WBA light heavyweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Washington, D.C. native Lamont “The Reaper” Roach held a press conference at Burr Gymnasium to promote their upcoming March 1 fight.
Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) comes into the fight ranked eighth in ESPN’s pound-for-pound rankings after his recent victory over Frank Martin, while Roach (25-1-1,10 KOs), the current WBA super featherweight champion, moves up a weight class to challenge Davis at 135 lbs.
The open-to-the-public event, hosted on Dec. 5 by comedian BenDaDonnn, brought boxing fans from all over Washington, D.C. Many supported the hometown hero, Roach, while some were fans of Davis, who represented Baltimore.
The local rivalry between the two fighters goes back to their amateur days, as Roach and Davis met in the ring twice before, with Davis winning both fights.
“I was one of the best boxers in the country for a long time at every age,” Roach said. “I happened to run into him, and he got me by the smallest chance of luck; every other year I was the number one fighter in the country.”
Davis was complimentary in his evaluation of Roach.
“He’s definitely tough, he’s got sneaky power. He had sneaky power since he was a kid,” he said. “But come March 1, we will figure out whatever he’s best at, and we’ll take it away.”
After the pleasantries, it did not take long for the two fighters to start going after each other. Davis threw the first verbal jab of the event.
“He better not bring his family. None of them can stop this,” he said.
Davis then went at Roach’s father and trainer, Lamont Roach Sr., who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, claiming he had “shaking hands” on the stage.
Roach quickly responded, “His team knows my work, up close and personal. Come March 1, we’re gonna kick some a-s.”
The press conference reached its peak near its conclusion, with both the champion and challenger getting energized by the raucous crowd.
“You know when they start talking, that’s when I’m gonna beat his a-s ’cause y’all are talking,” Davis said, gesturing towards heckling Roach supporters in the crowd.
Roach fired back as fans cheered on the two fighters.
“Never, never,” he said. “What I look like getting f-cked up? That s-it ain’t gonna stop nothing over here.”
The press conference ended shortly after the fiery exchange, with both fighters engaging in a staredown on stage before going their separate ways.
Davis and Roach are set to fight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with the fight airing via pay-per-view on Prime Video.
Copy edited by Jalyn Lovelady
