PBC does not provide an update on Tank Vs Roach

On December 23, undefeated WBA world lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis published a social media post stating that his scheduled title defense against WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach Jr (25- 1-1, 10 KOs), had been cancelled.

In early October, Gervonta Davis initially announced that the world title fight between him and Lamont Roach would take place on December 14 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Weeks later, another announcement was made regarding the Tank vs Roach clash being postponed.

No one gave an official reason for the delay, but some speculated that the postponement was due to issues with the venue. In late November, a new date and location for the fight was released to the public, as March 1, 2025 became the new date and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, became the new location. .

The postponement seemed to work in favor of fans of this fight due to the change of venue. Baltimore and Washington DC are rival cities that are approximately 40 miles apart. Due to the fact that Gervonta Davis is from Baltimore, Maryland, and Lamont Roach is a Washington DC native, it made a lot of sense to move the fight to the Barclays Center.

Everything seemed set and ready to go until Gervonta Davis made the decision to release a brief but unexpected public statement via social media that read: “The fight is fucking cancelled…”

After seeing the post, fight fans were left shocked and confused. While fans tried to get answers, Davis decided not to provide any details as he apparently logged off of social media. Fans turned to challenger Lamont Roach for answers, and Roach responded in a post saying:

“What the hell are you still asking me for? He said that shit ain’t mine. I’m locked in, nothing has changed. March 1 Brooklyn #ANDNEW.”

Although it was never properly addressed, the first postponement was likely due to an issue regarding the Toyota Center reservation. This recent supposed cancellation is definitely not a venue issue because the Barclays Center has the Tank vs. Roach fight listed on their website’s event calendar.

If the supposed cancellation has nothing to do with the venue, could it be an economic issue? Is Gervonta Davis not satisfied with the guaranteed money that PBC is offering him? For the past few years, boxing insiders have been claiming that PBC is running out of money, and there may be some truth to that claim.

After a very successful launch in March 2015, the PBC had a stellar run, but over the past few years it has shown a lack of activity. The total number of programs the PBC produces per year is constantly declining.

In addition to potential financial problems, the PBC also shows a lack of communication skills. Gervonta “Tank” Davis is probably the biggest draw on the PBC roster. Davis claims his next fight is off and then after the claim he doesn’t follow up.

Challenger Lamont Roach issues a statement saying he has not heard of the fight being canceled as he plans to continue his training. The PBC proceeds to leave fans in limbo as they fail to provide any clarity regarding the status of the March 1 world title fight.

So…is the fight between Tank and Roach on or off? When you look at this fight and put it in perspective, this fight is a fight for the casual boxing fan. Casuals are sold on the Baltimore vs. DC narrative. Hardcore boxing fans don’t care about the geographic narrative, seeing Tank vs. Roach as a disappointing matchup.

Gervonta Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) tried to make a more attractive fight against Vasiliy Lomachenko, but since the war broke out in Ukraine and his close loss to Devin Haney, Lomachenko does not seem to have the same passion towards the sport of boxing, as It seems like he might be thinking about retiring.

Currently, neither Al Haymon nor any of his PBC associates have provided a formal update on the Tank vs Roach fight. To support events like this, fight fans have to make financial sacrifices and organize things in their personal lives to be able to travel and support sporting events like boxing.

That said, it’s pretty ridiculous how so much time has passed, and no one from the PBC thought it might be a good idea to release a public statement on the status of the fight. Have you ever heard claims about an NFL or NBA game being canceled and no one formally addressing the issue?

If the fight takes place, boxing fans will watch it because they have been supporting the sport for a long time. If the fight doesn’t happen, casuals will be disappointed, but hardcore fans will just ignore it and wait eagerly for Gervonta Davis to give them the showdown they’ve been asking for.