Lamont Roach believes he will face Shakur Stevenson next, should they both come through their respective bouts.

Roach recently appeared on The Ariel Helwani show to talk up his upcoming bout with Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz this weekend. Roach will be headlining his second successive pay-per-view event this Saturday when he faces Cruz in San Antonio, Texas, having previously fought to a controversial draw against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis back in March. That bout was Roach’s first in the lightweight division, having moved up from 130lbs where he still currently holds the WBA title. Roach will be heading north yet again when he faces Cruz, this time competing at 140lbs and for the WBC interim junior welterweight title.

“Not at all. I’ve got unfinished business,” replied Roach. “Honestly, what people don't understand is like, I never struggled to make 130lbs. So, you know, it was normal to have to cut weight, but it wasn't like I was killing myself to make 130lbs. That's why I was still campaigning at 130lbs for so long, and to be a champion. I've been fighting 130lbs since I was 15. I was at 132lbs in the amateurs. So like, obviously my body is used to that weight.”

Roach will challenge Cruz from the interim version of the WBC junior lightweight title, with the full-owner Subriel Matias, set to defend his belt against Dalton Smith on January 10. Although that bout is in doubt after Matias tested positive for trace amounts of the banned substance ostarine. If Matias was to pick up a ban, then it is likely the owner of the interim strap would be promoted to full champion by the WBC. However, the contest may still go ahead after reports that the amount of ostarine in Matias’ system was in the legal threshold. 

“Yes, there is an issue. I think they're on the way to handling it,” said Roach of Matias-Smith. “I think the New York State Athletic Commission will allow it, which is weird. Yeah, that fight is going to go on. I think they allow a certain [amount[ even though it's an illegal substance that you can't get anywhere else outside of like the black market. They have a level, like a threshold. That's weird to me, but hey.” 

Helwani turned the conversation onto the controversial encounter with Davis back in March. The pair were in talks to run back the encounter, with a date set for August before Davis instead opted to fight Jake Paul. A bout that would later be axed due to Davis’ legal troubles. Helwani asked Roach: “How close were you to rematching ‘Tank’?”

“As close as if he wouldn't have veered off, it would have happened,” said Roach. “So he activated his rights to the rematch, which contractually binds us to a fight where no event or fight should take place in between. He did what isn't supposed to happen. He took a fight with Jake Paul. Technically, I think he just felt like he was going to be able to bogart it and just be like, all right, what are they going to do? And either like force my hand or whatever the case may be. I mentioned arbitration before because that's how business works. It's nothing against whatever or whoever, but that's how business works. If you illegally go about a contract the wrong way, then what do you think is going to happen? The business has to get handled. So that's my whole take on it.

“But at the end of the day, PBC and that side over there, those guys are good guys. They made sure that I was taken care of and they presented me with another opportunity that was very fruitful for my liking.” 

Roach came into the contest as a huge underdog, despite holding a title in the weight below, but shocked many with his performance. Many believed he had done enough to have his hand raised after 12 rounds, but the ringside judges thought differently.

“Like even in the early rounds where there wasn't much going on, I was in control,” said Roach of his showing. “Like there were less punches thrown and people were saying he was downloading data. I mean, he was trying to figure it out, but he really couldn't. Like, so I just did my best to control the ring, try to control the narrative. I think the first six rounds, I think at least being honest, I think at least we should have at least split those rounds. If you want to be the favorite, then give the champ some of the rounds, but come on now, on two of them scorecards I think I lost five of the first six rounds.”

The moment of the fight – and in the end the moment that cost Roach the fight – took place in Round 9, when chemicals from Davis’ hair seeped into his eye. Roach landed a jab that further caused discomfort to Davis’ vision, and the champion decided to take a knee, he then got up and allowed his cornerman to wipe his eyes clean. The referee Willis controversially did not call a knockdown, and if he had, Roach would have taken the decision on the cards.

“The ninth round was BS. That was BS,” Roach said. “I would get mad a few times after I watched it. I think it was just, I don't know. It's just like, all right, some people get special treatments. Some people were like, we talked about this over and over again. The referee saw that it was a knockdown, started counting, and then somehow, someway, you let him say something to you, to convince you like, ‘All right, well, you can't do that again, because if you do it, it looks like a knockdown.’

“How do you verbally, you say that out your mouth too. Like it's picked up on the mics and everything. So it's just like, you stop your count and tell them it looks like a knockdown. Like, what do you mean it looks like a knockdown? It was a knockdown. I get mad looking at it and talking about it. [I’m calm] because it's over with.” 

“So once all that happened, were you guys in active negotiations to rematch?” Helwani asked Roach.

“Like, we were supposed to fight in June. Like June 14th or something or June 21st,” he replied. “That's when we signed our original contract. We signed not too long after the fight, but it never got officially announced. It was sort of reported. It was reported, but we actually signed on the dotted line for June. Then they needed more time. Then it got pushed back to August. That was the one that was announced. And then the whole Jake Paul thing happened.

“That's why this fight is taking place with people. We kind of figured that after it's heating up on him, after that last fight, we don't know what's going to go on. We know what we're dealing with. We know we're dealing with a wild card when it comes to boxing, when it comes to business, when it comes to his personal life. So we don't know what can happen. And my dad, my manager, made sure that he put in a contract, ‘No matter what, even if we don't fight Gervonta Davis, we're going to fight this year regardless because we don't know what's going to happen with him.’ And once we started hearing the Jake Paul talks, we were just like, ‘All right, here we go.’ And then next thing you know, it really came out that he was going to fight him.”

Davis' clash with Paul broke down after accusations of an assault and kidnapping from an ex-girlfriend meant Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions were forced to pull the plug.

“Do you think Davis would have beat him?” asked Helwani. 

“Yeah, he's too skilled,” said Roach. “The experience, everything, it wouldn't have been close.”While Davis missed out on the lucrative bout with Paul, his loss was Anthony Joshua’s gain, and the former heavyweight champion will now face Paul instead on December 19.

“Anthony by murder. Might knock his head off a little bit,” said Roach of the fight. “Like it might be a special effect, but it might go out.”

“First round?” asked Helwani.

“It depends on if AJ is going out there to knock him out in the first round, if he wanted to, he could,” Roach replied. 

Davis has talked of walking away from the sport after 2025. Roach believes that will be the case.

“He said he was going to retire. I believe him,” Roach said. “He said he was going to retire at the end of 2025, right? Here we are at the end of 2025. I believe him. He told everybody he don't really care about boxing. He told people he don't care about championships. And he told people he's going to get his money and y'all not going to see him again. It looks like he's doing it.” 

But are there any regrets for Roach that he may never have the win over Davis on his record?

“No. I did what I was supposed to do that night,” he said. “I wrongfully got screwed out of it, but I did what I was supposed to do. That's all that matters to me. And the fact that I'm going to move on and do the other things that I'm supposed to do. I'm going to achieve my goals of being a multi-division world champion. I'm going to achieve my goal as being at least somewhere on the top 10 pound-for-pound list. That was the start. Well, when I beat Hector for my first world title, that was the start. And then the run after this is going to be... It's going to be crazy.”

So, is the door closed on a rematch with Davis completely?

“I don't even... We don't even have conversations… not interested,” Roach said. 

Talk then turned to Roach’s management/promotional team, Garry Jonas’ ProBox TV, who have led Roach to his 130lb title and onwards. Helwani asked Roach about the tension between Jonas and Riyadh Season frontman Turki Alalshikh, saying: “Garry [Jonas] has got a bit of a feud going with Saudi Arabia, huh?”

“Man, Garry's crazy, man. Garry's crazy. But Garry is an advocate for what's right for boxing,” Roach replied. 

“So, you feel good with him by your side?” Helwani responded. 

“Oh, for sure,” said Roach. 

As Helwani does with many of his guests, he then asked Roach for his opinion on the recent legislation that is being pushed by Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, that will alter the current “Ali Act” that is in place to protect fighters.

“It sucks that they're trying to change it up, that they don't notice that it's for the protection of the boxer,” said Roach. “So they'll come around to it. I know that boxing as a whole, we won't conform to anything moving forward without the Ali Act.”

So Roach does not believe that the sport needs one belt and one entity controlling all?

“It's the way you go about it. It's how you do it,” said Roach. “The way that they're proposing it now, it's like they're trying to monopolize it. You know, the sanctioning bodies, they've been doing a good job. They've been doing a good job. It's just... It's up to the fighters. It's up to the promoters to make the right matches to make sure that there's a definite champion. And I think they do a good job with the Ring Magazine belt. It's just the fights aren't happening to crown that lineal champion.”

Another junior welterweight clash was announced earlier this week, with Teofimo Lopez set to defend his WBO crown against three-division champion Shakur Stevnson on January 31.

“It's a great fight. I can't wait till it happens. I think Shakur wins,” said Roach. “I think that'll line up a future mega fight for me and Shakur. Whatever weight he wants it to be at. I think 135lbs because he said he wants to go back to 135 and defend his belt.”

 

So, why is Roach backing Stevenson to dethrone Lopez?

“Teofimo has fits with guys who are technical,” he said. “And the only technical guy that he didn't have a problem with is Lomachenko. But Lomachenko had to come forward that fight, too, a little bit. He had to be less technical. But other than that, he has a fit with guys who are just pure boxers. And Shakur probably boxes also.”

Stevenson has taken criticism from many, with even including Alalshikh mocking his style by comparing his fights to “Tom and Jerry.”

“I mean, he do what he do to win. I like a lot of his performances,” said Roach. ‘He's a hit and not get hit guy and once he seeks the opportunity or has the opportunity to punch on some people, he does. So, I don't see nothing wrong with it. I mean if you want to say fan friendly, sometimes it might not be. But it's very few. Other than that, he fights pretty good.” 

Talk then returned to Roach’s bout with Cruz, and Roach was asked for his prediction to finish the show.

“That I win very convincingly,” Roach said. “Pitbull is a tough cookie. Everybody's talking about how, you know, if I make a statement by stopping him and all that, he hasn't been stopped for a reason. Let's put that out there right now. He hasn't been stopped for a reason. Do I think I can stop him? Yes. But if I don't, don't be upset with me. That's all I'm going to say.”

Tom Ivers is an amateur boxer who has a master’s degree in sports journalism. He had his first bout in 2013, joined BoxingScene in 2024 and is now a key part of the UK and social media teams.