In a Florida courtroom on Tuesday, prosecutors played a video that shows Gervonta Davis grabbing his ex-girlfriend by the neck and hair inside a Miami Gardens strip club. It was this incident that led to the cancellation of the boxer’s November fight with Jake Paul.
The video taken in October 2025 shows a man, whom police claim is Gervonta Davis, physically assaulting Courtney Rossel. The incident took place inside Tootsie’s Cabaret, where Rossel was employed at the time.
“The victim reported that Mr. Davis grabbed her by the back of her head, pulled her hair with one hand and by her throat and forcefully escorted her down a stairway and toward the parking garage while maintaining his grip on the back of her head,” Local 10 News reports Miami Gardens police Sgt. Emmanuel Jeanty said.
Gervonta Davis is countersuing the alleged victim, Courtney Rossel
In the civil lawsuit, Rossel has accused Gervonta Davis of battery, aggravated battery, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In January, authorities arrested Davis on charges of kidnapping, battery, and false imprisonment. This past week, the prosecution dropped the false imprisonment charge.
Last week, Davis filed a counterclaim, seeking damages of over $20 million related to the cancellation of his fight with Jake Paul. Also, after Miami police issued an arrest warrant on the charges, the WBA stripped Davis of his lightweight world title.
Gervonta Davis has a history of domestic violence allegations
“What Mr. Davis did to Courtney was outrageous. And the judge agreed,” Rossel’s attorneys, Richard Wolfe and Jeff Chukwama, said in a statement. “This is not the first, second or the third time that Mr. Davis (has) acted in this manner.
“His defense team showed their desperation by attempting to attack Courtney, when the videos clearly showed what Courtney said, was truthful and consistent with her affidavit, the police arrest, and the incident report by her employer.”
Law enforcement has accused Davis of hitting an ex-girlfriend twice in the last year. On Father’s Day 2025, an ex-girlfriend accused him of slapping her and striking her on the back of the head. After the woman decided not to prosecute the boxer, authorities dropped the case.