Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis now has an official date and location for his second fight of the year.
The Ring’s No. 8 pound-for-pound fighter will defend his WBA lightweight title versus Lamont Roach Jr., who moves up in weight. Their scheduled 12-round bout will headline a Dec. 14 PBC on Prime Video Pay-Per-View event from Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
The event was confirmed by PBC on Sunday evening.
Davis (30-0, 28 knockouts) will attempt the second defense of the full version of the WBA lightweight title. The unbeaten Baltimore native previously held the ‘Regular’ version of the belt before he was upgraded upon the divisional departure of Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs; 1 No-Contest) last year.
Prior to securing this fight, Davis and his team sought a unification bout versus reigning IBF lightweight titlist Vasiliy Lomachenko. Such a fight was targeted for November, but Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs), who declined and instead opted to sit out the balance of the year.
A path was eventually created for Roach (25-1-1, 10 knockouts) to enter the equation. The WBA 130-pound titlist was previously summoned to next face interim titlist Albert Batyrgaziev earlier this summer. However, a one-time exception was granted to instead challenge Davis at the higher weight.
With a win, Roach will then have to determine whether he will remain at lightweight or will return to 130. A loss will leave him on the hook to next face Batyrgaziev (12-0, 8 KOs) within 120-days of his fight versus Davis.
Davis and Roach both scored eighth-round knockout wins two weeks apart versus unbeaten challengers.
Davis’ moment came versus Frank Martin atop a June 15 PBC on Prime PPV in Las Vegas. The bout was competitive until it wasn’t. Davis eventually caught up to Martin and put him away for his fourth consecutive knockout.
Roach, stopped unbeaten Feargal McCrory (16-1, 8 KOs) in the eighth on June 28 in Washington, D.C. The night marked the first home game in nearly seven years for Roach, The Ring’s No. 4-rated junior lightweight from Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
Prior to that came his first title win. Roach scored a dramatic 12th round knockdown to outpoint and unseat WBA 130-pound titlist Hector Luis Garcia (16-2, 10 KOs). Overall, Roach has won six in a row. His lone defeat came in a Nov. 2019 decision to then-WBO junior lightweight beltholder Jamel Herring in Fresno, California.
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