Many of Gervonta Davis’ critics have long wanted to see him face his fellow top lightweights, and are therefore disappointed that his next bout will instead be against junior lightweight titleholder Lamont Roach Jr.
Roach, of course, feels that the weight difference between him and Tank won’t be a factor when they step into the ring on December 14 in Houston, fighting for Davis’ WBA title on pay-per-view.
“Tank isn’t the biggest 135-pounder. Everybody he fights is damn near bigger than him,” Roach said in an interview with Naji Grampus of Cigar Talk. “I think the only person that was smaller than him was Pitbull [Isaac Cruz]. And that’s just in height. In stature, he was technically bigger than Tank, too.
“Tank is comfortable at 135, so I don’t blame him for fighting at that weight, but he’s not a big ’35. I don’t see why people are like, ‘Oh, you brought up a smaller guy.’ I’m not stunting that. They gonna keep saying that. I fight at 130 because that’s where I campaign at. That’s where I started my career. That’s where I worked my way up to a world title. My plan was always to move up to 135 and win another title. It just happened a little earlier than normal.”
Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs) turned pro in 2014 and has competed within the 130-pound weight limit since 2017. Prior to that, he tended to come in around 131 or 132 pounds, except for in Roach’s first few pro bouts, when he tipped the scales at 134, 133 and 137.5.
“When a boxer is starting their career, they don’t necessarily have to make 130 pounds because we’re not in title contention or none of that,” said the 29-year-old from Washington, D.C.. “The opponents I was getting, the opponents that were selected for me were probably bigger or they just couldn’t make weight. The fight […] that occurred at 140, I was supposed to fight at 132. He was eight pounds overweight. I went and ate breakfast and weighed in.”
Roach is listed at 5-foot-7. Davis, a 29-year-old from Baltimore, is listed at 5-foot-5.5.
Davis turned pro in 2013 as a featherweight and bounced between divisions, getting as high as lightweight before settling at junior lightweight in 2017, knocking out Jose Pedraza for a world title.
He had one fight at lightweight in 2019 against Yuriorkis Gamboa, came back down to junior lightweight to beat Leo Santa Cruz in 2020, jumped up to junior welterweight to defeat Mario Barrios in 2021, then came back to 135 by the end of that year for the Cruz fight. Davis has remained at lightweight ever since.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod. He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
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