On December 23, undefeated WBA world champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis posted on social media saying that his scheduled title defense against WBA super-featherweight champion Lamont Roach Jr (25-1 -1, 10 KOs) was cancelled.
In early October, Gervonta Davis initially announced that the world title fight between him and Lamont Roach would take place on December 14th at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Weeks later, another announcement was made regarding the Tank vs. Roach match being postponed.
No one gave an official reason for the delay, but some speculated that the postponement was due to location issues. In late November, a new fight date and location was released to the public, as March 1, 2025 became the new date, and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York became the new location
The postponement seemed to work in favor of the fans of this fight due to the change of venue. Baltimore and Washington DC are rival cities that are separated by about 40 miles. Due to the fact that Gervonta Davis is from Baltimore, Maryland, and Lamont Roach is a native of Washington DC, it made perfect sense to move the fight to the Barclays Center.
Everything seemed to be prepared and ready to go until Gervonta Davis made the decision to release a short, but still unexpected public statement via social media saying: “The fight is F**king Cancel…”
After seeing the post, wrestling fans were shocked and confused. As fans tried to get answers, Davis chose not to provide any details as he has apparently stepped away from social media. Fans turned to challenger Lamont Roach for answers, and Roach responded in a post saying:
“C**k you keep asking me? he said sh*t not me. I’m closed, nothing has changed. March 1st Brooklyn #ANDNEW.
Although it was never properly addressed, the first postponement was probably due to a problem regarding the reservation of the Toyota Center. This recent alleged cancellation is certainly not a venue issue because the Barclays Center has the Tank vs. Roach fight listed on its website’s events calendar.
If the alleged cancellation has nothing to do with the location, could it be a problem related to finances? Is Gervonta Davis not happy with the guaranteed money offered to him by PBC? For the last few years, boxing insiders have claimed that the PBC is short of money, and there may be some truth to the claim.
After a very successful launch in March 2015, the PBC had a stellar run, but during the past few years, the PBC has shown a lack of activity. The total number of shows that the PBC produces annually is in steady decline.
In addition to potential financial problems, the PBC also exhibits a lack of communication skills. Gervonta “Tank” Davis is probably the biggest draw on the PBC roster. Davis claims his upcoming fight is cancelled, and then after the claim, he doesn’t follow up.
Challenger Lamont Roach issues a statement saying he hasn’t heard about the fight being canceled as he plans to continue his training. The PBC continues to leave fans in limbo as they neglect to provide any sort of clarity regarding the March 1st status of the world title.
So…, is the Tank vs Roach fight on or off? When you look at this fight and put it into perspective, this fight is a fight for the casual boxing fan. Casuals are sold on the Baltimore vs. DC narrative. Hardcore boxing fans could care less about the geographic narrative as they see Tank vs. Roach as a disappointing matchup.
Gervonta Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) tried to make a more attractive fight against Vasiliy Lomachenko, but since the war broke out in Ukraine and his close loss to Devin Haney, Lomachenko does not seem to have the same passion towards the sport of boxing, as it appears he may be contemplating retirement.
Currently, neither Al Haymon nor any of his PBC associates have provided a formal update on the Tank vs. Roach matchup. To support events like this, wrestling fans have to make financial sacrifices and organize things in their personal lives to be able to travel, and support sporting events like boxing.
Having said that, it is rather ridiculous how much time has passed, and no one from the PBC thought it might be a good idea to release a public statement about the status of the fight. Have you ever heard of an NFL or NBA game being canceled and no one formally addressing the issue?
If the fight happens, boxing fans will watch because they are longtime supporters of the sport. If the fight doesn’t happen, the casuals will be disappointed, but the hardcore fans will just sit back and wait for Gervonta Davis to give them the matchup they’ve been asking for.
