Boxing

Lamont Roach Reveals What He Thinks Plagued Gervonta Davis During Fight

Lamont Roach made an interesting statement about Gervonta "Tank" Davis' mental state heading into their March 1 fight.
Grant Young|
GERVONTA DAVIS (30-0-28) of Baltimore, Maryland defeats FRANK MARTIN (18-1-12) on June 15, 2024.
GERVONTA DAVIS (30-0-28) of Baltimore, Maryland defeats FRANK MARTIN (18-1-12) on June 15, 2024. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

The majority draw outcome of the March 1 fight between Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach was one of the more shocking results in recent memory. This isn't because it wasn't a closely contested fight that could have gone either way (with many believing Roach should have deserved the victory), but instead because few people predicted that Roach could compete with Tank in the fight's lead-up.

Hindsight is 20/20. But given that Davis was constantly talking about wanting to retire and not having the same passion for boxing that he once had before entering the ring against Roach, perhaps the boxing community should have realized that his being a -1600 favorite was unfounded.

Now that the first Roach fight is over (with a rematch likely on the way), there has been a ton of chatter about Tank's state of mind right now.

And during his April 8 interview with Andre Ward on the All The Smoke Fight podcast, Lamont Roach conveyed that he believes Davis was dealing with other mental demons before their fateful March 1 fight.

"I think he doubted himself," Roach said. "I think he doubts himself. Hell of a talent, hell of a puncher. Super, super, super good accuracy. I think that's what leads to most of his knockouts, honestly. But he doubted himself, and he has been doing that since he was a kid.

"So that played a little bit into the fight," Roach added of Davis.

It's fascinating to hear Roach share this sentiment about Davis, especially suggesting it might have played a role in their March 1 fight.

And given how the fight went, Davis would have a fair reason to doubt his chances of success during their eventual rematch.

The Latest Boxing News

Lamont Roach Drops Telling 6-Word Update About Gervonta 'Tank' Davis Rematch

Lamont Roach Reveals Gervonta Davis Is Ghosting Him Before Rematch

Gervonta Davis vs Lamont Roach Fight PPV And Gate Reveal Has Fans At Odds

Boxing Legend Roy Jones Jr. Predicts 'Dominant' Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach Rematch Outcome

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.