Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis Vs Lamont Roach Clash Now Postponed To March 2025

'Tank' Davis will put his WBA lightweight title on line, in a fight set to happen at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY

WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis waits to pose with Frank Martin during an official weigh-in at MGM Grand Garden Arena. His bout with Lamont Roach has been pushed to March next year / Steve Marcus/Getty Images.

By Isaac Nyamungu

As had been expected, Gervonta “Tank” Davis will not return to the ring in 2024, after it was announced on Friday that his next fight against Lamont Roach has been suspended until 2025. Initially slated for Dec. 14 in Houston, Davis will now defend his lightweight title against Roach on Mar. 1 in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center on Prime Video pay-per-view, headlining an progressively rare Premier Boxing Champions episode.

In this bout, 'Tank' was booked to defend his WBA lightweight title. Nevertheless, without giving any further explanations, the contest will no longer take place on December 14, as formerly scheduled. Thus, Davis only fought once this year, when he knocked out his compatriot Frank Martin in eight rounds.

Davis (30-0, 28 KO) boxed just once this year, beating Frank Martin on June 15, after a duo of victories in 2023 over Hector Luis Garcia as well as Ryan Garcia.

Davis, one of the best young lower-weight boxers across the globe currently, with some individuals readily denoting to him as ‘The Face of Boxing,’ should, of course, be far more active than he is and has been.

Still, at least Davis has a match locked in at last. Tank last boxed in June of this year when he stopped Frank Martin to retain his WBA lightweight title in Las Vegas.

Moreover, Davis was in talks with Ukrainian wrestler Vasiliy Lomachenko for a high-profile clash this autumn, but consultations fell through, even though it would have been a great card, so he had to settle for a much less attractive affair.

Davis from Baltimore is classified ESPN's No. 8 pound-for-pound fighter (and number one lightweight). He is coming off a remarkable eighth-round KO of Frank Martin in June. The stint was Davis' first since a 44-day jail stint last summer for violating the terms of house arrest stemming from a November 2020 hit-and-run incident.

Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs) will be on an upward trajectory up from 130 pounds, where he reigns as WBA champion and is ranked No. 5 by ESPN. Against Davis, he'll be a major underdog.

Roach, who hails from Washington, D.C., won the title with a split-decision triumph over Hector Luis Garcia in November 2023. The 29-year-old retained his belt with an eighth-round TKO.

Marching up in weight to face Tank, Loach will enter the ring as a significant underdog. Crushed only by Jamel Herring, who overpowered him back in November of 2019 down at 126 pounds, Loach has won six competitions on the spin since.

Roach holds the WBA super featherweight title, and exercises his right to challenge for the WBA belt in the next division up. The 29-year-old veteran has won six in a row. This year, his only fight will be a June 28 mismatch victory over challenger Feargal McCrory.