Fans finally know who Gervonta Davis will make his next WBA lightweight title defence against after the sanctioning body officially announced his next opponent.
Davis was last in action in June, retaining his belt with a seventh round stoppage victory over previously unbeaten Frank Martin in Las Vegas.
Attention then immediately turned to who ‘Tank’ would face next, with some speculation that it could finally be the showdown against Shakur Stevenson.
A clash with Stevenson hasn’t transpired though, and instead the WBA have revealed that Davis will take on Lamont Roach, with the fight set for later this year.
“The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee has granted special permission to super featherweight world champion Lamont Roach Jr. to move up in class to face Gervonta Davis for the lightweight championship on December 14.
NoXcuse Boxing Promotions sent the formal request on September 13, which was received by the committee to be considered and consulted with the team of Albert Batyrgaziev, who is the mandatory 130 lbs. challenger.
After the respective analysis and based on the internal rules of the organization, it was decided to grant the request to Roach under certain conditions.
If Roach beats Davis in the fight, he will be given five days to send his decision to the WBA on which of the two titles he will keep and defend. On the other hand, if he were to lose the bout, he will be required to fight the official 130-pound challenger within 120 days of the Davis fight.”
Roach has a record of 25 wins, one defeat and one draw, and won the WBA super-featherweight title with a split decision win against Hector Luis Garcia in November 2023.
If ‘Tank’ is victorious against Roach, fans will hope that a clash against Stevenson could come in 2025.
