Gervonta Davis Surprised by Lamont Roach

By William Dumoulin

Photo credit: Premier Boxing Champions

With the goal of fighting three times this year, Gervonta "Tank" Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs) kicked off his 2025 campaign at the Barclays Center in New York against WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs).

A Tough Night for Gervonta Davis

In the evening’s main event, Lamont Roach performed better than expected, using an effective jab and solid defense. Despite this, Davis won the majority of the early rounds. However, Roach picked up the pace in the seventh round, landing powerful shots. After an impressive eighth round, Roach even managed to knock Davis down in the ninth.

Sensing the fight slipping away, "Tank" went all in during the final rounds. His late surge allowed him to salvage a draw (114-114 x 2, 115-113).

It will be interesting to see if a rematch is in the cards for these two fighters. This was one of the rare occasions where Davis struggled significantly. In fact, many observers believe Roach did enough to earn the victory.

"Rayo" Loses His Crown

WBA super lightweight champion Jose "Rayo" Valenzuela (14-3, 9 KOs) made his first title defense since his shocking win over Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz last August. He faced off against Gary Antuanne Russell (18-1, 17 KOs), who pulled off an upset by dethroning Valenzuela via unanimous decision.

Alberto Puello Regains World Champion Status

The fight for the vacant WBC super lightweight title featured Sandor Martin (42-4, 15 KOs) against former world champion Alberto Puello (24-0, 10 KOs), who had lost his WBA title due to a positive doping test. In a closely contested bout, Puello emerged victorious via split decision (115-113, 116-112, 113-115).

The newly crowned champion will have one title defense before facing his mandatory challenger, Dalton Smith.

Two Former World Champions Defeated

Young Cuban fighter Yoenis Tellez (10-0, 7 KOs) secured the biggest win of his career, defeating former world champion Julian Williams (29-5-1, 17 KOs) via unanimous decision (119-109, 117-111, 118-111).

Meanwhile, former world champion Jarrett Hurd (25-4-1, 17 KOs) suffered a split decision loss to Johan Gonzalez (36-4, 34 KOs).