The WBA has angered fans by granting permission for their super featherweight champion Lamont Roach to move up to lightweight to challenge Gervonta Davis for his belt without giving up his belt.
Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs) has been given special permission by the World Boxing Association to move up to lightweight for the opportunity to jump the line to take on WBA 135-lb champion Tank Davis (30-0, 28 KOs).
This move by the WBA is viewed as unfair by the fans, who feel that Tank Davis shouldn’t be repeatedly permitted to cherry-pick weak punchers from the division below him to allow him to hold onto his lightweight title longer.
It isn’t the first time that Davis has combed the 130-lb division to find an opponent to defend his WBA 135-lb belt against. In 2020, Tank defended his WBA lightweight title against Leo Santa Cruz, who came up from super featherweight to challenge him. Last year, Tank defended his 135-lb belt against WBA 130-lb champion Hector Garcia, who moved up to challenge him.
This is the third time Tank has scoured the super featherweight division for challengers, and it’s unfair to the contenders waiting their turn for a title shot at his WBA lightweight belt.
If Roach is victorious against Tank, he’ll have five days to decide which of the two titles he’ll hold onto. It would be a no-brainer for Roach to hold onto the WBA lightweight title for a lucrative rematch against Tank Davis. If Roach loses, he’ll have 120-lb days to defend against his WBA official super featherweight challenger.
Fans feel that Tank Davis should be defending his WBA lightweight title against contenders in his weight class rather than hand-picking a fighter with little punching power from the 130-lb division.
Roach is a decent fighter, but he’s not a power puncher and is viewed as just a run-of-the-mill belt holder at super featherweight.
If he was one of the dangerous guys like Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez, fans would be pleased with Tank Davis defending against a super featherweight. Roach can’t punch, and it’s another gimme for Tank, much like his past fights against Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero, Frank Martin, Ryan Garcia, Hector Garcia, and Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.
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