WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis will meet with Lamont Roach next Tuesday, December 3rd, for their kickoff press conference to discuss their main event fight on March 1st at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The two fighters will battle on PBC on Prime Video PPV.
Tank (30-0, 28 KOs) and Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs_ were originally scheduled to fight on December 14th at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, but because of problems with the venue, it was rescheduled for March 1st.
The pay-per-view price hasn’t been revealed, but it’s likely to be the same as the $75 for Gervonta’s last title defense against Frank Martin on June 15th.
That’s a steep price if the undercard isn’t loaded with big names. Fans who see the great cards filled with big names for the Riyadh Season events may be stunned at the sticker price of Tank’s fight against Roach. With this fight perceived by fans as a cherry-pick, they would expect the PPV price to be dramatically reduced.
Why Roach Was Selected
- Low-risk option: Choosing Roach provides Gervonta with an opponent who has no chance of beating him, and he continues to bring in money safely.
- Regional interest: Tank is from Baltimore, and Roach is from nearby Washington, DC.
- Stay busy; fans in that area are familiar with Roach and won’t mind that Davis is fighting him rather than one of the talented contenders in the lightweight division.
- Showcase opportunity: This fight gives Gervonta a chance to look great against a light puncher, who will put up a fight before getting knocked out. It’s a much safer choice than if Tank fought a contender like Raymond Muratalla, Edwin De Los Santos or William Zepeda.
Fans would have preferred to fight over and done with on December 14th rather than kicking the can down the road into March 1st. Even with the additional three months that the promoters for the Tank vs. Roach event have to market the fight, it’s still not one that is going to attract a lot of interest, or PPV buys.
Tank’s promoters must begin matching him against better opposition because their habit of choosing weak opposition for him is hurting his popularity. He’s loosely called the ‘Face of Boxing,’ but no one believes that. Besides Grevonta’s match against Ryan Garcia in 2023, his fights have been on the low end of PPV buys. It shouldn’t be that way, but that reflects the low-level opposition that Davis has been fighting.
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