GERVONTA DAVIS having fun and full of energy during the press conference on May 5, 2024. IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Gervonta Davis Shares Cryptic Mental Health Message Before Jake Paul Fight

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Grant Young | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 11:40 AM ET

The behavior and messages that Gervonta "Tank" Davis displayed in the lead-up to his March 1 fight against Lamont Roach Jr. raised eyebrows among the boxing community.

The most notable thing Tank said was that he intended to retire from boxing at some point in 2025 during one of his press conferences with Roach in December 2024. His reasoning for this was that he was fed up with the sport of boxing and was too embroiled in issues outside of the ring to rekindle the love he once had for the sweet science.

Most were able to brush these comments off as Tank being in a strange headspace before the fight. However, the fact that he produced the worst performance of his professional career against Roach (which resulted in a majority draw) and made several questionable decisions inside the ring (which should have made it so Tank lost) brought these comments from Gervonta back to mind after the bout ended.

In fact, women's pound-for-pound great Claressa Shields made a strong claim about Davis' mental health after this fight, saying, "I feel like Gervonta is a hell of a fighter, but I feel like he needs to get his mental together. When I hear some of his interviews, and I see some of the stuff that he's saying, I can just tell that he's not in love with the sport no more.

"I think he would be better, and even a better fighter, if he went and did therapy, like ASAP. Because I can tell he's a little sad, little depressed... I think therapy would help [Davis]," she added.

Gervonta Davis Addresses Mental Health Before Jake Paul Fight

It's clear that Davis has no plans of retiring in 2025 right now, because news broke last month that he agreed to fight against Jake Paul, which will take place on November 14, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia (so long as the Georgia commission approves it).

And if one were to take a September 3 X post from Davis to heart, it seems that he's in a better mental space than he was before his most recent fight.

Davis' X post wrote, "Good thing I’m in a better head space, only way you’ll get to me if I allow you to..ya get me! ".

Good thing I’m in a better head space, only way you’ll get to me if I allow you to..ya get me!
— Gervonta Davis (@Gervontaa) September 3, 2025

Tank's fans are hoping that this isn't just hearsay from their favorite boxer, and that he's actually firing on all cylinders mentally before fighting Paul.

And given how much he's surely making for this fight, it's not hard to imagine that he'd be in a good mood right now.

This article first appeared on KO on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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