A second fight between Lamont Roach Jr. and WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis may not happen anytime soon.
Those plans were put in jeopardy after Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs) was arrested last month in Florida, on battery charges from an alleged domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend. She is also the mother of his children. The case and domestic violence charges were dropped earlier this week, after the alleged victim reportedly declined to prosecute.
In light of the legal dispute, the rematch was reportedly being pushed for later this month. However, Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs) isn’t necessarily maintaining hope.
“The rematch doesn’t look like it’s happening,” Roach told Boxing Scene. “That’s just to put it out there and be transparent with everyone. Because that’s the only question I get ten times a day, maybe even more. That’s what it is, and that’s what it’s looking like.
“We still haven’t heard from his camp, specifically when it comes to the business. It is what it is. As far as my future, we’re moving on. We can’t just sit around and drag our feet.”
Roach sets his sights on a clash against Shakur Stevenson
“The Reaper” first met Davis in March, which resulted in a controversial draw. Roach appeared to outbox the defending champion, as he got the better of Davis in several exchanges.
It remains to be seen if discussions will be held between their teams regarding a rematch. Should the fight fail to materialize, the Washington, D.C. native has another opponent in mind: Shakur Stevenson.
“Aside from a rematch,” said Roach. “The best fight for me, and the best fight for the division, is me versus Shakur Stevenson. And to be pretty honest, he said he’d take the fight between me and him. We talked, and we definitely sat down, it was like ‘yeah, we’ll do it for sure.’”
Stevenson is coming off a unanimous decision win against William Zepeda in July, as he made his third defense of the 135-pound WBC title. Shortly after his win, the WBC lightweight champion expressed interest in a future meeting with Roach. Stevenson recently surpassed Davis for the No. 1 spot at 135 pounds on ESPN’s men’s divisional rankings.
