The March 1st fight this year between Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach Jr was followed by a wave of controversy. Both the judges’ work and that of referee Steve Willis were strongly criticized by fans and journalists, convinced that Davis had been helped in retaining his WBA lightweight world title. Roach, however, seems to have abandoned the idea of chasing a rematch at all costs.
“The Reaper” is scheduled to face the relentless Mexican puncher Isaac Cruz on December 6 in San Antonio. Many journalists, however, when speaking with him, still bring up the possibility of a future rematch with Gervonta.
Roach has pushed those thoughts out of his mind, as he himself stated when asked about it by BoxingScene:
“I don’t really worry about that. I’m removed from that, even from that thought,” Roach told BoxingScene. “I really don’t care about it; don’t care about him. So, you know, it is what it is. I don’t think about even rematching him at all.”
In the first half of their thrilling March encounter, Roach adopted a very conservative and cautious approach, falling behind on the official scorecards. But he later increased the pace significantly and put the more accomplished opponent under serious pressure thanks to his work rate.
A particularly controversial episode occurred during the ninth round, when Davis, after taking a jab to the eye, took a knee for a moment but was not given a count by the referee. Gervonta then headed back to his corner without authorization to have a towel wiped over his face.
Had that knockdown been ruled officially, the belt would have ended up in the challenger’s hands — but Roach now seems to have put the unpleasant episode behind him.
The bout with Cruz will be contested for the WBC interim super lightweight title.