WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach Jr. was all over the headlines for the last month. And for good reason! ‘The Reaper’ had pushed the ‘face of boxing,’ a.k.a Gervonta Davis, to his limits and produced a majority decision draw, something no one has been able to do. A vast majority of people even thought the 29-year-old had done enough to win.
Though he could not manage to get his hand raised, his popularity seems to have surged leaps and bounds since the fight. His newfound popularity recently got him into an interview with Andre Ward on the All the Smoke Fight podcast, where he spoke about his draw with Gervonta Davis and his first career loss to Jamel Herring in November 2019.
While it might not sound extraordinary, Roach Jr.’s statements during the interview seem to have caused quite a stir in the community, so much so that Herring himself had to speak out about it on social media. During the interview, Roach Jr. said he didn’t watch the Herring fight until three weeks after it ended.
“[When] I watched the fight, I was like I could have had this,” Roach Jr said. “The Jamel fight, it was just like we knew we wasn’t going to get nothing on paper, we knew that no favors,” he added later in the interview. “We knew that [it was a] Top Rank show. I was with Golden Boy. He was a champ [so I wasn’t going to win].”
This didn’t seem to have sat well with the people, as they started criticizing Lamont Roach Jr. on X. At least, Herring claimed people did, “Seeing folks go at Lamont again over his Dre interview is wild,” ‘Semper Fi’ wrote on X. “He earned the right to speak his truth, he showed up and performed at a high level.”
Seeing folks go at Lamont again over his Dre interview is wild. He earned the right to speak his truth, he showed up and performed at a high level. Stop using our 2019 fight as a measuring stick. That was six years ago. It’s 2025. Fighters evolve, grow, or decline, and Lamont…
— Jamel Herring (@JamelHerring) April 9, 2025
Herring urged people to stop using their fight in 2019 to measure Roach Jr.’s skills today, noting, “That was six years ago. It’s 2025.” He added, “Fighters evolve, grow, or decline, and Lamont clearly leveled up.” Herring claimed people are very picky about criticizing fighters, asking fans to judge every boxer on the same scale.
“Boxing is judged round by round, not off who you’re emotionally invested in. Just respect the sport… and wait for the rematch,” he concluded. While Herring is busy defending Roach’s statement, ‘The Reaper’ is not happy about Gervonta Davis backing out of their deal.
Lamont Roach Jr. reveals Gervonta Davis’ $250,000 betrayal
Lamont Roach Jr. has accused Gervonta Davis of going radio silent after failing to honor a $250,000 bet made ahead of their recent WBA lightweight title clash. The two fighters shook hands on the wager during the ceremonial weigh-in, with Davis confidently betting he would knock Roach out.
Instead, Roach took him the distance and held ‘Tank’ to a majority draw—despite referee Steve Willis controversially denying Roach a knockdown in the ninth round. Speaking on Andre Ward’s podcast, Roach said, “We bet and we shook on it… he changed his number, I haven’t got that [money] yet. I tried to call him, and I tried to DM him too.”
Roach’s team filed an exemption with the NYSAC to overturn the result, but it was upheld. With tensions rising, a summer rematch is now expected on June 21 in Las Vegas—where Roach will look to settle both the score and the bet.
That said, it seems Lamont Roach Jr. won’t just face adversity in the ring when he inevitably fights Gervonta Davis again—he’ll also be dealing with a wave of critics scrutinizing his every move. Regardless, the question is, do you agree with Herring?
The post Ex-Rival Cleans Lamont Roach Jr.’s Image With a Loud Statement: “That Was 6 Years Ago” appeared first on EssentiallySports.