By: Sean Crose
Numerous outlets are reporting that Tank Davis-Lamont Roach II is set for August 16th in Vegas. The 12 round bout, which will no doubt be a pay per view event, will be going down at the T-Mobile Arena. After an extraordinarily and surprisingly close first fight ended in a draw back in March, many insisted that underdog Roach had deserved to leave with ring with Davis’ WBA lightweight title in his possession. Although the battle was far too close for any decision to have been ruled a robbery, there were instantly question marks emerging around the 30 year old undefeated Davis after the match had ended.
To his credit, the 30-0-1 Davis is willing to face Roach a second time without a lot of bureaucratic nonsense slowing things down. Davis is frequently accused of not challenging himself in the ring. That accusation now rings hollow, at least in this case. For Roach gave the defending lightweight titlist all he could handle last winter. “Roach proved able to take Davis’ power shots,” I wrote at the time. “What’s more, he was able to land on his own, often with frequency.” For a man who had been talking retirement, Roach had found himself with a lot of work on his gloved hands that night in Vegas.
It will be interesting to see how the rematch plays out. The source of Davis success is the Baltimore natives’ quick hands and explosive power. Roach showed he had some fast hands of his own last Match….and Davis’ power shots weren’t an issue. Not that Roach looked perfect himself. Again, it was an extremely close fight. In order for one to stand apart from the other in the rematch, adjustments will have to be made.
There’s no doubt that this is all excellent news for Roach, who could have easily been pushed aside after upsetting the apple cart that had been the Gervonta Davis show. Now he not only has the chance to prove the first fight was no fluke, he has a second chance at defeating one of boxing’s biggest stars. Roach’s days of being an obscure junior lightweight titlist are long over.
Yet, like Roach, Davis has something to prove, as well. A great performance against Roach in the rematch will allow Davis to shrug off last March’s fight. A loss, however, would prove to be disastrous. Davis will have a lot riding on this one.
