By: Sean Crose
Gervonta “Tank” Davis packed Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center with fans Saturday night as he took on former amateur foil Lamont Roach in the main event of a PBC pay per view card. The 30-0 Davis entered the ring as one of the more popular and explosive fighters in the business. As for the 25-1-1 Roach, he slipped between the ropes on Saturday hoping to shock the world by lifting the WBA lightweight title off Davis’ shoulders. It was, to be sure, a tall order, but boxing is nothing if not the theater of the unexpected.
The first round was something of a feeling out process for each fighter, though Roach was the more active of the two. The second was close. Few punches were thrown, though Davis may have had the cleaner shots. The third was close, too, though Davis’ may have gotten the better of it by being a slight bit more active than Roach. It must be noted though that some of Davis’ shots landed on Roach’s high guard. Davis moved about a great deal in the fourth, so much so that it may have cost him the round. The fifth saw Davis launch a body attack, that might have paid off in future rounds.
Davis attacked hard in the first portion of the sixth. The fight then turned in favor of the defending champion, who was by that point dictating the tempo and landing clean. Both men fought hard in the seventh. Make no mistake about it, Roach had some serious moments. Davis, however, had moments of his own. One thing was certain – Roach had come to win, and was unimpressed with Davis’ ferocious reputation. Davis got tagged, and tagged hard, by Roach in the eighth.
Davis was very much in a fight.
As soon as the action resumed, Davis went for broke. His attack was vicious and impressive – but Roach withstood the assault. Not only that, he threw back at Davis. The champion may have won the round, but it had been a slugfest. Roach went on to fight so well in the tenth, he may well have won the chapter. Davis simply didn’t seem himself. Was something wrong? Or was he simply facing a man he couldn’t hurt? The eleventh was explosive and hard to call. It was not the fight people suspected. It was a better one, a far better one
The twelfth and final round was a war of attrition. It could be easy to see the fight being ruled in anyone’s favor. The judges however, ruled the fight a majority draw. “Lamont’s a great fighter,” Davis said afterward. “Hopefully we can run it back…let’s do it again.” Roach himself was open to a rematch, as well. “I definitely thought I won,” he said. “We can run it back….I’m one of the best fighters in the world and it showed tonight.”
