Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis’ choice of super featherweight Lamont Roach Jr. as his opponent for December 14th doesn’t bother promoter Eddie Hearn. He feels that Tank (30-0, 28 KOs) had no other options for his fight in December because the big names were unavailable.
No One Available
Hearn says these fighters were not options for WBA lightweight champion Tank for one reason or another:
– Shakur Stevenson: Injured
– Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz: Recently beaten
– Ryan Garcia: Suspended
– Devin Haney: Beaten
– Vasily Lomachenko: Chose to sit out the remainder of 2024
The other fighters that Tank Davis could have fought, Edin De Los Santos, Andy Cruz, Keyshawn Davis, and Raymond Muratalla, aren’t any more well-known than Lamont Roach. Even if Tank Davis had selected one of them, casual boxing wouldn’t know who they are, and there wouldn’t be an increase in PPV buys over his choice of Roach.
“I think the online reaction is a little bit unfair. Everybody hates the fight, but Lamont Roach is a good fighter. The problem is no one knows who he is, and with Tank’s position in the sport, people want him in big fights, and it’s not a big fight,” said Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV, talking about Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr. on December 14th.
Tank Has Been Protected
It’s not just that no one knows who Roach is that has caused the backlash. The real issue is the hardcore boxing fans who do know who Roach is, and they’re not interested in seeing Tank Davis fight him. Casual probably won’t care because they don’t know who any of the fighters Tank Davis has fought in the past, other than Ryan Garcia.
Tank’s promoters haven’t gone out of their way to match him against guys that fans have heard of because they’ve treated him like a valuable commodity that must be gaurded. That’s kept him humming along and winning, but it’s also stunted his career earnings. He’d have made a lot more money if he’s fought well-known opposition during the last 11 years.
“If you know your boxing, you know it’s a good fight, but he is a super featherweight; he’s much smaller than Tank,” said Hearn. “I don’t think it’s a bad fight, but it’s gone down terribly because no one knows who Lamont Roach is. But what were the options for Tank, really? He doesn’t want to fight Shakur, and Shakur got injured.”
Tank vs. Roach is a good fight along the same lines as Tank’s last match against Frank Martin. That was a mismatch, and this one will be too. The only difference is that Roach has no power at all and will have nothing to keep Tank off. He’s like a poor man’s version of Shakur Stevenson. That might be one of the reasons Tank selected Roach. He’ll help him prepare for Shakur.
“Haney’s not around fighting. The Ryan Garcia rematch isn’t there. Pitbull Cruz got beat, and that was definitely the fight that they were going to make. Valenzuela is not ready. So, all in all, I get it, but it’s not going to do big numbers because it’s not a fight that people are aware of that is actually quite a good fight,” said Hearn about the Tank vs. Roach clash.
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