NEW YORK – There’s no doubt that Lamont Roach Jnr will be fighting on his biggest stage yet as a professional this Saturday.
Though the WBA junior lightweight titleholder has been fighting on championship cards since he turned pro in 2014 on the undercard of Bernard Hopkins’ light heavyweight title win over Beibut Shumenov, the light hasn’t ever shone so brightly on Roach as it will at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Facing Gervonta “Tank” Davis – perhaps the biggest American star in boxing today – Roach will likely have more eyes on him than at any other time in his pro career. The 29-year-old from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, says that’s just fine with him.
“I’ve been doing big fights since I started out as a pro,” said Roach, 25-1-1 (10 KOs), at Wednesday’s media workout at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn. “The Hopkins undercard, Canelo [Alvarez] undercards … and the list goes on. I’m no stranger to any of this, and it doesn’t affect me at all.
“The stakes are higher, but I just want to go hard – that’s about it. I’ve trained to be in the best physical and mental shape I can possibly be in.”
Roach will be headlining his first major pay-per-view event against Davis, 30-0 (28 KOs), one of the few bona fide pay-per-view stars in the sport today. The two boxers, whose hometowns are located about an hour away from each other, have history dating back to the amateur ranks, where Davis twice defeated Roach in three-round bouts.
“There is a little get-back that I have to get, for sure,” admitted Roach.
The fight will be Roach’s first time he can weigh in above 130lbs since 2017, when he won his first minor title with a first-round knockout of Alejandro Valdez. Roach says that he’s feeling more comfortable without having to cut an additional 5lbs, and insinuates that he’ll have more punching power as a result.
While Roach is certainly facing someone whose talent surpasses that of his previous opponents, he says Davis is also fighting someone who is a different puzzle for him to solve.
“IQ, skill level, just being an overall cerebral assassin in the ring,” said Roach, when asked by reporters what makes him different from the 30 opponents Davis has defeated.
“He ain’t ever been in there with someone like me up to date.”
Roach is riding a six-fight winning streak since his lone defeat – a unanimous decision loss to Jamel Herring in his first world title opportunity, in 2019. Since then, Roach has become a world champion in his own right, defeating Hector Luis Garcia in November 2023 by split decision to win the WBA 130lb title and defending it once, stopping Feargal McCrory in eight rounds last June.
He says his goal is to become a two-division champion, defending belts in different divisions.
“This is everything for me, and becoming a two-division champion would be a dream come true for me.” said Roach.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for krikya360.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at .