about Davis' potential fight on Instagram, which likely indicates that the reports are accurate.

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