With reports of Gervonta Davis vs Lamont Roach Jr. being pushed back to a different date surfacing, ‘The Reaper’ talked about how long the fight has been at work. Initially, Tank’s choice of Roach over Edwin De Los Santos for the mandatory title defense shocked every fan. To make up for the lack of excitement for the fight, PBC added several sensational matches to the undercard, including David Benavidez, the return of Jermall Charlo, and a rematch between Stephen Fulton and Brandon Figueroa. 

But according to Roach, his match against Davis might not be as random and immediate as fans are thinking. In a sit-down interview on the BagFuel YouTube channel, the 29-year-old revealed how this fight has been in work for 2 years now.

Lamont Roach’s long journey for the dream fight

As soon as the interview started, Hynaken asked Roach about the fight against Gervonta Davis and how it happened. The WBA super featherweight champion immediately addressed the question and accepted the fact that fans were not happy with the match. He further added most of those people who are against the match, “don’t know nothing about boxing.”

‘The Reaper’ then further revealed that “I’ve been in the Tank sweepstakes two years ago,” stating that “I got a call from them(PBC) two years ago” regarding the fight. This particular call happened after Tank’s match against Rolando Romero as the promotion was searching for a fighter in Washington, DC.

He explained how the PBC wanted him to be the opponent for Davis and asked whether Roach was ready or not. According to Roach, he agreed to the fight, but the talks broke down because “I wasn’t champ at the time and Hector was a champ so they fought Hector,” implying how the PBC ultimately went with Hector Luis Garcia.

The matchup surprised him, as he was the mandatory challenger for Garcia’s WBA Super Featherweight Champion. And even though Garcia did not do the mandatory challenge, Roach respects him for the business decision. “He didn’t do a voluntary defense I was the mandatory and um they, he used his same I’m doing the same thing,” stated Roach implying how he is also making decisions based on a business perspective.

While the 25-1-1 boxer seems motivated to prove his doubters wrong, the clouds of uncertainty still loom over the fight. Several reports came out indicating a delay in the fight. But a few days ago, Gervonta Davis finally broke his silence regarding the issue.

Gervonta Davis not ready to change dates

A recent report from Boxing Scene suggested that Tank’s camp had confirmed the possibility of shifting the date of the bout to a later date. The original PPV is rather closer to the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk Riyadh Season rematch. The report further stated that the Davis-Roach match is now being eyed for January 25th as a co-main event of the potential David Benavidez vs. David Morrell fight.

The WBA lightweight champion himself addressed the situation as he took to his ‘X account and wrote “Cap” on the report, stating that it might not be true. With just one word, Gervonta Davis silenced all the reports and indicated that his date wouldn’t change.

The fight not getting pushed back is a piece of good news for both Davis and Lamont Roach Jr. who is hellbent on proving everyone wrong. After all, this is a fight that he has been targeting for two years now, and now that he has finally received it, he won’t let it go easily.