Path Cleared For Horrible, Horrible Gervonta Davis PPV Bout

Ugh…Double Ugh. It appears that the path has been cleared for the much-rumored, much-dreaded (at least by me) pay-per-view bout between Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Lamont Roach.

Davis, of course, is one of the top pound-for-pound talents in boxing and, currently, the biggest bankable American star on the domestic US scene. He’s a beyond-deniable electric ring presence who always delivers entertaining, highlight reel performances with, I believe, a lightweight world title currently in his possession (It’s hard to keep up with these things).

Roach, meanwhile, is the WBA super featherweight titlist, who last appeared on ProBoxTV, making the first defense of his belt against Ireland’s Feargal McCrory.

The WBA let the mangy cat out of the bag on Monday, when they issued their official decree allowing Roach to forego his mandatory defense to move up in weight and challenger Davis on December 14:

“The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee has granted special permission to super featherweight world champion Lamont Roach Jr. to move up in class to face Gervonta Davis for the lightweight championship on December 14.

NoXcuse Boxing Promotions [Roach’s promoter] sent the formal request on September 13, which was received by the committee to be considered and consulted with the team of Albert Batyrgaziev, who is the mandatory 130 lbs. challenger.

After the respective analysis and based on the internal rules of the organization, it was decided to grant the request to Roach under certain conditions.

If Roach beats Davis in the fight, he will be given five days to send his decision to the WBA on which of the two titles he will keep and defend. On the other hand, if he were to lose the bout, he will be required to fight the official 130-pound challenger within 120 days of the Davis fight.”

Roach is a good fighter, but he’s only a suitable opponent for Tank Davis if he’s the stay busy, cool down fight between true top-tier lightweight/junior welterweight opposition. To date, the biggest win on Roach’s resume was his close, title winning effort versus former Davis fall guy, Hector Luis Garcia last November. The 29-year-old’s other biggest fight was a 2019 unanimous decision loss to Jamel Herring in a bid for Herring’s WBO super featherweight title.

To be blunt, Tank Davis-Lamont Roach is NOT a PPV-worthy main event, even if the rumored David Benavidez-Jesse Hart bout (another poor matchup) is added as the co-feature.

Some will argue that Davis is entitled to this “meh” headliner. They’ll point to Vasiliy Lomachenko (in)famously passing on a proposed Tank fight because he wasn’t “in the mood.” They’ll then point to Shakur Stevenson, Davis’ other rumored big-fight opponent, moving on to Matchroom Boxing and, as a result, away from a Davis clash.

Admittedly, removing Lomachenko and Stevenson from the list of possible opponents greatly diminishes big-fight options for the three-division world champ. But there should be a “no gimme,” no “who’s that guy?” rule for all top stars competing at Davis’ level, especially considering that fighters only compete once or twice a year these days…and especially, ESPECIALLY considering that Davis and his people intend on slapping a big pay-per-view price tag on the show.

Honestly, this Roach fight should be more than a bit offensive for fans who want a meaningful show from a guy uniquely equipped to do bigger and better things than what’s he’s been doing lately. It should also be deeply disappointing for those wanting star things from a star fighter. Davis’ most recent bout against Frank Martin was, similarly, not against a fellow star, nor against someone with much of a chance of beating him. But, at the very least, Martin was a legitimate Top 5 lightweight contender.

Roach doesn’t tick off any boxes when it comes to being a deserving Tank Davis B-side, unless there’s a “Well, he’s available” box.

Again…ugh.

It WILL be interesting, though, to see if Gervonta Davis can sell a fight entirely on the promise of a virtuoso performance, all on his own, on a relatively new platform (via PBC on Amazon Prime).