Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach Jr. went toe-to-toe on March 1 in New York, and let’s just say the bout punched a hole in the ‘Tank.’ ‘The Reaper’ Roach Jr. exposed cracks in Davis’ game that had long been hidden behind years of handpicked opponents. He didn’t just push Davis to his limits—he dragged him into deep waters and came out with a majority draw, leaving fans buzzing and the boxing world in chaos. Then there was the ninth-round drama. 

Davis suddenly took a knee mid-round, claiming that grease from his hair had dripped into his eyes. Normally, that’s an automatic knockdown, but somehow, the referee let it slide. The controversy only fueled the fire. A rematch was expected, but Davis swerved and announced an exhibition bout with Jake Paul on November 14 instead. It could have ended in a lawsuit, but thankfully for Davis, his ever-calculating promoter Al Haymon swooped in to save the day.

Al Haymon took care of the Roach Jr. problem for Gervonta Davis

Speaking to the WBA super featherweight champion, senior insider for Ring Magazine Mike Coppinger brought up Gervonta Davis’ decision to face Paul in what he called a “circus event,” asking how Roach Jr. felt about it. “I feel a little disrespected, like just on the business aspect, because you don’t do business like that,” Roach Jr. said. He explained that he could have pursued a lawsuit against Davis for failing to fulfill the rematch clause.

However, Roach Jr. admitted that taking legal action would have been more trouble than it was worth for both him and Al Haymon’s PBC. “Now, if I were to go to arbitration, then what, then [you’ve] got to pay lawyer fees, or you put your promotional company in a hole where they have to back you because technically it’s on them. They’re the ones who [are] putting on the fight. That’s who I have the contract [with]. That’s who draws up the agreement, the contracts, or whatever the case may be,” he said.

Lamont Roach Jr. called Davis’ actions “crazy” from a business standpoint and accused him of making a mockery of the sport, describing the whole situation as “weird.” Picking up on the legal angle, Coppinger asked whether Roach Jr. still intended to pursue a lawsuit. “I never said this publicly, but no, we aren’t going to go to arbitration because I’m very well taken care of,” Roach Jr. revealed during the interview.

He went on to share that Al Haymon had personally ensured he was compensated after Davis failed to meet his contractual obligations, a gesture that kept the situation from escalating further. “I publicly want to say thank you to Al Haymon, PBC, and everyone who made things right on his behalf. Even though he messed up on his behalf, they made things right on my end,” Roach Jr. said.

For now, even Lamont Roach Jr. appears to have moved on to someone else, as he faces Davis’ former opponent, Isaac Cruz, on December 6 at the Frost Bank Center, San Antonio for the interim WBC super lightweight title. And Cruz has his own plans for Roach Jr.

Isaac Cruz plans on putting a beating on Lamont Roach Jr.

The interim WBC super lightweight champion has heard all the talk from Roach Jr., yet it hasn’t fazed him a bit. ‘Pitbull’ Cruz plans to make Roach Jr. eat his words when they meet inside the ring at the end of this year. “I’m used to people talking their stuff before they step into the ring, and then we see what happens,” Cruz said at their press conference.

“All I can say is I’m gonna show him the same way I showed Rolly.” Cruz’s warning carries weight. Last year, he pummeled Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero for eight rounds before forcing a stoppage. Now, he’s promising an even more dominant performance against Roach Jr., who’s moving up to 140 pounds. 

Confident and calm, Cruz made it clear that Roach Jr.’s trash talk won’t help him once the bell rings. “If you talk before the fight,” Cruz added, “then you’ll see inside the ring that trash talk goes by the wayside.”

Having said that, despite feeling disrespected and wronged, Lamont Roach Jr. appears to have moved away from the Gervonta Davis chapter of his life. His focus is now on Isaac Cruz. Do you think he should have pursued a lawsuit against Davis?