LAMONT ROACH REVEALS GERVONTA DAVIS REMATCH UNLIKELY, EXPLORES NEXT STEPS
Lamont Roach isn't willing to wait any longer.
Five months removed from his contentious 12-round majority draw with Gervonta Davis, the WBA junior lightweight world champion is exploring his options after hearing no update about their proposed rematch.
Having deemed a June 21 headliner was too early a turnaround, The Ring's Mike Coppinger reported that today, Aug. 16, was the slated date in mid-May for Las Vegas. This was subsequently pushed back a week or two, though no formal announcement arrived.
Davis was arrested on domestic violence charges July 11, though Roach cited the since-dismissed case when discussing uncertainty over a second fight and what's next.
He told BS Today: "The rematch don't look like it's happening, just put it out there and be transparent with everyone — it's the only question I get asked 10 times a day, maybe more.
"As far as my future, we moving on, can't just sit around and drag our feet. There has been some recent news, his charges got dismissed in Florida."
On whether that opens up the possibility for talks to reopen or he'll revisit it at a later date, the nine-year pro remained non-committal.
"We're not going to sit and wait, their [Davis' team] best bet is to try and structure something, if not, we move forward. We don't have time. It's not like we're the cash now."
Roach added that he didn't think Davis was particularly keen on running their fight back after being pushed close against a longtime rival dating to their amateur days.
Given his unexpected success against the division's biggest star, the topic of campaigning at lightweight came up. Roach, who began his pro career at 135 pounds before quickly settling in the weight class below, admitted he's interested.
"My body feels great at 135, I'm not going to lie. The extra five pounds I don't have to lose, I'm growing into it, going to be a lot of money for me to come back and defend my belt at 130 or a very high-profile fight and right now, that's looking miniscule.
"It's been discussed [going back down]. There are things to do, still have a title to defend, we're still exploring options but at the end of the day, we got into this for business — some big business can be beneficial for me."
Roach, 29, who hasn't made more than one appearance in a calendar year since 2021, stressed he'd be returning before the year's end. Whether that be in a stay-busy assignment or big fight, the Washington D.C. native is open to travelling abroad, too.
Roach has held the WBA's 130-pound title since a 12-round split decision win over Hector Luis Garcia in November 2023.
Since defending it against Feargal McCrory in D.C. seven months later, he's openly explored other options and the sanctioning body accommodated his lucrative Davis matchup.
Liverpool's Jazza Dickens stopped Albert Batyrgaziev to win the WBA interim title on July 2, and should Roach relinquish his strap the 34-year-old southpaw believes he'll be elevated.
BS reported Roach may feature as part of the Sebastian Fundora-Keith Thurman undercard come October 25 in Las Vegas, while Riyadh Season's rumoured interest may imply a lucrative fight purse to defend his junior lightweight title fight abroad.
If he does remain at lightweight, a matchup with WBC champion Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) features top of his wishlist.
"The best fight for me at 135 is against Shakur, he said he'd take it and we definitely sat down, said we'd do it for sure. He wants to show he's the best and if we locked it in, it would be in the first quarter of 2026."
