Lamont Roach provided his own justification for why his lightweight title fight with Gervonta “Tank” Davis was pushed back nearly three months from December 14 in Houston to March 1 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
“I believe Tank just wasn’t ready to face me back in December,” Roach told BoxingScene on Tuesday following a press conference to promote his bout with WBA titleholder Davis. “I honestly don’t think he was ready because what would be the reasoning? If it was the venue, we could have gotten another venue. What else could it be?”
A source confirmed that Davis wasn’t in position to fight Roach in December, especially after the birth of his son in August when Davis wanted to spend more time with his newborn instead of going away to camp.
Roach knows Davis well from their amateur days and geographic rivalry. Their matchup is a “Battle of the Beltway” encounter with Davis hailing from Baltimore and Roach born in Washington, D.C., and now living in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. They were frequent sparring partners growing up and fought twice as teenage amateurs in 2011 with Davis going 2-0.
Davis was a different fighter back then and has undergone a dramatic transformation as a professional, according to Roach, who holds the WBA junior lightweight title.
“What’s interesting is that he wasn’t known as a power-puncher as an amateur,” Roach said of Davis, who is 30-0 with 28 knockouts and is viewed as one of the sport’s best finishers. “He was more of a boxer, so his evolving into the star that he is – I commend him for the changes he’s made to his skill-set.”
Lamont Sr. echoed his son’s analysis of Davis as an amateur and marveled at how he’s been able to add power to his arsenal.
“Watching him as a kid to see how he transformed has been interesting because my son was considered more of a power puncher,” Roach Sr., who trains his son, told BoxingScene. “If you watch both of their fights, he put Tank on his backfoot. But to watch Tank evolve, he increased his skills as a professional. They’re both high IQ fighters in the ring, they both download information pretty quickly in the ring so you’re going to see some pretty high-level stuff on March 1.”
Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs) said there’s a rematch clause in the contract if he prevails against Davis.
“Every champion should have a rematch clause,” he said. “We’re fighting for his belt so I would throw a rematch clause in there, too.”
The bout is a major step up for the 29-year-old Roach, who has never headlined a pay-per-view bout and has campaigned recently at 130 pounds, while Davis has remained firmly at lightweight since 2021. They have a common opponent in Hector Luis Garcia, who was stopped violently in 2023 by Davis. Roach won the WBA junior lightweight title last November after flooring Garcia in the 12th round and winning a split decision.
Despite the difference in experience, Roach was relaxed and genial on Tuesday, even taking Davis’ lateness in stride. Davis arrived four hours and 28 minutes late to a press conference that was originally scheduled for 1 pm on Tuesday but was rescheduled for 4 pm. to accommodate Davis’ travel issues. Davis arrived on stage to start the presser at 5:28 p.m.
“If he’s trying to play mind games,” Lamont Jr. said, “it’s not working.”
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