Lamont Roach entered as the underdog when he faced Gervonta Davis on March 1 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The bout ended in controversy, with two judges scoring it 114-114 and a third giving Davis a narrow 115-113 edge, resulting in a majority decision draw. However, many observers felt The Reaper had done enough to win, a belief reinforced when Davis took a knee midway through Round 9 before retreating to his corner, claiming chemicals from his hair were stinging his eyes. Referee Steve Willis opted not to call a knockdown, a decision that angered Roach’s camp and fans alike, fueling accusations of bias toward Davis, the sport’s bigger star.
A number of leading ringside analysts and former champions publicly criticized the non-call, and social feeds filled with replay threads and split-screen GIFs of the Round 9 sequence. This thread helped the draw dominate boxing discussion for days after the fight. Ultimately, a rematch was widely discussed in the weeks that followed, and PBC explored several late-summer dates in Las Vegas. However, there was no single, definitive, commission-announced date of Aug. 16; at times the promotion was reported to be targeting dates including Aug. 16, Aug. 23 and Aug. 30, and reporting later indicated the August 16 date had become unlikely. On top of that, Davis’ legal issues and social-media posts introduced added uncertainty, and the rematch therefore failed to crystallize on the date many fans expected.
Champion’s mentality links Lamont Roach to potential foe
Yesterday, @Unbiasedbox2 shared a clip of Lamont Roach being asked about his future at 135 lbs. The reporter mentioned names like Shakur Stevenson, Gervonta Davis, and Raymond Muratalla, before asking which fighters Roach was targeting over the next year. Roach, however, dismissed the idea of facing anyone else, making it clear that aside from a potential Davis rematch, the fight he truly wants is against Stevenson. “The best fight for me, and the best fight for the division would be me versus Shakur Stevenson,” Lamont Roach said, adding that the two have already verbally agreed to meet.
The 25-1 boxer elaborated that Stevenson himself had expressed interest in the matchup. “To be pretty honest, he said he would take the fight, like between me and him. We definitely sat down and was like yeah, we will do it for sure. He is a competitor, bro, like he wants to show that he is the best, and he even does not have any picks like me. We will fight each other,” Lamont Roach explained. And that statement quickly caught the attention of Stevenson, the reigning WBC lightweight champion.
Same mentality champ If this other fight don’t go thru we gone run it bro @OneOf1x https://t.co/MIbfKF267j
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) August 17, 2025
On X, Shakur Stevenson reshared the post and responded with, “Same mentality champ. If this other fight don’t go thru we gone run it bro @OneOf1x.” Roach, the WBA super featherweight champion, then gave his final word by replying with a simple two-word message: “.” While the exchange has fueled anticipation for a possible lightweight clash if the Tank rematch falls through, it also seems Lamont Roach has plans beyond just a showdown with Stevenson. And what is that, you ask?
Is Lamont Roach ready to move up a division?
A few months ago, during a Twitch stream on his channel, Lamont Roach Jr. spoke openly about his future plans. “After I beat ‘Tank,’ I am fighting the winner of Devin Haney vs. Brian Norman Jr.,” Roach revealed. Notably, GEA Chairman Turki Alalshikh has already confirmed that Haney and Norman Jr. will clash for the WBO welterweight title on November 22 at ANB Arena in Riyadh, and with Jaron Ennis moving up to junior middleweight, it stands as the division’s biggest fight.
For now, Lamont Roach remains at lightweight, at least until August. But does this mean he plans to move up in weight soon after? Absolutely. His original roadmap was clear: defeat Gervonta Davis in the August rematch, then step into the welterweight division to face the Haney-Norman winner. He even reaffirmed it during the stream, stating, “I am not going to say it again… at 47.”
However, with the rematch still not materializing and a potential fight against Shakur Stevenson now in the mix, Roach’s path has become less certain. The agreement between him and Stevenson has already sparked major intrigue, but if Lamont Roach and Stevenson do square off next, who do you think will come out victorious?
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