Lamont Roach is unmoved whenever broached with the topic of Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
The WBA 130lbs champion instead remains focused on the fight that is actually in front of him. A showdown with Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz is on deck for December 6 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. To Roach, it’s a conversation greater worth discussing than whether or not he’d again pursue a rematch with Davis after watching their previous effort fall through.
“I don't really worry about that. I'm removed from that, even from that thought,” Roach told BoxingScene. “I really don't care about it; don't care about him. So, you know, it is what it is. I don't think about even rematching him at all.”
Roach, 25-1-2 (10 KOs) pulled off an upset of sorts when he held the highly regarded Davis, 30-0-1 (28 KOs) to a dubious draw on March 1 in Brooklyn, New York. The two were due to run it back in August, but Davis had other ideas and decided to pull the plug on the event altogether.
While the future is unclear for Davis, Roach has moved on – and up. The 30-year-old from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, fights in his third weight division in as many contests when he takes on the fireplug known as “Pitbull.” They meet while next weekend, though the outcome of Davis-Roach remains a hot topic as fight week nears.
The narrative at the time of their March 1 meeting was that Davis would win handily against Roach, who moved up to 135lbs from junior lightweight. Instead, the hard-hitting Davis more than had his hands full, staying up during a moment that could have been ruled a knockdown and then managing to draw on the cards.
Plenty in boxing, and in particular fighters, had said Roach would be a hard night’s work for any leading fighter, and that included Davis. But Roach simply goes about his business and doesn’t have hundreds of thousands of followers on his socials.
To that end, there is often more interest in a fight between two boxers with big followings rather than making bouts with those who can simply fight.
That, Roach contends, is one of the major issues in boxing.
“It’s definitely not about who has the biggest following,” said Roach, 25-1-2 (10 KOs). “And like you said, that puts the sport in a bad position. But what can we do about it? The fans are the ones who are tuned in to the guys with the most followers, a broader spectrum, guys who aren’t hardcore fans and guys who aren’t really tuned in to the deeper core of boxing.
“So, I guess us, as fighters – and promoters as well – have to figure something out because it is putting the sport in a bad light or a bad position from what I see. Because there's a lot of good fights and there's a lot of fighters that are world-class that people don't know about.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
