PBC fails to provide updated information on Tank Vs Roach

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

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

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

The delay seems to have worked in favor of the fans of this fight due to the change of venue. Baltimore and Washington DC are rival cities that are separated by approximately 40 miles. Given that Gervonta Davis is from Baltimore, Maryland, and Lamont Roach is a native of Washington, it made perfect sense to move the fight to the Barclays Center.

Everything seemed set and ready to go until Gervonta Davis decided to release a brief but again unexpected public statement via social media that read, “The Fight Is F**king Cancel…”

After viewing the post, fight fans were shocked and confused. As fans scrambled for answers, Davis chose not to give any details as he apparently logged off of social media. Fans reached out to challenger Lamont Roach about getting answers, and Roach responded in a post stating,

“What you keep asking me? he said that s*t not me. I’m locked inside and I haven’t changed. March 1st Brooklyn #INOVO.”

Although it was never properly resolved, the initial delay was probably due to an issue related to the Toyota Center reservation. This recent alleged cancellation is definitely not a venue issue as the Barclays Center has the Tank vs Roach fight listed on its website events calendar.

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

After a very successful launch in March 2015, PBC has had great results, but over the past few years, PBC has shown a lack of activity. The total number of shows produced by PBC annually is in constant decline.

In addition to potential financial problems, PBC also demonstrates a lack of communication skills. Gervonta “Tank” Davis is arguably the biggest player on PBC’s roster. Davis claims that his upcoming fight has been cancelled, and after that claim, there is no word.

Challenger Lamont Roach issued a statement saying he had not heard the fight was canceled as he plans to continue training. The PBC is leaving fans in limbo as they have neglected to provide any sort of clarity regarding the status of the world title fight on March 1st.

So…is the Tank vs. Roach fight on or off? When you look at this fight and put it in perspective, this fight is a fight for casual boxing fans. Casuals are sold in the story of Baltimore vs. DC. Die-hard boxing fans care less about the geographical narrative as they view Tank vs. Roach as an unconvincing matchup.

Gervonta Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) tried to make a more attractive fight against Vasily Lomachenko, but since the war in Ukraine and his narrow loss to Devin Haney, Lomachenko doesn’t seem to have the same passion for the sport of boxing, as it appears that he may is thinking about retirement.

At this time, neither Al Haymon nor any of his PBC associates have given an official update on the Tank vs. Roach fight. In order to support events like this, fight fans have to make financial sacrifices and arrange things in their personal lives to be able to travel and support sporting events like boxing.

That said, it’s pretty funny how so much time has passed and no one from the PBC has thought it would be a good idea to release a public statement on the status of the fight. Have you ever heard claims that an NFL or NBA game has been canceled without anyone officially addressing the issue?

If the fight does happen, it will be watched by boxing fans as they have been supporting the sport for a long time. If the fight doesn’t happen, casuals will be disappointed, but die-hard fans will just shrug it off and look forward to Gervonta Davis giving them the match they’ve been looking for.