Lamont Roach Jr. said he was at a spa with his mother on Thursday, Aug. 21, when he learned Gervonta “Tank” Davis had agreed to a fight with Jake Paul instead of a rematch with Roach.
“My mom’s a little animated and a little too explicit for interviews and write ups,” Roach told USA TODAY Sports with chuckle. “So that can explain her reaction right there.”
There’s no need to censor the reaction of the 30-year-old Roach, who’s not putting up much of a fight.
On March 1, he fought Davis to a majority draw – and many observers thought he won the controversial fight. He said Davis is contractually obligated to give him a rematch but that he’s moved on and is looking for another opponent.
“I’m accepting the fact that he is literally scared to get back in the ring with me,” Roach said. “I saw something like this coming, just getting out of the fight with me.”
Their 12-round lightweight bout in March was the toughest of Davis’ career and blemished his 30-0 record. It’s now 30-0-1.
Instead of risking further stain on his record, Davis will step inside the ring Nov. 14 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta against a bigger but far less experienced fighter.
“With a YouTuber, pretty insane,” Roach said.
Unlike his animated mom, however, Roach (25-1-2 10 KOs) remained measured with his comments.
“The thing I like about Jake is what he’s doing for actual boxers,” Roach said. “He’s a big advocate for the women’s boxers. They can get their real paydays.”
Whereas Roach no longer expects another payday with Davis, and that appears to be something he wants resolved.
“There’s no way that you breached that and expect me to just sit here and be in the dust,” he said.
Even though he’s not preparing for a rematch, Roach said he’s in the gym every day and working with children in Washington D.C., where he was born and raised.
He said his community engagement includes school drives, teaching children how to box through popup clinics and reading to inner city youth.
Oh, and something about those kids. Roach said they’re aware of the situation with Davis.
“They like, ‘OK, he’s a Rudy Poop. He’s a scaredy cat,’ ” he said. “Yeah, they see what’s going on.”
