Davis has been on probation since 2023, after pleading guilty to multiple traffic violations related to a 2020 incident in Baltimore in which four people were injured when his vehicle struck another car. Davis left the scene before police arrived. The sentence included probation that remained active even after a later offense resulted in prison time.
Those conditions are now the pressure point. The Florida case reopened Maryland’s authority over Davis, allowing a judge there to act independently of what happens next in Miami. The Florida charges include battery, false imprisonment and attempted kidnapping. The alleged victim also filed a civil lawsuit. Even before those cases are resolved, the mere existence of the arrest is enough to put Davis back under scrutiny from the Maryland court.
Davis’ attorney asked the judge to revoke the arrest warrant and instead issue a summons to appear in court, along with GPS monitoring. That request highlights the risk. Once probation is in play, discretion shifts away from promoters, networks and sanctioning bodies, and back to a courtroom that has already shown limited patience with Davis’ compliance.
The ripple effects are already visible. His planned exhibition match with Jake Paul was canceled in November, costing Davis both money and a high-profile Netflix platform. The WBA has since named him a champion in recess at 135 pounds, a status that often precedes a title reassignment if timelines continue to slip.
For years, Davis’ legal troubles coexisted with his boxing career and rarely dictated it. This time is different. The Florida case is important primarily because it reactivates Maryland’s leverage, turning an old probation sentence into the central hurdle Davis must now clear before anything else can move forward.
