Undefeated WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis will defend his title against super featherweight champ Lamont Roach Jr. on December 14.
On December 14, Gervonta “Tank” Davis will face WBA World Super Featherweight Champion Lamont Roach Jr. in Houston. The fight, which will be hosted by Premier Boxing Champions, will be broadcast on Prime Video pay-per-view. The World Boxing Association (WBA) confirmed on Monday that Roach, currently No. 5 in the BOXSPORT rankings, has received special permission to move up to the next weight class and fight for the lightweight title.
Roach walks between the limits
Roach’s promotion NoXcuse Promotions, which is run by his father and trainer Lamont Roach Sr., had already submitted the request for a weight class change on September 13. After consulting with the team of WBA interim world super featherweight champion Albert Batyrgaziev, the WBA agreed. In the event of a victory, Roach must decide within five days whether he retains the light featherweight or super featherweight title. If he loses, he must fight Batyrgaziev within 120 days of the Davis fight.
Complicated search for an opponent for Gervonta Davis
Gervonta Davis, who has an impressive record of 30-0 wins and 28 knockouts, has had a remarkable career. The 29-year-old is defending his lightweight title for the sixth time. Most recently, he defeated Frank Martin in June with a spectacular knockout in the eighth round. Davis had actually hoped to take on IBF title holder Vasiliy Lomachenko in a unification fight. However, as Lomachenko is taking a break for the rest of the year, Davis had to look for a new opponent.
Initially, there was talk of a rematch with Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz. However, these plans were scuppered when Cruz lost his light-welterweight title to Jose Valenzuela. Valenzuela was also briefly discussed as an opponent. However, negotiations broke down due to Davis’ demand that the fight be held at lightweight.
Lamont Roach Jr. moves up a weight class for the first time
Lamont Roach Jr, also 29 years old and with a record of 25-1-1 with 10 knockouts, is competing in the higher weight class for the first time. His biggest win to date was against Feargal McCrory in June, when he defeated the unbeaten Irishman by knockout in the eighth round. This was Roach’s first defense of his super featherweight title. He had previously won the title by split-decision against Hector Luis Garcia, who had returned to super-featherweight after his defeat to Davis.
Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach Jr. – old acquaintances
The fact that the fight took place in Houston was no coincidence. Davis has a special connection to the city and had wanted to fight there for a long time. Originally, Washington D.C. was being discussed as the venue, as both Davis is from nearby Baltimore and Roach is from Washington and both have large fan bases there. However, a clash of dates with an NHL game prevented this. An alternative date of December 21 was also out of the question, as the heavyweight fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury takes place on that day.
Davis will face an old acquaintance in Roach: The two faced each other as amateurs back in 2011, when Davis won on points. Now it will be interesting to see whether Roach can stand up to the three-time world champion Davis in the higher weight class.
Text: Andreas Ohlberger