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Philippines, 09 May 2025 |
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Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs Lamont Roach, Jr: Fight Analysis By Ralph Rimpell PhilBoxing.com Sat, 01 Mar 2025  On Saturday, March 1, 2025, WBA lightweight (135 lbs) champion Gervonta "Tank" Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) returns to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, to defend his title against WBA junior lightweight (130 lbs) champion Lamont Roach Jr. (25-1-1, 10 KOs). There is significant buzz surrounding this fight, as both fighters hail from the Washington, D.C., area and have known each other since their amateur days, having sparred together as youths. Both are current world champions and are close in age; Tank is 30, while Roach is 29, with Tank being the senior by a little over nine months. Despite their similarities, their boxing careers have taken different paths. Tank won his first world title in 2017 in the same division (130 lbs) that Lamont currently holds a title and unified two titles (WBA and IBF) before moving up to the 135 lbs division two years later to claim his current title. Tank continued to challenge himself by moving up to a third division (junior welterweight - 140 lbs) and securing another world title before returning to the 135 lbs division. In the process, Tank has delivered spectacular performances against the likes of Rolando "Rolly" Romero and Ryan Garcia, becoming one of the "faces of boxing" with an undefeated record and a 93% knockout ratio. "Tank" is a star in boxing, and all his accolades are well-earned. Lamont Roach's path has had its ups and downs. He fought to a draw against Orlando Cruz in his 17th professional fight and lost his first opportunity to become a world champion when Jamel Herring defeated him in a bid for the WBO 130 lbs title in his 21st professional fight. However, Roach rebounded in his 26th professional fight to finally win a world title (WBA) by defeating Hector Luis Garcia. The fight between Tank and Roach carries hometown bragging rights, even though the bout is taking place approximately 237 miles away from D.C. in Brooklyn, NY. Many fans from both fighters' sections of Washington, D.C., will undoubtedly come to the Barclays Center to support their fighter. Davis is clearly the "King of the Hill," and Roach aims to dethrone Tank, taking his WBA lightweight title, his fans, and earning million-dollar purses for future fights. On Saturday night, what must Roach do to defeat Tank? Roach will have to fight a perfect fight, avoiding any mistakes. He must utilize a strong jab and effective footwork, earning Tank's respect by demonstrating his own power. Roach should avoid standing directly in front of Tank but must occasionally engage to keep Tank at bay. He must not become overconfident if he wins the first two or three rounds, as this could lead to a false sense of security and leave him open to counters—a downfall experienced by Ryan Garcia and Rolly Romero, whom Tank was able to knock out later in their fights due to apparent overconfidence. Roach must be prepared to go a full twelve rounds, dictating the pace of the fight. What does Tank need to do to defeat Roach? Tank is one of the smartest fighters in boxing, well-schooled by trainer Calvin Ford. He can fight moving forward and backward, setting traps for his opponents and counterpunching effectively. Some fighters are dominant but one-dimensional, struggling when backed up. But not Tank. When he fought Rolly, Tank allowed Rolly to press the fight almost entirely, countering with a perfect punch that ended the bout. Similarly, against Ryan Garcia, Tank delivered a precise body shot that stopped Garcia. Against Frank Martin, Tank pressed the action and eventually stopped him. Using his boxing IQ, Tank will likely adapt during the fight to determine the best approach against Roach. If Roach is the aggressor, Tank may set traps and counter him. If Roach becomes evasive, Tank will systematically break him down, as he did with Frank Martin last June. This writer envisions the fight playing out in one of two ways. Regardless of the scenario, it is predicted to be a competitive bout in the early rounds, with momentum shifting in Tank's favor by the fourth round. The prediction is that Tank will achieve a TKO victory over Roach by the ninth round. Boxing Notes Chris Eubank Jr will fight Connor Benn on April 26, 2025 on a card sponsored by Saudi Boxing Promoter Turki Alalshikh. Both men are sons of former two division world champions Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn whom had a rivalry. Those of us who are old enough can remember Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn thrilled British boxing fans with two exciting world title fights in the 1990s. Chris Eubanks Sr. scored a 9th round TKO to win Nigel Benn’s WBO middle weight title in 1990. Three years later they rematched in a unification match with Nigel Benn risking his WBC super-middleweight title and Chris Eubanks Sr. risking his WBO super middleweight title. That fight ended in a draw. In 2025 after significant time feuding on social media the next generation will fight in London. There is a definite “Buzz” an apparent bad blood between these two young men. Chris Eubanks Jr slapped Connor Benn and a brawl ensued at a recent press conference. There also appears to be genuine bad blood between Chris Eubanks Jr. and Promoter Eddie Hearn as they argued at the press conference. Chris Eubank Jr has also threatened Nigel Benn who apparently touched his neck during the brawl regarding ever touching him again. There may not be a major world title at stake but this will be an interesting fight….David Benavidez has made more of case that he has earned a fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez with his victory over David Morrell. Canelo has indirectly made the case that Benavidez deserves the fight and it is a “Big Fight”. If Canelo reportedly makes $30-$40 million guaranteed a fight against good fighters such as Charlo, Mungia, and Berlanga, but he ask for $200 million then Benavidez is clearly the best opponent by far and should be compensated accordingly if they fight. Perhaps Turki Alalshikh can sign Canelo vs Benavidez if Canelo defeats William Scull in May 2025 and then defeats Terrence Crawford in September 2025… ***Ralph Rimpell is a writer based out of New York and is a Boxing Correspondent for Philboxing.com. Ralph holds an undergraduate degree from City University of New York. He has been a Boxing Writer for over ten years having written for several top boxing websites on the World Wide Web. Before becoming a writer, Ralph's passion was for professional wrestling until he realized professional wrestling was entertainment and not a real sport. It was at that time the 1984 US Olympic team made up of future stars such as Evander Holyfield, Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, etc. entered the professional ranks and signed with promotional outfit Main Events.It was also at that time a young exciting Heavyweight originally hailing from Brooklyn named Mike Tyson also turned professional and became the face of boxing. Young boxing fan Ralph just couldn't get enough of boxing as a large part of it was being broadcast on "free TV". As time went on, Ralph felt boxing writers were not being forthcoming with their boxing coverage, opinion pieces, interviews, etc. So Ralph decided to write an article and submitted it to a Boxing website thinking it would be deleted and ignored by the Editor. To Ralph's surprise his article was posted on their website and the readers embraced it. The rest is history. "I thank God for the Internet because it has created opportunities for writers like myself who likely would not have been given an opportunity to write for print publications. I hope someday soon to expand my role in Boxing on different levels." -- Ralph Rimpell Contact Writer: RLuvsboxing@aol.com Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ralph Rimpell.  |
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