NEW YORK (AP) – Gervonta “Tank” Davis returns to Brooklyn for his next title defense.
The WBA lightweight champion will face super featherweight champion Lamont Roach on March 1 at the Barclays Center, where he won his first belt.
Davis predicted on Tuesday that he would knock out his former amateur rival from the Baltimore-Washington area.
“I like to show people that they’re not who they say they are,” Davis said. “I like to prove it to the people they come with. When I first won the title, the whole building doubted me.”
Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) will fight for the first time since knocking out Frank Martin in June. He has stopped his last four opponents, a streak that began with his sixth-round KO of Rolando Romero on May 28, 2022, his last fight in Brooklyn.
He won his first title at 130 pounds with a victory over Jose Pedraza in 2017. Davis went on to win titles at 135 and 140 pounds.
Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs) began his professional career at lightweight before moving up to 130 pounds to win the belt. Now he’s moving back in hopes of adding another.
“This is one heck of an opportunity and we’re going to take it,” he said. “Everyone knows what I’m going to do. And if not, you will be surprised. I’ll show you what happens when two dogs go into the ring together.”
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Associated Press