We want the steak, but it looks like we may have to settle for the fish.

It’s not the main course we were hoping for, but it shouldn’t leave a bad taste in our mouths. Not given the circumstances, at least. And it’s certainly better than going hungry.

That’s the situation with Gervonta “Tank” Davis’ next fight, which could wind up putting the WBA lightweight titleholder against WBA junior lightweight titleholder Lamont Roach Jr. Nothing is official yet, but boxing reporter Dan Rafael recently said it is possible for a December 21 pay-per-view, while Mike Coppinger of ESPN said Roach is the frontrunner for landing the fight.

It’s fair to be disappointed in that news.

It’s fair to want better opponents for Davis.

It’s unfair to blame Davis — at least not this time.

Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) has become one of the biggest stars in boxing by virtue of his obvious talent and captivating performances where his skills and ring savvy and fight-changing power are on display. A video of Davis’ eighth-round win over Frank Martin on June 15, posted by Premier Boxing Champions on July 15, has racked up 5.8 million views on YouTube.

Martin was undefeated and ranked in the top 10 in the lightweight division going into that bout. There have been other respectable foes taken on and taken out by Davis in the past few years, some of which look even better in hindsight, such as Tank’s 11th-round technical knockout of Mario Barrios in June 2021 and a unanimous decision over Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz in December 2021.

Yet boxing fans have wanted to see Davis go beyond the second tier and test his talent against the other top names at 135. There have been many reasons those fights haven’t happened over the years.

This time, they just weren’t available.

The other world titles belong to Vasiliy Lomachenko (IBF), Shakur Stevenson (WBC) and Denis Berinchyk (WBO). Negotiations between Davis and Lomachenko came to an end when Lomachenko’s team said he didn’t want to get back in the ring for the remainder of the year, that he didn’t feel motivated to fight and preferred to spend time with his family.

That news was disappointing though not completely surprising, given Lomachenko’s lengthy career dating back to his extended time in the amateurs, given what we’d heard from him and also what little we’d seen of him.

In a post-fight interview, Lomachenko dedicated the victory to his father, who played such a significant role in his career.

“This is title for him, because after Haney I want to finish my boxing career,” Lomachenko said. “After this fight with Haney, I proved to myself in this sport and I don’t need to continue. But my father, every day he sends me news with me, and every time he send my last fights, highlights, and I feel he want to continue, he want the title again. And he tell me, ‘Hey, we need to do one more time this one. We need to do fight again for title.’ And it was hard decision for me because I’m tired. But I love my family. I love my father. I respect my father. My father built me in boxing, in life. And this is title. This is win for my father.”

Stevenson, a free agent after departing from Top Rank, ultimately signed with Matchroom and announced a fight with former junior lightweight titleholder Joe Cordina on the October 12 undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitriy Bivol. Stevenson then got hurt in training and had to pull out of the Cordina fight. He’s expected back in 2025.

Berinchyk doesn’t carry the name value or appear to have the attributes that Lomachenko and Stevenson do.

Some thought Cruz would get a rematch with Davis. Cruz was competitive with Davis in their first bout and is one of only two men to last the distance with Tank. (It should be noted here that Davis was fighting through a hand injury.)

That belief disappeared the moment Cruz lost to Valenzuela in August. Would Valenzuela not only seize Cruz’s title, but also inherit the opportunity?

“I have a rematch clause [with Cruz] right now, so waiting on that, but if not there’s Teofimo [Lopez] and the other [140-pound] champions,” Valenzuela recently told FaceOfBoxingTV. As for rumors that he’d turned down a fight with Davis? “It wasn’t really an offer. It was more like I was just asked about Tank. I said, not at ’35, and we never really dove into it. There was no details or nothing. I don’t know if you consider that an offer, but that’s what happened.”

Valenzuela had fought in the 135-pound weight class for most of his career, and he was a lightweight as recently as last December. But he cannot be faulted if he feels junior welterweight is better for his body. Nor can Davis be faulted if he wishes to remain a lightweight right now, even though he went up to 140 before for the Barrios bout.

Edwin De Los Santos is unranked by those observers, but he’s rated by the WBA and would therefore be allowed to challenge for the belt. De Los Santos scored a knockout over Valenzuela in 2022 — though he’d also hit a downed Valenzuela one round earlier. His last fight, however, was a decision loss to Stevenson in November 2023.

With not much available at 135, that leaves room for Roach to enter from just down the road at 130. And from down the road in Washington, D.C.

That’s one more reason to make this fight.

If Tank can’t get a match made with any of the top lightweights, and if he doesn’t want to remain inactive for the remainder of 2024, then a bout with Roach is an acceptable substitute. Or it’s at least as good as we’re going to be able to get, even if it isn’t going to satisfy us the same way that the steak dinner would have.

Roach’s improvement has been enjoyable to watch. It’s still hard to picture him giving Tank too much trouble. But the fight can be made and hosted in Davis’ native Baltimore or, more likely, in D.C. itself. While that’s Roach’s hometown, it’s also where Davis headlined for the Hector Garcia fight. The fight will do well at the box office.

Pay-per-view is another question. Davis is one of the biggest stars in the United States. Some may purchase the broadcast just to see him perform; the opponent factors less, if not at all, into their consideration. For others, the prospect of Davis vs. Roach may be intriguing enough to tune in but not enough to shell out.

Boxing fans can and should speak with their wallets. Just because a fight is on doesn’t mean you have to buy it. If you really don’t want the fish, you can choose not to eat in the restaurant until the steak is available again.

As for Davis, just because a big fight isn’t available doesn’t mean he should wait on the sidelines. I’d rather Tank get back on the battlefield, even if it’s just to blow through and roll over an outgunned foe. That’s better than sitting around and collecting rust.

Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis finally has an opponent—or at least an available option.

Lamont Roach Jr. was granted special permission by the WBA to pursue a showdown versus Davis in lieu of an ordered 130-pound title consolidation bout.

As previously reported by The Ring, Roach (25-1-1, 10 knockouts) was summoned to next face interim titlist Albert Batyrgaziev earlier this summer. However, a one-time exception was granted to instead challenge Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) for the WBA lightweight strap.

“The WBA Championships Committee has granted special permission to super featherweight world champion Lamont Roach Jr. to move up in class to face Gervonta Davis,” the WBA stated in a ruling. “NoXcuse Boxing Promotions sent the formal request on September 13, which was received by the committee to be considered and consulted with the team of Albert Batyrgaziev, who is the mandatory 130 lbs. challenger.

“After the respective analysis and based on the internal rules of the organization, it was decided to grant the request to Roach under certain conditions.”

The notice stated a working date of Dec. 14 for the fight. The Ring has learned that the PBC on Prime Pay-Per-View event could also land on Dec. 21. A location was not specified, though the latter date would be targeted for Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The building’s main occupants, the NHL’s Washington Capitals, have a Dec. 14 home game.

Capital One Arena would be the perfect backdrop for the regional rivalry. Davis hails from Baltimore, while Roach is from the D.C. suburb of Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Las Vegas is also under consideration for the event. That setting could produce a scenario where interim WBC light heavyweight titlist David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) appears in the co-feature. Davis and Benavidez co-anchored the June 15 PBC on Prime PPV at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Another rumored slot has Carlos Adames (24-1, 18 KOs) defending his WBC middleweight title versus Kazakhstan’s Meiirim Nursultanov (20-0, 11 KOs).

PBC creator Al Haymon was unavailable for confirmation due to an already scheduled slot at a Home Depot tile demo.

Davis’ June 15 date saw the unbeaten southpaw knock out unbeaten Frank Martin in the eighth round. It was his first fight since his seventh-round knockout of Ryan Garcia, also unbeaten at the time of their April 2023 super fight.

Roach made the first defense of his title in an eighth-round stoppage of unbeaten Feargal McCrory (16-1, 8 KOs). The June 28 bout took place in Washington, D.C., Roach’s first fight in his home region in nearly seven years.

Prior to that came his first title win. Roach scored a dramatic 12th round knockdown to outpoint and unseat WBA 130-pound titlist Hector Luis Garcia (16-2, 10 KOs).

Overall, Roach has won six in a row. His lone defeat came in a Nov. 2019 decision to then-WBO junior lightweight beltholder Jamel Herring in Fresno, California.

The outcome of the Davis bout will dictate his obligation to next face Batyrgaziev (12-0, 8 KOs).

An upset win by Roach will be met with a five-day deadline whether to remain at 135 or drop back down to 130. A loss will put him on a strict 120-day deadline to defend versus Batyrgaziev.

Davis is The Ring’s No. 1 at lightweight and N0. 8 pound-for-pound. Roach is rated No. 4 at 130 by The Ring.

Gervonta Davis and Vasyl Lomachenko looked destined to be fighting each other earlier this year.

Negotiations were opened in June between representatives of Loma and Tank for a proposed WBA and IBF lightweight world title unification clash for the back end of this year.

It’s understood conversations between long-time promotional rivals Bob Arum’s Top Rank (who promote Lomachenko) and Al Haymon’s PBC (who represent Davis) were going well.

However, talks came to an abrupt halt in July when Lomachenko opted to take some time away from the sport.

Lomachenko’s manager Egis Klimas insisted that his client ‘wasn’t in the mood to fight Davis right now’ and wouldn’t be returning to the ring until 2025.

The development came amid reports that Lomachenko and Davis had reached an agreement.

But Top Rank President Todd duBoef insists negotiations were only in the early stages with nothing more than a ‘framework’ in place.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com, duBoef said: “We were all for it.

“We had met with Tank Davis and multiple people from PBC.

“Loma is at a place in his career where he is seasoned, he’s seen it all, he’s done it all.

“But one thing he’s not done is unify all of the titles and go undisputed.

“And I think he really wanted that, that is why his disappointment in the Haney fight was there.

Teofimo Lopez recently called out Gervonta Davis for a fight this year.

‘Tank’ Davis currently holds the WBA Lightweight World Title, being elevated to full champion when Devin Haney vacated and making his first defence against previously-undefeated Frank Martin.

Lopez, who previously held four belts in that division, has settled one weight class up at 140 pounds, winning the WBO belt in his third fight there against Josh Taylor and making two successful defences since.

Both are currently in the market for an opponent and Lopez recently issued the call for Davis to move up and face him before the year is out.

Speaking to Sean Zittel on a potential fight, undefeated super-featherweight Maliek Montgomery used the experience of a 2015 amateur bout with Lopez and more recent sparring sessions with Davis to make a prediction.

“I wasn’t able to get any work with Teo more currently, but from my perspective of being in the ring with both of them, that’s a tough one. I would still probably give the edge to Tank in that fight … just because that power is an equaliser, and it doesn’t help the fact that he has a great boxing IQ also.

So it’s a part of now you gotta go twelve rounds of dealing with somebody who can box, has all those attributes, but also has that type of power that they can hit you one time and change the whole tempo of the fight.”

‘Tank’ is slated to return on December 21 against former super-featherweight champion Lamont Roach, according to Dan Rafael. Lopez is currently without a date or opponent.

On 6th July, Shakur Stevenson recorded a one-sided victory against Artem Harutyunyan in his hometown fight in Newark, New Jersey. However, the hometown hero’s performance put a damper on the celebratory mood as the WBC lightweight champion was soon deemed “boring” by many. Despite being one of the best defensive boxers who rarely gets hit, the boxing world heavily criticized Stevenson for a lack of action in the ring. Clips were circulating of fans leaving the Newark arena before the fight was even over. Fans weren’t fond of this method in his fight against Edwin de Los Santos in December last year, either.

After the fight, American rapper Mason Betha, aka Mase, called out Stevenson on his podcast and stated “I don’t wanna see Shakur fight,” criticizing his boxing style. The 27-year-old boxer was not a fan of this criticism and hit back at Mase, even calling his rap career a failure. In a recent episode of the ‘It Is What It Is’ podcast, Camron Giles aka Cam’ron, Mase’s co-host, asked Mike Tyson about the criticism directed at Shakur over his fighting style, and his lack of fortitude when it comes to dealing with it. While replying to the question, the legendary heavyweight champion was not particularly kind towards his fellow boxer.

Giles laid down the fact that Stevenson was angry at their criticism of him and asked Mike Tyson if he used to respond to criticism in such a manner. “They are entitled to their opinion,” Iron Mike began. The 57-year-old was clear that a boxer should have a thick skin and should know how to handle criticism as it is a part of the sport.

But according to Tyson, the one fact that remains is that even if you are a boxer, you can’t fight everyone, so just accept that fact and move on. Iron Mike continued, “I may be a little sh*tty about it, but they are entitled to their own opinion. I am not gonna kick your a** about it. It’s your opinion.” In a three-decade-long career, Tyson has been on the receiving end of many negative things, but he has always handled it like a professional. Well, most times.

Teofimo Lopez recently called out Gervonta Davis for a fight this year.

‘Tank’ Davis currently holds the WBA Lightweight World Title, being elevated to full champion when Devin Haney vacated and making his first defence against previously-undefeated Frank Martin.

Lopez, who previously held four belts in that division, has settled one weight class up at 140 pounds, winning the WBO belt in his third fight there against Josh Taylor and making two successful defences since.

Both are currently in the market for an opponent and Lopez recently issued the call for Davis to move up and face him before the year is out.

Speaking to Sean Zittel on a potential fight, undefeated super-featherweight Maliek Montgomery used the experience of a 2015 amateur bout with Lopez and more recent sparring sessions with Davis to make a prediction.

“I wasn’t able to get any work with Teo more currently, but from my perspective of being in the ring with both of them, that’s a tough one. I would still probably give the edge to Tank in that fight … just because that power is an equaliser, and it doesn’t help the fact that he has a great boxing IQ also.

So it’s a part of now you gotta go twelve rounds of dealing with somebody who can box, has all those attributes, but also has that type of power that they can hit you one time and change the whole tempo of the fight.”

‘Tank’ is slated to return on December 21 against former super-featherweight champion Lamont Roach, according to Dan Rafael. Lopez is currently without a date or opponent.

Gervonta “Tank” Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) is the current WBA lightweight champion and was last seen when he defeated Frank Martin on June 15 this year. It remains to be seen what comes next for “Tank” as Dan Rafael reveals via his Fight Freaks Unite Substack that Gervonta Davis could be facing WBA super featherweight titlist and promotional free agent Lamont Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs) on Dec.21 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

Gervonta Davis Next Fight: Possible December Showdown vs. Lamont Roach

Davis Eyeing Major December Bout Against World Champion

According to the report from Rafael, there were discussions for “Tank” to headline a PBC Prime Video pay-per-view event on Nov. 2, which has now been ruled out with Nov. 23 or Dec. 14 looking more likely. A third date has emerged as a possibility with December 21 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. presenting itself with WBA super featherweight champion Roach prepared to step up in weight to take on the unbeaten Baltimore fighter.

IBF champion Vasiliy Lomachenko had been the preferred opponent and had many in the boxing world dreaming of a fascinating unification match-up. PBC and Top Rank were said to be working on a deal when Lomanchenko decided to take off the rest of the year, leaving “Tank” to look elsewhere. Jose Valenzuela defeating Issac Cruz took the “Pitbull” fight away and a possible Valenzuela fight didn’t create much interest.

A fight against Roach in Washington would seemingly generate big interest with Roach from D.C. and Davis from nearby Baltimore. The two met in a 2011 amateur contest which “Tank” won via a three-round decision.