Roach Plans Shakur Stevenson Fight After Pitbull Cruz Win

Lamont Roach says that after he beats WBC interim light welterweight champion Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz on December 6th, he wants to fight Shakur Stevenson at 140 or, more preferably, 135.

Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs) is confident that he’ll be victorious against Cruz (28-3-1, 18 KOs) in their headliner at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Lamont towered over the 5’4′ Cruz during Wednesday’s press conference, looking like a legit 140-pounder rather than a fighter who holds down the WBA super featherweight title. Roach is moving up from 135 from his last fight against Gervonta Davis on March 1.

Still Haunted by Tank

“More people know me because I fought Tank. But more people know me because of essentially what I did, not because they say, ‘Look at him.’ It’s because I’m on that platform and I got the skills to show y’all what I can do. And I did it against everyone’s favorite fighter,” said Lamont Roach to the media, dredging up the past about his last fight against Gervonta Davis.

Roach sounded like a chronically bitter person during Wednesday’s kickoff press conference, talking about his last fight with Tank Davis instead of focusing on his bout in front of him against ‘Pitbull’ Cruz on December 6th.

The way Roach droned on about the Tank fight with a faraway look in his eyes, he resembled someone with Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED). They just can’t let go, still trying to make sense of what happened to them. Roach seems stuck in that one event.

Lamont spent three or four minutes talking about Gervonta rather than Cruz. I rewatched the fight tonight to see why he’s so tormented about the result.

After rewatching the fight, I believe Tank Davis was the winner. He landed the cleaner, harder shots all the way through it. Roach constantly walked forward, landing occasional punches with no power behind them, and then using the Shakur-esque three-step pullback when attacked. There was nothing in Roach’s performance for him to be so worked up about. The only thing he had going for him was his size. After rehydrating, he had the size advantage over Davis.

Cruz Seen as Stepping Stone

Roach is treating his fight with Cruz as if the victory is already in the bag, and he’s already planning his next match.

Roach’s Next Move

“If he does, I’d like to fight him at 140. I think that’s a fight that happens at 135,” said Roach about wanting to fight Shakur Stevenson after his bout against Teofimo Lopez. “It all depends on what’s available after I win this fight [Cruz].

Shakur has already said that he’s interested in fighting Roach after his title shot against WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez in early 2026.

Roach isn’t ranked at 135, so it looks like Stevenson will continue to freeze his WBC lightweight title. It’s understandable, though, because Shakur’s #1 contender for his WBC belt is Andy Cruz, and he’s a guy that could beat him and Roach. He’s not hustling for fights the way Shakur and Roach are doing.

Written by Nation Vegas, Boxing Analyst covering world title fights since 2013.