On Saturday evening of March 1, the world champion WBA Gervonta “Tank” Davis was involved in a highly competitive battle of Lamont Roach Jr, and at the end of the 12-round competition, the fight was recognized as the majority.
Initially, the duel received a lot of criticism due to the fact that Lamont Roach was an unknown name. In addition to the lack of recognition of the name, Roach was the third warrior in the last four years, who appeared from the lower weight class to face Davis.
Boxing fans, who were immediately sold in this fight, accepted the duel because of the Baltimore-Washington DC competition. Defending Master Gervont Davis comes from Baltimore, and Challenger Lamont Roach comes from Washington.
On the Night of the fighting, Gervont Davis began his conventional snail-paced start when he managed to land only one blow in the opening round. After the first round, the action increased when most of the exchange between Davis and Roach took place in their pocket.
In the 8th round Lamont Roach had a great moment when he landed in the right side that supported Davis. The controversy will come to the fight in round 9, when Davis was hit by a stab, and then his knee retreated. Davis started running in the corner to wipe his face.
Tank Davis was lucky because the judge did not rule his knee as a knocking out, and Davis was not enforced by any punishment because Davis wiped his face. It seemed that Roach could have passed Davis a bit, during the fight, but at the end of the competition, three judges assessed him as the majority.
A few days later, the lawyer Lamont Roach sent a letter to the Modern York Sports Committee, asking for overthrowing the result because of the amazing controversy. The decision has not been disclosed so far, but fighting fans predict that the rematch between Davis and Roach will take place in the near future.
Lamont Roach (25-1-2, 10 KO) is a highly qualified boxer that transformed many doubts into believers. Saga Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach has all the elements of the previous boxing situation, which began to develop about twenty -three years ago.
From the mid -1990s to Pensacoli from the beginning of the 20th century, the Roy Jones Jr from Florida was a boxer Super Gwiadza, which was considered one of the best pound fighters in the world. While Jones enjoyed fame and glory, from Orlando, Antonio Tarver, put Jones on his radar.
Growing up in Florida, Antonio Tarver was very aware of Roy Jones, and in the night of November 8, 2003. He finally had the opportunity to share the ring with the iconic boxer. Tarver turned out to be a very arduous opponent, but unfortunately for Tarver he lost the fight by way of a decision of the majority.
Six months later in the rematch Antonio Tarver shocked the world when he landed with a straight left hand, and shot the second round of victory over Roy Jones Jr. Both would meet the third and last time in October 2005, when Tarver won a unanimous decision.
Gervonta “Tank” Davis (30-0-1, 28 KO) is a qualified boxer-puncher who organically built a huge group of fans because of his ability to produce a pain in the style of pain. He is a popular multiple world champion who is considered one of the faces of boxing.
Like Jones vs. TARVER, The Tank vs. Roach Bout contained a boxer super star in the face of a childhood rival, who is hungry, and wants to take advantage of his great occasion. Like Tarver, Lamont Roach gave his opponent the Supergowades, which he could handle, but unfortunately she had no victory for Roach.
With all the controversy surrounding the first fight, it seems that there will be a tank Contra Roach 2. If the second fight occurs, the question is: will Lamont Roach be able to follow in the footsteps of Antonio Tarver and get furious because of a long -term rival who is a generational talent.
It can be safely said that Lamont Roach will not have a tank Davis in the second round of the rematch, but if Roach is able to duplicate his patience, time and effective play in the second fight, he will have a solid chance of lifting great nervousness.
Moses Itauma was given a direct path to the IBF heavyweight title, leaving Queensberry with one obvious question: Why risk it all against Filip Hrgovic?
In a statement sent to World Boxing News, the International Boxing Federation confirmed that it had received official notice on June 26 of Oleksandr Usyk’s resignation as IBF heavyweight champion.
Under championship rules, the governing body ordered top-ranked Frank Sanchez to negotiate with number three contender Moses Itauma for the vacant title. Both have until July 29 to reach an agreement.
Immediately, Hrgovic became an unnecessary obstacle to Itauma’s path to the world title.
When Itauma agreed to face Hrgovic on August 29 at The O2 in London, it was the perfect step for one of boxing’s brightest adolescent heavyweights.
This equation has completely changed.
IBF pays tribute to Usyk
In a statement provided to WBN, the IBF also confirmed Usyk’s reign before confirming the order.
“Over the course of his distinguished career, Usyk has established himself as one of the sport’s elite competitors, and the IBF is honored to recognize him as one of its world champions.
“His talent and commitment to excellence have made a lasting impact on boxing and will continue to inspire future generations of fighters.
“The IBF wishes Oleksandr Usyk continued success in his future endeavors.”
Only after paying tribute to the former champion did the IBF officially order Sanchez and Itauma to negotiate for the vacant world title.
This is an opportunity that many contenders have been chasing for years. Itauma immediately received this opportunity.
Hrgović’s fight no longer makes sense
When Queensberry announced the fight with Hrgovic, promoter Frank Warren described it as a “litmus test” that Itauma was ready for, while DAZN described it as a key fight with world title implications.
These consequences have now become a reality.
No one doubts Itauma’s willingness to fight anyone. He signed a contract with Hrgovic before the world title unexpectedly landed on the table. This is a completely different situation.
Hrgovic remains one of the most perilous heavyweight contenders despite suffering only one loss to Daniel Dubois. Since then, the Croatian has regained momentum with victories over Joe Joyce, David Adeleye and Dave Allen, which put him back among the top contenders in the division.
If an agreement can be reached, the obvious solution would be to replace Hrgović with Sanchez on August 29 in exchange for the vacant IBF heavyweight title.
As compensation, Hrgovic could get the first shot at the recent champion if Itauma defeats Sanchez.
Whether this proves possible depends on whether all involved are willing to restructure the contracts already in place.
The heavyweight story still beckons
The change would also support Itauma in its historic mission, which has already missed one goal.
Itauma’s dream of breaking Mike Tyson’s record as the youngest heavyweight champion is gone, but another goal remains within reach.
If the 21-year-old wins the vacant IBF title before October, he will overtake Floyd Patterson to become the second-youngest heavyweight champion in history.
If he waits until the match against Hrgovic, this chance will be gone forever.
Queensberry matched Itauma with Hrgovic because it seemed like the quickest path to a chance at the championship.
The IBF has now given them an even faster fight.
Unless Hrgovic’s contract can no longer be salvaged, Queensberry should exhaust all options to hire Sanchez instead.
The IBF unexpectedly gave Itauma a world title shot and a chance to become the second-youngest heavyweight champion in history.
It would be arduous to justify giving up this opportunity in favor of unnecessary risk.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
The former world champion claims Lennox Lewis once admitted he should have retired after three defeats in his professional career.
“The Lion” is considered one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. He retired in 2003 after avenging his only two losses to Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman.
However, later that year in 1999, Lewis managed to become the undisputed heavyweight champion after winning by unanimous decision, maintaining his lineal status until his retirement following a sixth-round victory over Vitali Klitschko.
However, already in 1996, many believed that the Briton should have suffered another defeat, this time to Ray Mercer, who had briefly held the WBO title in 1991.
The American eventually vacated the belt and was defeated by Larry Holmes the following year before losing a 10-round unanimous decision to Holyfield in 1995.
“Merciless” then faced Lewis in a battle between two Olympic gold medalists, this time suffering a highly controversial defeat by a 10-round majority.
I’m talking to James SlaterMercer insisted that even Lewis doubted he deserved to win their competition.
“Yeah, I won that fight, man. He admitted it to me. He knows, a fighter knows. I won that fight. He told me, ‘I know you’re going to win.’ I told him, ‘Where’s my half of your check!’
“He said OK. Every time I see him, I tell him I’m still waiting! They were preparing him for the fight [Mike] Tyson. That’s what happened and that’s why they gave him the win.
As it happened, Lewis didn’t face Mike Tyson until 2002, when he secured victory after the eighth round.
Instead, after the controversy with Mercer, there was a rematch with McCall, whom he stopped for the WBC title.
As announced by the promoters, Moses Itauma will face Filip Hrgovic at The O2 in London on Saturday, August 29, in a heavyweight fight scheduled to be broadcast live on DAZN on pay-per-view.
Itauma, 21, is undefeated at 14-0, has 12 knockouts and holds the WBO Intercontinental, WBA International and Commonwealth titles. His last fight was in March, when he defeated American Jermaine Franklin in the fifth round at the Co-op Live gala in Manchester. This fight was his longest since 2023; several of his recent wins have come in the opening round, including stoppages of Dillian Whyte and Demsey McKean.
Hrgovic, 34, of Croatia, has a record of 20-1, 15 knockouts and a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics. He previously held first place in the IBF ranking. In May he stopped Dave Allen in the third round at Doncasterand his third victory in a row. The escape came after his defeat to Daniel Dubois in June 2024, the only defeat of his career, which saw him overtake David Adeleye and Joe Joyce.
Hrgovic is the most experienced opponent Itauma has faced as a professional. He was stopped once in 21 fights and faced several world-class heavyweights.
“This has all the hallmarks of a classic heavyweight showdown and we were determined to see it through to the end,” said promoter Frank Warren. “This fight is the litmus test that Moses is ready for and it is the one he wanted. Filip believes it will be too much, too soon for the adolescent star. On August 29 at The O2 we will find out what will be another amazing night for British boxing.”
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