Boxing club thought Jake Paul support 'was fake'

A boxing club in south Wales had such a shock when professional boxer and influencer Jake Paul sent support they initially thought it "was fake".

Jake Paul stepped in to help the Cwmavon Hornets ABC in Neath Port Talbot after the death of its head coach and founder Nigel Davies.

Davies guided more than 100 national boxing champions and represented Wales in European and world championships.

Paul, who founded the anti-bullying organisation Boxing Bullies Foundation, found out about the Cwmavon club when a former boxer from the club started working for him, and he donated 16 pairs of boxing gloves.

The influencer described how boxing changed his life and it was an easy decision to help out.

Davies founded Cwmavon Hornets in 1995 and ran it until his death in August 2025.

The club described him as "more than a coach" and a second father or grandfather to many of the boxers he coached.

They said: "Everyone misses him."

During his career he worked with boxers including Anthony Joshua, Joe Cordina, Fred Evans, Andrew Selby and Sean McGoldrick.

He was known for embracing local talent and growing a strong community, and coached at two Olympic games in Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

When ex-Cwmavon Hornets boxer Ethan Gilbert started working for Paul's media team, he told him about the club and Davies' support.

Davies' death really hit home for Ethan, he felt as if a piece was missing from the Cwmavon Hornets.

Gilbert said: "It felt like a full circle moment, from being a kid training there to now being in a position to give something back."

Gilbert dropped the gloves off to the club and loved seeing everyone's reaction.

"Everyone was so excited, they were saying 'How does Jake Paul know about our little club?'"

Gilbert created a video of the gloves being used and sent it to Jake Paul, who was "landed" to see everyone's excitement and said: "This is exactly what we're trying to do with Boxing Bullies."

Gilbert hopes more can be done for Welsh boxing clubs and believes boxing helps young people stay on the right path.

Members of the Cwmavon Hornets and Davies' family ran the Richard Burton 10k run in memory of Davies in October 2025 and Paul made a video of support which was shared on Instagram.

In the video Paul passed on his condolences to the club and wished everyone good luck, saying: "It's for a good cause."

Gethin Davies, Davies' son, said of the video: "It was such a shock, I thought it was fake at first.

"There's been a lot of fake stuff going around with Jake Paul. When I found out, I thought 'fair play'.

"He didn't have to do that, did he? We appreciate all the help we get."

The club now has so many members that it might have to relocate to bigger premises.

Gethin Davies said: "The gym went from strength to strength."

The Cwmavon Hornets made a Facebook post thanking Paul, his team and Gilbert, and it read: "Ethan trained at the Hornets with Nigel in the past and kindly spoke to Jake about our gym and about Nigel's legacy after his recent passing - something that means a great deal to us.

"Support like this really does make a difference to our club and our boxers. These gloves will be put to great use, helping our members train, build confidence and enjoy the sport."

Jake Paul, 29, is an American influencer, actor and professional boxer.

He rose to fame posting on social media channels, amassing millions of followers and billions of views and was ranked by Forbes as one of the highest-paid creators on YouTube over the past 20 years.

Paul has also appeared in a number of films and television shows, including Dance Camp and Airplane Mode.

Boxing Bullies wrote on Instagram: "Together, we made sure to send over boxing gloves in honour of Nigel's service to the sport. It's powerful to now see them in the hands of Cwmavon Hornets and being put to proper use by the club he cared so deeply about."

Jake Paul said in a statement to BBC Wales: "Ethan reached out to me about supporting his hometown club and it was an easy yes.

"Boxing changed my life, gave me opportunities I'll always be grateful for, and if we can help put gloves in young fighters' hands and give them belief, discipline and direction, that's what it's all about.

"That's the mission with Boxing Bullies."