Paul, who has constantly found himself criticised for his choice of opponents, last defeated former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June. Prior to that fight, he defeated 58-year-old Mike Tyson by decision last November.
Now, after facing two fighters who were significantly past their prime, Paul is facing a boxer still in the peak years of his career.
Davis is the current WBA lightweight champion, but with his bout with Paul taking place at 195 pounds, it means “Tank” will be fighting at a weight class 60 pounds heavier than his regular division. That weight discrepancy is impossible to ignore, even for Paul, who attempted to dismiss any criticisms of the size mismatch during the press conference to launch the event in New York.
“I would say a lot of things, but I think first and foremost (my advantages are) going to be my reach, my size, and being able to keep him away,” he said.
“I think there’s a lot of holes in his defence that a lot of people haven’t exposed before.”
Paul paid tribute to his opponent, claiming a fight with Davis was a sensible matchup to make at this stage in his career, and he’s looking forward to testing himself against a current world champion, albeit one from seven weight classes lighter than his own
“I honestly respect him a lot as a fighter, as an entertainer,” he said.
“And he’s the only other biggest name in America, in terms of boxing, so it only makes sense to fight. It’s a challenge for me. It’s a step up in my career.
“He’s making me push myself to my limits. I’m more locked in than ever, but at the end of the day, I know I’m gonna be able to come out on top and outbox the guy who’s been doing it for seven times as long as me.”
That weight difference will remain a major talking point in the lead-up to the fight, but Paul seems unconcerned with any criticisms of the matchup, and said that he’d continue to try to prove his critics and doubters wrong as he progresses with his boxing career.
“People always have something to say. It’s old news,” he said.
“Keep talking. At the end of the day, you’re here. So whatever anyone has to say, just keep on saying it. Please. It doesn’t matter at all.
“They’ll never give me credit until I have a world championship belt. But that’s okay, it doesn’t matter, belts collect dust, and what I’ve done in the sport is unprecedented.”
Paul sees the fight as an opportunity to add an active world champion to his list of victims, and he said that he’s eyeing a knockout finish against the smaller man on November 14.
“I haven’t got a knockout in a long time, so I’m itching,” he said.
“I’m just excited to be able to deliver that for the fans and have another (addition to the) most viral knockouts ever.”
After the Q&A portion of the presser concluded, Paul and Davis then faced off, with the size discrepancy looking almost comical as Paul towered over the WBA lightweight champion and even crouched down to meet him eye to eye during a faceoff. For his part, Davis looked nonplussed throughout.
Prior to the faceoffs, the world champion said that the difference in size will actually be to his advantage as the smaller, more skilful fighter.
“I’m much quicker than him. He’s much stronger and much bigger, but we all know that it’s harder for taller fighters to fight a shorter one,” he insisted.
“He’s decent and he’s gonna hold up for a couple of rounds – but once it gets hot in there, you know how things play out.”
