Even as the cheerier-than-normal Davis engaged in the typical pre-fight back-and-forth on Thursday with Roach, the conversation among boxing’s chattering class remained fixated on when he will finally take on one of the big names at or around the 135lb division, among them Devin Haney, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson.
When Stevenson called him out directly over the weekend, urging Davis to make “the biggest fight in boxing” after his clear but underwhelming win over Yorkshire electrician Josh Padley in Riyadh, Davis’ response to the three-weight champion was open ridicule.
A sold-out arena, a four-fight pay-per-view card stacked with title fights – Jose Valenzuela defending his WBA junior welterweight title against Gary Antuanne Russell, Alberto Puello putting his WBC 140lb belt on the line against Sandor Martín – but the whole night, every result, every highlight will just build toward the question Tank can’t escape.
On Saturday night in Brooklyn, he will look to add another victim to the list when he defends his lightweight strap against Lamont Roach Jr, a super featherweight belt-holder moving up a division for a shot at a seismic upset.
But none of Davis’ other 12 opponents in the eight years since he became a world champion have been considered serious threats by the sportsbooks.
