In recent times, boxing witnessed a few fights whose impact echoed way past their timeline. Till recently, the thump of the Ryan Garcia-Devin Haney squabble reverberated, giving it tough competition, the Gervonta Davis–Lamont Roach Jr. fixture joined the mix. Despite a rematch being scheduled, the noise of the March 1 fight at the Barclays Center refuses to die down. Many fans still rue how, after he took a voluntary knee, Tank Davis got off scot-free. However, for ‘The Mexican Monster,’ it’s an altogether different aspect that continues to irk.

Initial reports suggested a June 21 face-off at the T-Mobile Arena. However, now it appears Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach Jr. will now square up for the second time on August 16 in Las Vegas. After what transpired in their first fight, many fans who felt Roach Jr. deserved a win believe the rematch could potentially set the record straight. As he sat down with Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo in ‘Pound for Pound‘s latest episode, David Benavidez had no qualms in pointing out where Tank precisely faltered.

Gervonta Davis should’ve gone toe-to-toe – David Benavidez

As their discussion drew to a close, Usman highlighted how the David-Roach fight started slow but picked up once both fighters realized they had to ‘scrap.’ So he asked, “How did you see that fight? How do you agree with the decision?” Perhaps Benavidez was already prepared with the question. “I’m gonna be 100% honest with you,” he said. For his ninth-round infraction, Tank offered a justification; nonetheless, it should have been counted as a knockdown. Had the rule been followed, then Roach Jr. would have won the fight, Benavidez stressed.

The Washington, DC-born junior lightweight champion came fully prepared. However, what seemingly irritated David Benavidez the most was Tank’s apparent hesitation to engage Roach Jr. “What I didn’t like about Tank is that he was gassing up Lamont Roach way too much, giving him way too much respect,” Benavidez said.

In light of Tank’s purported intentions to retire by year-end, to Benavidez, it was akin to how some fighters often took it easy after they decided to hang up their gloves. All they cared for was money. “That wasn’t the same Gervonta Davis we’re really used to seeing,” the WBC light heavyweight champion concluded.

Now, what David Benavidez said is purely subjective. One shouldn’t ignore voices at the other end of the spectrum.

He wasn’t far behind

For instance, as he faced a barrage of criticism, one world champion came to Gervonta Davis’ rescue. Speaking with YSM Media, Jaron Ennis made it clear. It was a close fight, a 7-5 decision in Tank’s favor, he opined. At best, it was a clear draw, the unified welterweight champion felt. He appreciated Roach Jr.’s efforts, but not to the extent where he could claim a clear victory.

“It was a great fight. I had it 7-5, Tank. Or you can make it a draw, but I feel like Lamont, he did good. He did a great job, actually. I just don’t think he did enough to pull it off,” remarked Ennis. He emphasized that Davis was boxing smart early, frustrating Roach.

So Ennis critiqued the fan bias and unrealistic expectations, especially that Tank always needs a knockout to ‘win’ in people’s minds. “Just because he ain’t knock him out, he feels like he probably feels like he lost and he didn’t, or it was a draw, you know, um, I feel like Tank did a lot of smart things in the beginning…he was still like frustrating him and things like that, and, uh, I think Tank did a good job; he still looked sharp,” Boots said. In the end, ‘you can’t please everybody.‘

So different perspectives for a fight that seeks answers from a rematch three months from now.

Whose point do you agree with most – David Benavidez’s or Jaron Ennis’?