Roach Slams Tank For Not Honoring His Bet – ‘We Shook On It’
Lamont Roach Jr. has called out Gervonta Davis over the failure to honor his bet.
Davis faced Roach last month in a defense of his WBA Lightweight Title. He arrived into the fight as a heavy favorite, as Roach was moving up from 130 pounds. However, Roch showed that he was no pushover, as he is a champion at 130. He managed to take the fight to the distance, as the result was a majority draw, meaning Davis retained his belt.
Controversy
However, the fight was clouded by controversy after the referee failed to give Roach a 10-8 round in the ninth. Davis took a knee voluntarily before going to his corner to wipe some grease from his face. The referee should have started counting, which would have given Roach a decision win on the cards. Roach appealed the decision to the New York State Athletic Commission. However, the Commission upheld the original ruling, increasing the narrative for a rematch.
The pair are expected to run things back, but Roach still has grievances over the first fight. He revealed that Davis had made a bet with him, saying that he would knock him out. The failure to do so meant Davis should pay up. Roach said he attempted to call the Tank. However, the boxer has changed his number, meaning he has not paid up. If that is the case, it is likely to destroy the Tank’s reputation further.
He received a lot of backlash following that fight. He has repeatedly been criticized for not facing the big names despite consistent links with the likes of David Haney, Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez. Davis also said before the Roach fight that his plan was to box three times this year before announcing his retirement. He may decide to change those plans, as his commercial value has dropped since that fight. There is increasing pressure on Davis to put that Roach fight behind him and secure a win in the rematch, as questions remain over his boxing.
Roach On Davis
Lamont Roach: “Like the betting that he was going to knock me out and stuff like that. That didn’t go too well for him.”
Andre Ward: “Did y’all bet?”
Lamont Roach: “We bet and we shook on it.”
Andre Ward: “Did he pay up?”
Lamont Roach: “He changed his number.”
Lamont Roach: “Again, there’s a high level of mutual respect for one another. Like I said, we’ve bumped into each other plenty of times, more than an average boxer would see another boxer outside of boxing.”
Lamont Roach: “It’s cool. He’s cool with me, and I’m cool with him. If we were to see each other outside of our competition, it’s, ‘What’s up? What you on? How you doing?'”
Andre Ward: “Even after the fight? Even after that?”
Lamont Roach: “He changed his number. I tried to call him. He changed his number.”
Andre Ward: “You ain’t got that yet.”
Lamont Roach: “He changed his number, slim, but that’ll be a conversation for another day.”
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