Roach knows Gervonta Davis 'won't be surprised' he's in ring 'against a dog'

by Keith Idec

The lopsided odds surrounding his fight with Gervonta “Tank” Davis motivated Lamont Roach even more than usual.

The Handicappers installed Davis as an unsightly 16-1 favorite to beat Roach in their WBA lightweight championship match on March 1 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Roach realizes many people would be surprised if he upset one of boxing's biggest stars on a Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view show distributed by Amazon's Prime Video.

Roach also acknowledges that Davis isn't one of those who underestimate him ahead of their 12-round, 135-pound title fight. The Upper Marlboro, Md., native believes Davis chose him as his next opponent, once IBF lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko backed out of his deal to fight on Nov. 2, because he wants a tough fight, not as easy a mission as the odds suggest.

Davis, 30, and Roach, 29, fought twice as amateurs in 2011. They also fought several times before and after Davis won those two fights, all before turning professional, and have closely followed each other's careers as fighters. from “The DMV”, the greater Washington, DC area.

Roach 25-1-1 (10 KOs) expressed his appreciation for the career-changing opportunity during a press conference Tuesday in Brooklyn. He also chastised anyone who thinks Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) is ready for anything other than a long, tough fight.

“As [Davis] said, it’s a heck of an opportunity,” Roach said. “You know what I’m saying? So we will conquer it. Everyone knows what I'm doing here. If you don't, then damn, you're in for a surprise. I know he won't be surprised. I think he actually took this fight for the naysayers and all that and all that. People were talking shit about the fight.

“I think he actually agreed to the fight because he knows I'm a dog and he wants to prove his skills against a dog. So, I'm going to show you what happens when two dogs get in the ring together. And I will be the one – obviously, I will be the one who emerges victorious. And, you know, I'm going to put on one hell of a show for you all.

Davis coyly predicted a ninth-round knockout, an outcome Roach derided. The strong Baltimore southpaw acknowledged that Roach, who has not been knocked out in 27 professional fights, has “sneaky power,” a trait Roach demonstrated when he knocked down Dominican southpaw Hector Luis Garcia 16-2 (10 KO, 3 NC). ) in the 12^th round of a fight that Roach won by split decision in November 2023 to capture the WBA super featherweight title at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

“Skill-wise, I bring a lot to the table,” Roach said. “I can adapt. I can fight varied and different styles. I'm tough, I'm brave, I'm smart, I'm witty. Either way, whatever I have to pull out my bag of tricks to win, that's what I'll do. …The others, they were either one-trick ponies or they just didn't have enough.