Shawn Porter predicts a huge showdown between Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Lamont Roach on March 1 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Davis, 30, of Baltimore, will defend his WBA lightweight title against his old rival Roach, 29, of Washington. The fight is expected to be a comeback following an amateur clash between the two boxers.
Porter, the former WBC welterweight champion, expects the fight to be fierce.
“The fact that Lamont Roach is as familiar as Tank Davis goes beyond their fights in the amateur ranks,” Porter told Fight Hub TV. “They spent some time together in camp. He was always around Tank. He saw Tank firsthand, whether he was in the ring with them or not. That’s a big deal.
“When you know a guy’s rhythm, when you know their speed, when you know what they’re thinking, everything changes.”
Davis, 30-0 (28 KOs), and Roach, 25-1-1 (10 KOs), were originally scheduled to face off on December 14, but the fight was postponed to March next year. BoxingScene reported earlier this month that Davis failed to keep his original fight date following the fight His son was born in August, and he chose to spend more time with his newborn instead of going camping.
Davis enters the Roach fight on the heels of a devastating eighth-round KO victory over Frank Martin in June to win four in a row. Roach, meanwhile, has won six straight since losing to Jamel Herring for the WBO 130-pound title in 2019.
In November last year, Roach defeated Hector Luis Garcia via a 12-round split decision to win the WBA junior lightweight title and become the world champion. Roach successfully defended his title against Feargal McCrory last June, stopping the Irish southpaw in eight rounds.
Despite Roach’s credentials, Davis’ power made him the favorite ahead of the conflict, but Porter is confident Roach will be up to the task on fight night.
“It’s probably going to be a fight until he gets hit over and over again. He’s tasted this before. So, if he gets hit and doesn’t walk away, we’ve got a fight. I think it’s a fight A good fight.
“We’ll see. Like I said, when you’ve tasted it before, you know what it feels like and what it looks like and all that kind of stuff, it’s different from the first time you’re exposed to this. The blows of these forces are very different.
“For most warriors, seeing the speed and overall structure of a Davis tank for the first time would be a surprise. This was no surprise to Lamont Roach.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist specializing in boxing coverage. For many years, he wrote a boxing column titled “From the Ring” in his native Ghana. You can contact him at X (formerly Twitter) @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn Bernard Neequaye and email bernardnequaye@gmail.com.
