On Saturday night March 1st world championship boxing returns to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York as the undefeated WBA world lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) will defend his title against the WBA super-featherweight champion Lamont Roach Jr (25-1-1,10 KOs).
This highly anticipated PBC boxing event will air live on Amazon Prime Video Pay-Per-View. The event is highly anticipated because it marks the return of Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Fans of Tank Davis are excited in regards to his return to the ring, but the question that most of them are asking is, who is Lamont Roach?
A native of Washington, D.C., Lamont Roach won two Junior National Golden Gloves Championships and posted an overall amateur record of 125 wins and 15 losses. He made his pro boxing debut in April 2014, scoring a unanimous decision victory over Victor Galindo.
Roach would go on to post fifteen additional victories. He received a slight blemish on his perfect record when the bout between him and Orlando Cruz was scored as a split-decision draw. After the Cruz fight, Roach collected three consecutive victories.
He was rewarded with an opportunity back in November 2019 when he challenged the then-WBO super-featherweight champion, Jamel Herring. It was a rough night for Roach as he experienced difficulty establishing the proper range and distance.
From an offensive standpoint, the southpaw Jamel Herring was able to do whatever he wanted, as he clipped Roach with counter shots all night long. At the conclusion of the 12-round contest, Jamel Herring won the bout by way of a unanimous decision.
After suffering his first professional defeat, Lamont Roach bounced back by going on a four-fight win streak. He fought his way back into title contention as he challenged the WBA super-featherweight champion Hector Luis Garcia in November 2023.
In the opening round of the bout, Roach established his jab and followed it up with the right to the body. Throughout the fight, Roach stayed aggressive as he consistently pressed forward while seeking the opportunity to land the right hand.
With 1:24 left to go in the 11th round, Roach landed a big right hand that buckled the knees of Garcia. Roach proceeded to hit Garcia with a flurry of shots, but Garcia was able to survive the round. In the 12th and final round, Roach connected with a counter left hook that sent Garcia down to the canvas.
However, Hector Luis Garcia was able to get up and fight through the final round. At the conclusion of the 12-round contest, Lamont Roach was declared the winner by way of a split decision. With the victory, Lamont Roach achieved one of his career goals as he won his first world title.
Seven months later, Roach returned to Washington, DC, for his first defense of his super-featherweight world title. Roach was focused on making a statement as he stopped Irish southpaw Feargal McCrory in the 8th round. Now Lamont Roach is set to participate in the biggest fight of his pro career.
On Saturday night, March 1st, Lamont Roach will challenge Gervonta “Tank” Davis for the WBA world lightweight title. Casual fans are intrigued by the matchup based on the geography. For decades, Baltimore and Washington, DC, have been rival cities.
This matchup is appealing to the casuals because Tank Davis is from Baltimore and Lamont Roach is a native of Washington DC. This bout is uninspiring to some true boxing fans because it’s hard for them to visualize a path to victory for Lamont Roach.
To have a chance to defeat a boxer as talented as Tank Davis, the main tool required is a sharp jab. The jab is essential as it could help Roach control distance, and the pace of the fight. Roach will have to use lateral movement throw combinations, and consistently box from the outside.
Even if Roach has the perfect game plan, the biggest question is, does Roach have enough punching power to gain Tank’s respect? Back in June 2024, in his bout against Gervonta Davis, Frank Martin did all the right things, but he didn’t have enough power to stop Davis from constantly pressing forward.
Lamont Roach has the skills and the ring IQ, but if he doesn’t have enough pop in his shots to make the knockout artist Tank Davis reset, then the match may not end well for Roach. Despite the fact that the odds are stacked against him, Roach feels confident in regards to pulling off the massive upset.
A little over eight months ago, 29-year-old Lamont Roach Jr was fighting on ProBox TV, and now, on March 1st, he will be under the bright lights on Amazon Prime PPV. If Roach can be perfect on offense and responsible on defense through the course of 12 rounds, then he may have a chance to pull off a career-altering upset.
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