For the first time since last June, one of boxing’s biggest stars returns to the ring on Saturday as Gervonta “Tank” Davis defends his WBA lightweight title.
Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) will headline a PBC on Prime pay-per-view card inside Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, when the native of Baltimore welcomes amateur rival and WBA 130-pound titleholder Lamont Roach, Jr. (25-1-1, 10 KOs). It will be Davis’ first fight since last June where he scored a demonstrative knockout of rising contender Frank Martin in Las Vegas. It will also be Davis’ first fight in New York since a brutal knockout of Rolando “Rolly” Romero in 2022.
As we draw closer to this weekend’s anticipated fight card, let’s take a closer look at the biggest storylines.
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1. A more mature, introspective Davis has emerged
What that means for Saturday’s fight remains to be seen. Yet, it has been hard not to notice how much the 30-year-old Davis, who remains one of the consistently biggest live draws in the sport, has been speaking more about life after boxing lately than about future opponents. Davis’ pre-fight media tour has largely focused on influencer podcast appearances and non-traditional boxing media. The topic of conversation that has consistently made the most headlines surrounds Davis’ want to become a better person and seek therapy, and that he only sees himself fighting another three times before retiring from the sport for good. When Davis returned last June to stop unbeaten Frank Martin, it snapped a 14-month layoff, which included a 44-day stint in jail for violating the terms of his house arrest. This time, Davis will snap a nine-month absence after his original December date to fight Roach was postponed. Make no mistake, all eyes will be on “Tank” this time around to find out whether his hunger to fight is still there and whether his pound-for-pound skillset will be too much for Roach.
2. Roach Jr. has not played the role of underdog or B-side
From the pair of press conferences that announced the fight in late 2024 to just about every interview with the native of Washington, D.C., Roach has acted like he belongs in the ring opposite Davis and that there’s a secret regarding “Tank” that only he knows. The 29-year-old Roach rebounded from his lone defeat, a 2019 title loss to former 130-pound titleholder Jamel Herring, to capture his WBA junior lightweight title by scoring a late knockdown to claim a split decision over Hector Luis Garcia in 2023 (10 months after Davis knocked Garcia out). And the one thing that we have learned about Roach in recent months is that he doesn’t fear Davis, doesn’t believe there is much of a gap in talent between them and remains supremely confident in his chances. Roach has also pointed out how many times Davis has mentally beaten prior opponents, including Martin, before the fight has even taken place. Oddsmakers believe Roach will need all of that confidence, and more, by installing him as a 9-to-1 underdog. But that has done nothing to sway Roach’s belief that Davis is in for the fight of his life and that “The Reaper” is his toughest test to date.
3. The amateur history between them is interesting
Even though Roach, who largely grew up in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was officially 0-2 against Baltimore’s Davis on the amateur levels, the fact that the two boxers go back so many years might play a role in this weekend’s fight. Roach, who was 125-15 as an amateur, won two Junior National Golden Gloves Championships, a national Police Athletic League championship and five Ringside World Championships. Roach last fought Davis as an amateur at the age of 15 in 2010, when both were ranked in the top two in their weight class nationally. But the familiarity of growing up around Davis and having twice competed against him in the amateurs has left Roach confident he can compete as a professional, too. Oftentimes, when amateur rivals eventually meet against one another as pros, there’s an inclination to reject that any of that time spent will matter years later. But the 2024 clash between Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney pushed back on that. Those former rivals fought six times as amateurs with each winning three bouts. But it was Garcia’s prior knowledge regarding Haney’s inability to pick up the timing of his lightning-fast left hook that played a big role in Garcia pulling the upset (although the fight was changed to a no contest after Garcia failed a post-fight drug test).
4. There’s no shortage of big names available to Davis if he wins
Even with former lightweight stars like Haney, Garcia and Teofimo Lopez Jr. moving up in weight in recent years, the current crop of stars atop the 135-pound division represents some of the best talents in boxing, altogether, on the planet. Davis, who holds the WBA title, sits atop the division next to a trio of top talents and fellow beltholders: Vasiliy Lomachenko (IBF), Shakur Stevenson (WBC) and Keyshawn Davis (WBO). “Tank” attempted to make a fight against Lomachenko last fall only for the Ukraine legend to seek some time away from the sport while he contemplates his future at age 37. But Stevenson and Keyshawn Davis have done nothing but repeatedly call “Tank” out after recent wins. Should “Tank” get past Roach on Saturday, a big-time unification bout could be brewing for the second half of 2025.
5. The PPV undercard features a double billing of 140-pound title bouts
Jose “El Rayo” Valenzuela, the WBA titleholder who claimed his title by upsetting Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, will make his first defense in the co-feature against the dangerous Gary Antuanne Russell. Meanwhile, two-time champion Alberto Puello, who edged Russell by split decision last June to claim the interim WBC title, has now been elevated to full beltholder and will make his first defense against veteran Sandor Martin. Both bouts are expected to be super competitive and another example of PBC’s commitment to strong matchmaking on PPV cards as Puello enters as a mere -125 betting favorite while Valenzuela (-115) and Russell (-110) is a virtual pick ’em.
