Gervonta Davis Confirms WBA Lightweight Title Defense Against Lamont Roach Jr. on December 14

Trainer Greg Hackett Breaks Down the Matchup and Highlighting Roach’s Skills

Gervonta Davis set for title defense on December14 / One Sport On Facebook.

By Moses Ochieng

Gervonta Davis has confirmed that he will defend his WBA lightweight title against Lamont Roach Jr. on December 14 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The fight will be broadcast on PBC through Amazon Prime Video. It is still uncertain whether the event will be on pay-per-view, and details about the undercard are expected to be announced soon.

Davis, boasting a perfect 30-0 record with 28 knockouts, last fought in June when he decisively defeated Frank Martin, overpowering him with speed and power before securing a knockout in the middle rounds. In 2023, Davis also defeated Ryan Garcia in one of the year’s biggest matchups.

Lamont Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs) has a six-victory winning streak since his only career loss, a decision defeat to Jamel Herring in 2019. His most significant win came in November when he narrowly defeated Hector Garcia by split decision to capture a world title.

Trainer Greg Hackett describes the upcoming Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach bout as a “good fight,” though he acknowledges that Roach may not be as well-known to casual boxing fans who haven’t closely followed the sport. Hackett notes that Roach lacks the "flare" of fighters like Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney, attributing this to Roach’s more “laid-back” personality.

“To the people who know Lamont and to the people that know boxing and been around, it’s a good fight,” trainer Greg Hackett stated to YSM Sports Media, talking about the clash.

“What’s missing is that flair. Lamont isn’t that type of guy. He’s a gentleman; he’s laid back. Lamont is the type of guy like even if he tried to intimidate you, you wouldn’t be fully intimidated because his eyes are green, light-skinned boy. He doesn’t look like a super mean bull.”

“Tank has got the tattoos, and his eyes are off a little bit. He looks crazy like there’s something wrong with him. He’s got the braids, and he’s going to put a lot of extra [stuff] into it. He’s going to be coming in with an outfit and all that. So, Tank is coming with flair.”

“Lamont is just a cool bull, but he can fight, and he is a champion. We should respect him as such. The problem is we’re always looking for hype. We’re always looking for big fights when, honestly, truly, this is a good fight.  Lamont Roach knows Tank Davis. Tank Davis knows Lamont Roach. It’s a local fight and it’s big for their part of town for the DMV. It’s massive. They both fought Hector Garcia. The reason I brought that up is because of the level of boxing.”

“Tank only fought him a year and a half ago, Hector Garcia. So that is the same level of boxing,” commented Hackett on Tank and Roach’s history with Hector Garcia.

 “So how can we say Tank is [cherry] picking when this guy [Roach] has a title? They have a history and know each other. The only thing that’s missing is that flare, like a Ryan Garcia or Devin Haney. They got the flair on them because the attention has been on them for some years,” Greg Hackett expressed.