After months of speculation and search, Gervonta Davis has finally found an opponent. For the past few months, there was only one question in every fan’s mind. Who is Davis going to fight next? The selection by Tank surprised everyone as the WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach Jr is being touted as his next opponent as per the latest announcement.
After Davis’ successful title defense against Frank Martin in June, Davis’ camp discussed many names, though they were unsuccessful in securing a fight with any of them. As the year progressed, and with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) struggling to find a suitable match for Davis, the situation began to look bleak for the fighter, who was eager to return to the ring before year’s end. However, the ultimate decision to go with the Maryland native, Roach, has created waves across the boxing community. Rick Glaser, a boxing promoter and insider, revealed the news, sending shockwaves through the sport.
Lamont Roach to move up
Glaser took to ‘X’ and stated that Lamont Roach Jr for his Tank Davis fight would be going up a division to lightweight. However, the move to up 135 would be for one fight only. “Breaking, #TankDavis next opponent is going to be WBA 130 pound Champion #LamontRoach moving upto 135 pounds for this fight only. It’ll be in December, they’re both from Maryland, so it could well be in the DMV region!!! Details being finalized,” revealed Glaser.
The IBHOF elector also stated that the fight will be in December in line with the previous reports. This will be Gervonta Davis’ second fight this year since his return to the ring after a year of absence from the ring. The finer details of the fight are still being discussed, but there is a huge possibility that the fight will take place in the Washington area as both boxers hail from Maryland. The PBC, for their part, is yet to make an official announcement on this.
It was an entirely shocking choice as Roach was not even in the discussion of possible prospects for Davis. Fans were expecting a big matchup, as names like Shakur Stevenson and Vasyl Lomachenko were being discussed. The obvious weight difference was one of the reasons no one considered Roach as a serious contender for Davis.
With no lack of talent in the lightweight division, finalizing a super featherweight as the next opponent is sure to make boxing fans scratch their heads. And as expected, the reaction by fans was not kind to the news broken by Rick Glaser.
Gervonta Davis dodging serious opponents?
Fans were not kind to the news as they were expecting something big from ‘Tank’. With his current form, there were so many opportunities for a potential dream fight that could have sold stadiums out. The news visibly frustrated one fan as he wrote, “So Haney just came out and said he could have been ready to fight in October…Tank couldn’t send him an offer? He couldn’t send Teo an offer!? Smh ♂️♂️.” The fact that Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney were also looking for their next opponent and yet a deal could not be reached just made the announcement all the more disappointing for the fan.
Both Haney and Lopez were in talks for a fight in Riyadh in October, but the latter was not ready at the time. So, December would have been perfect for both of these boxers to get back in the ring and a fight against Davis would have been a very big pay. Similarly, another fan was surprised by the news as he wrote, “This better not be true,” as soon as the news broke out.
Another frustrated fan directly questioned the quality of the match and threw shade at the Premier Boxing Champions. “This is not breaking at all, another trash fight from pbc, this is going to flop so bad at a $90 ppv, will be streamed,” wrote the fan, slamming PBC over the choice of opponent for Gervonta Davis. The fan was clear that this fight did not deserve a PPV rate of $90 and Gervonta Davis could have chosen a far better opponent.
In a rare sight, a fan defended Davis as he couldn’t understand the reason behind everyone’s anger. “If this true can you really get mad at tank? Hes staying at 135 and everyone is ducking him in that weight class,” the fan wrote, suggesting that Roach might have been the best available option for Davis.
While this matchup may not be the fight fans had been hoping for, Roach is a highly skilled boxer who could potentially give Davis a run for his money. Whether or not this fight lives up to expectations remains to be seen.
