It was, as soon as the first fight came to its conclusion, a rematch that simply had to happen. And, now – on a new date, as reported by Mike Coppinger of The Ring – Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Lamont Roach Jr will run it back on August 16. There was talk of the return fight happening earlier, but now it seems we’ll have to wait until August for the sequel.
Tank-Roach 2 is on—but can the champ fix what went wrong?
As fans no doubt recall, Tank took a knee in the ninth round of the March fight he engaged in with Roach Jr, yet the knockdown was not called. This later threw fans into outrage; that and the ultimate drawn verdict. Roach Jr was looked at as a seemingly far too happy guy at the end of the fight, as well as in the days following, when fans were sure he’d be outraged.
But Tank must know he got a gift, and now he needs to put things right in the rematch. But can he do so?
WBA lightweight champ Tank, 30-0-1(28), was fortunate to retain his belt along with his unbeaten record, and it really will be fascinating to see if the southpaw from Baltimore can go on and put things right in this rematch.
Roach knows the truth—and now he gets his chance to prove it
Roach Jr, who was attempting to become a two-weight champ in the Tank fight, is now 25-1-2(10), and he has the chance to capitalise on his previous effort. Roach Jr of Washington DC gave Tank fits at times in the March fight, and again, so many people felt he deserved the decision win.
The first fight between these two took place in Brooklyn, New York, but the rematch will go ahead on the west coast. Whether or not this will prove to make a difference remains to be seen.
As fans perhaps don’t need reminding, if that episode in round nine—when Tank took a knee—was ruled a knockdown as it should have been, Roach Jr would have walked out with the decision win. The life-changing decision win.
Now we get to see the fight all over again. Hopefully with a clear, no-controversy winner this time.