WBA lightweight champ Gervonta Davis is gearing up to clash with WBA super featherweight kingpin Lamont Roach early next year. While plenty of fans are already betting against Roach, boxing legend Bernard Hopkins warns that Davis better not take his 29-year-old challenger lightly—because in the ring, surprises pack a punch!

The clash was initially scheduled for December 14 at Houston’s Toyota Center, but a few bumps in the road have pushed it back. Although no official date or venue has been set yet, word on the street hints that the bout might happen sometime in January. Interestingly, there were rumors about Davis and Roach co-featuring on a card with David Benavidez and David Morrell.

However, boxing journalist Dan Rafael poured cold water on those rumors, saying it’s unlikely. Meanwhile, Bernard Hopkins weighed in on the upcoming Davis vs. Roach clash during an interview with Michelle Joy Phelps of Fight Hub TV. Hopkins—who’s with Golden Boy Promotions and was involved in last year’s Davis vs. Ryan Garcia showdown—quickly shared his two cents on the bout.

“Tank Davis to me, he’s [going to] give anybody problems,” Hopkins said. “The burden is on Roach or anybody else. In this case, it is Roach. The burden is on him.” Roach will be climbing up a weight class to square off against Davis in a bid to secure a title in the lightweight division. The WBA even made a special exemption to allow Roach to fight Davis for the title. 

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Roach was initially summoned by the sanctioning body to face off against interim titlist Albert Batyrgaziev earlier this summer. Regardless, Hopkins warned Davis, “Anything can happen in this world of boxing,” noting, “Both guys need to come in the way they need to come in.” Not just that, Hopkins feels Davis should not overlook Roach either. 

“Tank cannot underestimate Roach. Roach is a real good, good fighter, boxer, and puncher. And…he had some confidence from the amateur,” Hopkins told Michelle Joy Phelps. In the meantime, Lamont Roach has shared how his bout against Davis came to be. 

Lamont Roach was in the sweepstakes for Gervonta Davis long ago

When news of the fight first broke, fans were left scratching their heads, wondering how this matchup even made sense. Roach, however, was quick to clap back. In an interview with BagFuel, he called casual fans “civilians” and shrugged off their confusion, saying they simply don’t know the sport well enough for it to make sense to them.

Roach claimed that he was first approached by PBC right after Davis’s fight with Rolando Romero. “I’ve been in the Tank sweepstakes two years ago,” Roach explained. “I got a call from them two years ago,” after the promotion searched for a fighter in Washington, DC. Although Roach agreed back then, the fight fell through as he wasn’t yet a champion, and the PBC ultimately went with Hector Luis Garcia.

That being said, Gervonta Davis seems to have backing from Bernard Hopkins, but ‘B-Hop’ has cautioned Davis about Roach’s abilities. Only time will tell whether Roach will present any sort of challenge for the Baltimore native. Who are you betting on in the fight?