AS HIS former rival gears up to face Jake Paul, giving the impression of a petulant child, Lamont Roach Jr is seemingly approaching a far more credible assignment.
‘The Reaper’ was under the impression that he would enter an immediate rematch with Gervonta Davis, only to discover that ‘Tank’ had explored a vastly different opportunity.
Indeed, his exhibition match with Paul has been confirmed for November 14, and judging by his somewhat coy demeanour at Monday’s press conference, it is doubtless beginning to dawn on Davis that he has made a rather unsavoury deal with the devil.
Nevertheless, Roach, 25-1-2 (10 KOs), has been forced to abandon any plans for their rematch, which was tentatively slated for August 16, and instead focus his attention on Isaac Cruz.
‘Pitbull’ emerged as a viable opponent in recent weeks and, now, it would appear that the pair are heading towards a December showdown.
According to boxing journalist Dan Rafael, their super-lightweight clash is expected to land on either December 6 or December 20, headlining the final PBC pay-per-view event of 2025.
Taking to X yesterday, Rafael wrote: “Per sources involved, PBC planning Pitbull Cruz-Lamont Roach for Cruz’s WBC interim 140 to headline its final PPV of the year — either Dec. 6 or Dec. 20.
“Site is TBA [to be announced] but was told preference is Texas but could be elsewhere in the Southwest but unlikely Las Vegas.”
Cruz claimed his WBC ‘interim’ strap in July, outpointing Omar Salcido on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs Mario Barrios, which followed his all-action war with Angel Fierro in February.
The 27-year-old, however, is perhaps best known for giving Davis arguably his toughest fight, only until Roach earned himself a far stronger claim to have beaten ‘Tank’.
It was back in March that the 30-year-old fell agonisingly short of a monumental victory, with a controversial ninth round – where a no-knockdown was called by referee Steve Willis – allowing Davis to come away with his WBA world lightweight title.
But despite being forced to settle with a highly-contentious draw at 135lbs, Roach appears to have decided to step up to super-lightweight in pursuit of a meaningful victory against Cruz.
Should their clash get announced, as expected, it is highly likely that the American will be stripped of his WBA world title at 130lbs.
