Rumored Options To Replace Gervonta Davis As WBA Champion

The WBA already has a plan in place to officially move on from Gervonta Davis.

As Davis deals with yet another legal issue — the same one that pulled him from his fight with Jake Paul — the WBA recently stripped him of his lightweight title. The organization is already planning to move on with a pair of vacant title fights in mind.

The WBA will crown its new 135-pound champion by having No. 1 contender Floyd Schofield face either No. 2-ranked Lucas Bahdi or No. 4-ranked Lamont Roach Jr., according to boxing reporter Dan Rafael.

Forgot to post this other day. Per WBA, Gervonta Davis, who is inactive & wanted by cops for domestic violence, has been stripped of 135 title & made "in recess" titlist. I'm told by WBA vacant title fight to be ordered will either be No. 1 Floyd Schofield-No. 2 Lucas Bahdi or…
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) January 19, 2026

While Davis has not officially announced his retirement, he has practically confirmed that the end is near. At the very least, it will be a while before 'Tank' returns to the ring, convincing the WBA to move on.

The WBA appears intent on having Schofield in its vacant title fight. 'The Kid' was booked to face WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson in February 2025, but fell ill during fight week and was replaced by Josh Padley.

Bahdi makes the most sense from the rankings perspective, but more fans would want to see Roach in the vacant title picture. Many still believe that Roach should already own the belt, given his controversial draw with Davis in March 2025, which was the latter's most recent fight.

Davis and Roach were expected to rematch after that fight, but 'Tank' instead surprised fans with the Paul fight. Roach went on to fight Isaac 'Pitbull' Cruz to another draw in December 2025, leaving him officially winless since June 2024.

WBA's trio of lightweight contenders sans Gervonta Davis

Lamont Roach Jr. | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Schofield, 23, made himself the No. 1 contender when he stopped Tevin Farmer with a shocking first-round knockout in June 2025 on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. That fight was his only fight of 2025 and his only outing since withdrawing from the title fight with Stevenson.

The 31-year-old Bahdi is one of the top male fighters signed to Paul's Most Valuable Promotions. He went viral for his highlight-reel knockout of the previously undefeated Ashton Sylve in July 2024 and has rattled off three more victories since. Bahdi's last win came over former super featherweight champion Roger Gutierrez in August 2025.

Although not mentioned by Rafael, Bakhodur Usmonov is ahead of Roach in the WBA rankings at No. 3. Usmonov is coming off a majority decision nod over former IBO champion Maxi Hughes in December.

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