Trainer Calvin Ford looked stressed out today, answering questions about why his fighter, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, selected Lamont Roach for his next opponent on December 14th instead of one of the talented lightweights that fans want to see the Baltimore native fight.
Ford’s answers for why Tank is fighting Roach are pretty flimsy, saying, “It’s good for the community.” The boxing public doesn’t see it as good, and they’re the ones that purchase Tank’s fights for $75.95 on PPV. This ain’t good for them.
Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs), a super featherweight who will be moving up to challenge Gervonta (30-0, 28 KOs) for his WBA lightweight title in Houston, has never beaten any A-level fighters during his 10-year career.
The 29-year-old Roach lost to Jamel Herring in 2019 and has recent wins over Feargal McCrory, Hector Luis Garcia, and Angel Rodriguez. Those aren’t exactly the best of the best. Losing to Herring tells you all you need to know about Roach’s qualifications for a fight against Tank.
Why Tank Fighting Roach
- They have known each other since they were amateurs
- Roach agreed to the fight
- It’s a “great fight”
- Good for the “community”
- That’s the fight in “front of’ Tank
“They’ve been knowing each other since the amateurs, the Silver gloves, and everything. They grew up with each other,” said trainer Calvin Ford to Fighthype, talking about Gervonta Davis knowing Lamont Roach Jr. well from the past.
Fans don’t care that Tank Davis knew Roach when he was back on the block. They want to see Tank facing the best at 135, like William Zepeda, Raymond Muratalla, Andy Cruz, Abdullah Mason and Keyshawn Davis.
“Roach and him had back-and-forth battles and whatnot. It’s going to be a pretty interesting fight because Roach comes to fight. I think it’s a great fight. Everybody talking all that stuff, ‘Ah, why Roach?’ Because he took the fight, and it’s good for the community,” said Ford.
He doesn’t say what community it’s good for. Is this the community in Baltimore and Washington, D.C? There are more fans nationwide than in that small section of the U.S. Tank should be thinking about them for a change and stop his risk avoidance of the talented fighters at 135.
This is the third time that Tank Davis has picked a fighter from the super featherweight division to defend his WBA lightweight belt against. He had already fought 130-pounders Hector Luis Garcia and Leo Santa Cruz.
“People are going to do that. That’s what fans do. They give bad criticism,” said Ford, criticizing fighters when they take weak opponents, especially when they do it repeatedly throughout their careers, as Tank Davis has done.
“I remember when everyone was saying I should let Pitbull fight Tank again. They were talking about that, and then when he won that belt [WBA light welterweight], boom. I don’t get involved with that. I just prepare him and get him ready to put on a great performance for the fans and whatnot.
“Like I said, we just focus on the fight in front of us, and that’s the fight in front of us,” said Ford about Roach being the next title defense for Gervonta on December 14th.
That answer from Ford isn’t good enough, saying, “We just focus on the fight in front of us.” That’s not an answer. I think we need the Grand Inquisitor here to put Ford’s feet to the fire and get some real answers as to why Tank Davis is fighting Roach. It goes a lot deeper than what he’s saying. There’s some fear behind these choices for Tank because it’s easy money, allowing him to avoid risk.
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