Boxing star Gervonta Davis will defend his WBA lightweight title against Lamont Roach on Dec. 14 in Houston, it was announced Sunday evening.
Baltimore’s Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) is ranked ESPN’s No. 8 pound-for-pound boxer. He is coming off a spectacular eight-round KO of Frank Martin in June. The bout was Davis’ first since a 44-day jail stint last summer for violating the terms of house arrest stemming from a November 2020 hit-and-run incident.
Davis was in negotiations to meet future Hall of Famer Vasiliy Lomachenko in a high-stakes bout this fall, but after talks collapsed, Davis ended up with a far less appealing bout.
Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs) will be moving up from 130 pounds, where he reigns as WBA champion and is ranked No. 5 by ESPN. Against Davis, he’ll be installed as a major underdog.
The 29-year-old Washington, D.C., native won the title with a split-decision victory over Hector Luis Garcia in November. Roach retained his belt with an eighth-round TKO of Feargal McCrory in June.