Boxing

Lamont Roach Roasts Gervonta Davis' Answer About Ducking Rematch To Fight Jake Paul

Lamont Roach cooked Gervonta "Tank" Davis for his answer about why he's fighting Jake Paul instead of doing their rematch.
Grant Young|
Gervonta "Tank" Davis and Lamont Roach during a February 28, 2025 press conference.
Gervonta "Tank" Davis and Lamont Roach during a February 28, 2025 press conference. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

The boxing community has had an overwhelmingly negative response to the news that WBA lightweight champion Gervonta "Tank" Davis would be fighting notorious cruiserweight Jake Paul in an exhibition bout in November.

The biggest reason why this fight is getting blasted is because there's a staggering size difference between Tank and Paul, which is why the bout has to be an exhibition. This size difference was made extremely apparent during their pre-fight press conference on September 22, when Paul was towering over Tank during a face-off.

However, that isn't the only reason for the Paul vs. Davis fight distaste. Most boxing fans wanted (and were expecting) to see Tank rematch against Lamont Roach Jr. after these two fought to a controversial majority draw on March 1. In the days and weeks after that fight (which many believed Tank deserved to lose outright), all indications were that a rematch was in the works.

However, after the rumored rematch date came and went, it was clear that the sides hadn't agreed to terms. And Tank ultimately pivoted to swerving the rematch and fighting Jake Paul instead of facing Roach.

Lamont Roach Jr. and Gervonta "Tank" Davis during a March 1, 2025 boxing fight.
Lamont Roach Jr. and Gervonta "Tank" Davis during a March 1, 2025 boxing fight. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Lamont Roach Roasts Gervonta Davis Amid Rematch Question

Gervonta was asked why he decided to fight Jake Paul instead of rematching Roach during Monday's press conference, and said, "Uh, it just, you know, uh, I don't want to put a lot out there. It's just, you know, doing what's best for me, and what's right for me. I been doing this for a little minute now. You know, I've been doing it since I was 7 years old. So this is the first camp I can enjoy myself, and be back myself.

"Even leading up to the rematch of the Roach fight, it was more so, like — I don't want to get too much in it," Gervonta continued.

This response left a lot to be desired in the eyes of boxing fans. And it didn't take Roach long to roast Tank about his answer, which came with an X post on September 22.

MORE: Gervonta Davis Disputes Jake Paul Fight Rule In First Press Conference

"Every time he gotta explain why he fighting Jake 😂," Roach wrote, with a picture of Lisa Simpson from The Simpson's cartoon with red eyes and tears.

Roach was one of the first people to put Tank on blast when this fight against Paul was announced. He wrote, "Told ya lol 🦆🦆🦆🦆," in an X post, along with four duck emojis moments after news of it broke.

While Roach is willing to joke about this lackluster answer from Gervonta, the bottom line is that he's just as frustrated as anybody else that his hard-earned rematch fell through.

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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.