WBA Lightweight Champion Gervonta Davis will meet Lamont Roach next Tuesday, December 3rd at their kickoff press conference to discuss the March 1st main event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The two fighters will fight at the PBC Prime Video PPV.
Tank (30-0, 28 KOs) and Roach (25-1-1, 10 KO_) were originally scheduled to fight on December 14th at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, but due to venue issues, the fight was moved to March 1st.
The cost of the pay-per-view has not been revealed, but it will likely be the same as the $75 for Gervonta’s last title defense against Frank Martin on June 15.
That’s a high price if the undercard isn’t full of big names. Fans who see great cards filled with big names for the events of the season in Riyadh can be amazed at the sticker price Tank fights against Roach. With this fight being perceived as a disaster by fans, one would expect the PPV price to be dramatically reduced.
Why Roach was chosen
- Low risk option: The selection of Roach provides Gervonta with an opponent who has no chance of beating him, and he continues to bring in the money safely.
- Regional interest: Tank is from Baltimore and Roach is from nearby Washington.
- Stay busy; fans in the area are familiar with Roach and won’t mind Davis fighting him rather than one of the more talented contenders in the lightweight division.
- Exposure opportunity: This fight gives Gervonta a chance to look great against a light puncher, who will fight before being knocked out. That’s a much safer choice than if Tank were going up against contenders like Raymond Muratala, Edwin De Los Santos, or William Zepeda.
Tank Davis is mentioned as an example of a career unsuccessful. There are many in boxing, but it is rare to see someone holding a world title. He decided not to take on risky fights that would enhance his legacy and make more money.
Confidence just doesn’t exist with Davis. Outwardly, he may present a good friend, posing bravely, but his actions show that he is afraid. When he recently shut down X after fans swarmed him and pressured him to fight Keyshawn Davis, he proves that he doesn’t believe in himself.
It’s hard to know if this is a sign of a lack of confidence from Tank or his management. It goes back to Davis himself. If he had the ambition, he could have gotten his promoters to match him with better opposition by now, and he would have been a bigger star and far richer.
Tank’s Best wins:
Ryan Garcia
Jose Pedraza
Rolly Romero
Isaac Cruz
Hector Garcia
Frank Martin
That’s one sorry list of fighters, isn’t it? Just look at that motley crew of fighters; that tells you all you need to know about Tank Davis’ ambitions. He doesn’t believe in himself.
Fans would prefer to argue and be done with December 14th rather than kicking the can until March 1st. Even with the extra three months the promoters have to market the Tank vs. Roach event, it still won’t garner much interest or PPV buys.
Tank’s promoters need to start pairing him with better opposition because their habit of picking weak opposition for him is hurting his popularity. They freely call him the ‘face of boxing’, but no one believes it. Aside from Grevonta’s match against Ryan Garcia in 2023, his fights have been low on PPV buys. It shouldn’t be, but it reflects the low-level opposition Davies has struggled with.
