By: Sean Crose
“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.” And so, with the above statement, it seems the hard hitting, popular and undefeated Gervonta Davis has his next opponent.
“NoXcuse Boxing Promotions sent the formal request on September 13,” the WBA continued via its public announcement, “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.” One of those conditions deals with a possible Roach win.
“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,” said the WBA. “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.”
The Association then went on to showcase super featherweight champion Roach’s bona fides as an opponent for Davis. “Roach has a long history within the WBA in which he won regional titles and eliminator fights before becoming champion on November 25, 2023 when he defeated Hector Garcia, in Las Vegas. On June 28, he completed his first defense against Feargal McCrory in Washington with a knockout win.”
No matter how highly the WBA may praise Roach, few will expect the man to ever defeat Davis in a professional fight. Davis, after all, has a violent, flashy style that has yet to fail him in a career spanning 30 fights in over ten years. While Roach can boast a record of 25-1-1, he’s never drawn in the attention and fanfare that Davis has. Again, however, anything can happen in the prize ring.
Still, it’s going to be hard for this fight – should it actually be signed – becoming a thunderous financial success when outlets like Forbes run headlines such as “Gervonta Davis’ Next Fight Confirmed, And Fans Aren’t Impressed,” which ran on Tuesday. Forbes, however, has never been known for its stellar fight coverage. Throw in the fact that Davis has a large fanbase and significant pay per view buys may end up coming in. Just probably not as much as the promotion would want.