After delivering an extremely entertaining first bout, the public demand is at an all-time high, as fight fans want to see the sequel between WBA lightweight world champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and the WBA super-featherweight world champion Lamont Roach Jr.
On the night of March 1, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, the Davis vs Roach bout got off to a slow start, but as both fighters got into a rhythm, the action picked up. It was a close tactical match, but at the conclusion of the 12-round contest, the three judges scored it as a draw.
When the bout was first announced, hardcore boxing fans weren’t too impressed with the matchup due to the fact that they felt Roach was a cherry pick. Casual fans embraced the bout primarily because of the Baltimore-Washington D.C. rivalry. The champion Gervonta Davis is a native of Baltimore, and the challenger, Lamont Roach is from Washington D.C.
Normally, a typical Gervonta Davis fight plays out like that favorite movie you watch over and over again. You know what’s going to happen, but you still enjoy watching it. Davis usually starts off slow, as he takes his time downloading the data in the early rounds.
He proceeds to stalk his opponent as he applies intense pressure during the middle rounds, and then he stops his opponents in the later rounds. On the night of March 1, Lamont Roach refused to follow the script. Roach emulated a boxer from the 90’s who also went off script.
Back in November 1996, Mike Tyson defended his WBA heavyweight world title against the underdog challenger Evander Holyfield. Everyone anticipated the knockout artist Mike Tyson would stop Holyfield, but unfortunately for Tyson, his opponent didn’t get the memo.
On fight night, Evander Holyfield was poised and confident. Every time Tyson landed a significant shot, Holyfield provided an immediate response. Holyfield fought inside the pocket, earned Tyson’s respect, and went on to stop Tyson in the eleventh round.
In the rematch, Tyson was unable to intimidate Holyfield and out of frustration he bit Holyfield’s ear in the third round. After being warned and penalized two points, Tyson got disqualified after biting Holyfield’s ear for a second time.
Twenty-eight years later, when Lamont Roach stepped inside the squared circle to face the knockout artist Gervonta “Tank” Davis, most fight fans assumed Roach would do well early but get stopped in the later rounds.
Throughout the course of the fight, Roach was poised, focused, and confident. As the 5th round was coming to a close, Davis was talking trash while throwing three consecutive left hands. Roach responded by talking back and then landing multiple body shots.
Seconds later, while the two boxers were involved in a clinch, Davis lifted his right shoulder up and hit Roach under the chin. Roach responded by hitting Davis with a short right hand. At the midway point of round 6, it appeared that Davis tried to bite Roach’s ear.
Intimidation wasn’t a factor as Roach routinely stood in the pocket and traded shots with Davis. A critical non-call occurred in the 9th when Davis took a knee, but the referee didn’t rule it as a knockdown. As the bout concluded, one judge scored the bout (115-113) for Davis, and the other two judges scored the bout (114-114).
Similar to Evander Holyfield, Lamont Roach wasn’t fazed by being the underdog who was going up against the intimidating knockout artist. The only difference was Holyfield got the win, and Roach had to settle for a draw.
However, since he performed well and exceeded expectations, Lamont Roach should be set to receive a rematch versus Gervonta Davis in the near future. At that point the question will be can Lamont Roach follow in the footsteps of Evander Holyfield and get a signature win over the world renowned knockout artist?
Last Updated on 04/01/2025
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