Premier Boxing Champions has released the first two episodes of its “Gloves Off” series for the March 1 fight between Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Lamont Roach Jnr.
The writers and producers for “Gloves Off” had their work cut out for them – though a fine fighter, Roach Jnr being a career-long 130-pounder means he was few people’s idea of an attractive opponent for Tank at 135. Their first press conference, to which Davis showed up hours late, lacked many thrills or even energy from Davis.
As it turns out, heavily produced videos replete with music and sound effects have a way of making a product seem more compelling, dubious lines notwithstanding (narrator: “Tank is looking to use this next chapter to further his legend”).
The first episode featured Davis, naturally, as the main attraction for the fight. “Ever since I’ve known him, since he was a kid, his biggest fear was losing,” said Barry Hunter, listed in the episode as Davis’ trainer. Hunter is best known for his work with two D.C. fighters, Lamont and Anthony Peterson.
Hunter recalled Davis crying at an Adrien Broner fight because he wanted Broner’s big fight environment so badly. Clearly quite a few years have passed since this event. But that moment told Hunter that Davis would work tirelessly in pursuit of that desire.
And for all the knocks on Tank’s matchmaking – critics will say he is ruled by his fear of losing, given how loath he is to take fights with close odds – his preparation has always shone in the ring, hence his record of 30-0 (28 KOs).
Though creating an impressive training montage is not especially difficult – as everybody duped into thinking Mike Tyson would beat Jake Paul should now know – much of “I Hate Losing” is dedicated to Davis’ training footage.
Davis offered a slightly different spin on the title, and Hunter’s recollection of his biggest fear: he said he most wanted to avoid being embarrassed. BoxingScene’s own Kieran Mulvaney has said on many a podcast episode that fighters hate being clowned above all else. It appears Tank is no different, and he seeks to avoid that shame by preparing hard.
“You become this meme,” Davis said of fighters who get embarrassed, laughing as he followed with a phrase from another meme: “I ain’t got time for that!”
Roach, meanwhile, is initially introduced to the viewer with his desire for big fights – he said the prospect of a Davis fight was an instant “yes” – and the mean breakfast bowl he eats during training camp. Roach is painted as relaxed and easygoing, especially compared to Tank.
Roach also addressed Tank’s bizarre Instagram story from December, a line of text reading “the fight is f***ing cancel [sic].”
“The fight was never off,” Roach said, saying he never stopped going to the gym to train. “[Davis] might just be a little off,” he added, “and he be tripping sometimes.”
Davis grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and Roach in Washington, D.C. They came up together in boxing and their amateur careers intertwined. Roach was confident throughout the video, though he did acknowledge the result the last time they met as amateurs, in the middle of their teen years: a Davis victory.
Roach generally seemed more at ease than Davis, happily playing cards in one scene and talking via phone to his son and mother in other scenes. Davis, meanwhile, was more reserved. A portion of the episode is even devoted to Roach being at peace with his lone loss, which came at the hands of Jamel Herring in 2019. Those skeptical of Roach’s chances will surely fixate on that defeat, given that Davis is more heralded than Herring ever was.
“He was the better man that night,” Roach said, “And honestly, that one fucked me up. I was depressed. It’s my first loss.” But after the initial grieving period, Roach returned to the gym, motivated to define himself with better performances.
“It wasn’t a loss; it was a lesson,” Lamont Roach Snr said.
Roach put the demons from the defeat to bed for good with an upset split decision win over Hector Luis Garcia to win his first world title. (Garcia is one of only two shared opponents both Roach and Davis have fought; Davis knocked him out in the ninth round. As prospects, they also each took on and beat Mario Macias.)
On March 1 Roach intends to cause a significantly more seismic upset.
Roach grinned and pointed at the camera. “I’m gonna spoil whatever y’all think gonna happen March 1,” he said.
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