SAN ANTONIO -- Lamont Roach Jnr’s current title status will end the moment the bell sounds for his next fight.
BoxingScene has confirmed that the WBA will derecognize the boxer’s current 130lbs reign, effective Saturday evening. Roach, 25-1-2 (10 KOs), will enter the ring as the recognized WBA junior lightweight titleholder but then immediately lose that honor, regardless of the outcome from his challenge of WBC interim 140lbs titlist Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, 28-3-1 (18 KOs).
The scheduled 12-round secondary title fight between Roach and Cruz will headline a PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view event this Saturday from Frost Bank Center, home to the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.
Once the fight is underway, England’s James “Jazza” Dickens – the current WBA interim 130lbs titlist – will be upgraded to full titleholder. The distinction is significant, as Dickens’ currently scheduled December 27 clash with Hayato Tsutsumi will now occur with the full WBA title at stake.
Meanwhile, Roach’s title stay will come to an end just two years after he dethroned Hector Garcia via split decision in their November 2023 meeting in Las Vegas.
Just one successful title defense was logged over that time. It came in a ninth-round knockout of undefeated challenger Feargal McCrory last June 28 in Roach’s Washington D.C. home region.
Roach’s only fight since then was his well-publicized March 1 majority draw with Gervonta “Tank” Davis in Brooklyn, New York. Their 12-round clash came with Davis’ WBA 135lbs title at stake, marking Roach’s first fight at the weight in more than a decade.
The aftermath was a strong indication that Roach was never going to return to 130lbs.
Talks of a rematch emerged, with Roach on board for an August 16 meeting in Las Vegas. The event was never announced, however, once Davis pulled the pin on those plans.
Roach was then offered the opportunity to once again move up in weight, this time to challenge for Cruz’s secondary title. He jumped at the chance, primarily to resume his career.
It remains to be seen if Roach will stick around at 140lbs, though it’s clear that his time is up at the division where he claimed his first major title. In that sense, the WBA belt he still holds is merely symbolic at this point, for the purpose of carrying through the promotion as a recognized titleholder.
The practice has become commonplace in recent years.
Most recently, the WBA permitted Terence Crawford to enter his September 13 showdown with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez as its recognized 154lbs titleholder.
Crawford never made a defense of the title that he claimed last August, and it was clear that he didn’t have any intention to return to the weight. However, the WBA granted his request to retain the title until the bell sounded for his eventual win over Alvarez, upon which he claimed the undisputed 168lbs championship.
Jermell Charlo also remained the recognized undisputed 154lbs champion ahead of his own challenge of Alvarez in their September 2023 meeting. Charlo was then relieved of his WBO title once the bell sounded, an agreement reached with the sanctioning body, which then derecognized his reign for failure to defend against mandatory challenger and interim titlist Tim Tszyu.
