Every fighter has their unique way of battling the demons that follow them out of the ring after they lose their first fight. The fight may have ended in the ring, but the war in their minds rages on for weeks if not months. WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach Jr. had his own fisticuff with depression, but it doesn’t seem to have deterred him.

The 29-year-old Washington native is coming off a majority decision draw against the biggest star in boxing—Gervonta Davis. The pair went toe-to-toe in March, a fight now shrouded in controversy thanks to Tank voluntarily taking a knee in the 9th round and it not being scored. What could have been Roach’s breakout moment was seemingly stolen away from him when the fight was declared a draw. 

It’s not farfetched to think that this would have stung harder than when Roach Jr. lost his first professional boxing match against Jamel Herring in November 2019. The Davis fight also could have sent him into depression. That’s the same chain of thought one user followed recently after ‘The Reaper’ spoke about post-fight depression in an interview. 

You see, during a chat with former world champion Andre Ward on the All the Smoke podcast, Roach Jr. spoke about suffering from depression after his loss to Herring. “Guess who was in the back [after I lost the fight]? Me and my mom! In the corner crying. It was tough, I ain’t gonna lie. I was depressed,” he told Ward.

However, one user on X took this out of context to suggest that Roach Jr. had made this confession about the Gervonta Davis fight, writing, “Lamont Roach after the tank fight he says he was depressed.” In the same clip, the Washington native also claimed he was “pissed” after securing a draw against Gervonta Davis—so it may have caused some confusion for the fan.

Regardless, Roach Jr. quickly descended on the post to clarify the truth. “You f**king dumb, stupid, or slow?” he asked. “B**ch a** know I was talking bout the [Herring] fight, yall n***as weird.” And you know what, Roach Jr. could not have been depressed about the Gervonta Davis draw even if he wanted to because of how successful the fight was. 

Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr. achieves $6.5 million milestone

Gervonta Davis’ controversial clash with Lamont Roach Jr. may have ended in a draw, but according to an Authorized Combative Sports Tax Return audit from New York State, it set a financial benchmark at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The fight generated a staggering $6,415,815 gate from 16,420 tickets sold, with an additional 766 comps, according to a New York State Athletic Commission audit.

The 17,186 total attendance narrowly missed the venue’s record but made the bout the highest-grossing boxing event ever held at Barclays and the second-highest-grossing event overall. And the good news is—the pair is expected to run it back in June, which, given these numbers, could produce record-breaking sales. 

That said, Lamont Roach Jr. may have battled depression following the first loss of his career, but the draw against Gervonta Davis seems to have only fueled his anger. He’ll need to channel that emotion constructively when they meet again in the ring. But should Roach really be dwelling on that draw?