Gervonta Davis slammed by rival’s dad for taking Jake Paul fight that’s ‘not good for the sport’

Davis had been due to face Lamont Roach Jr for the second time but will now fight Paul in an exhibition bout

(Getty Images)

Lamont Roach Sr has taken aim at Gervonta Davis for pulling out of a rematch with his son to take an exhibition bout with Jake Paul instead.

Davis and Roach Jr fought to a controversial draw in March as the former held on to his WBA lightweight title, and a rematch was scheduled to take place this month.

However, Davis opted out of the fight and it was announced last week that he will now be facing YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul on 14 November.

Roach Sr is far from impressed with Davis’s U-turn and believes his scheduled fight with Paul is damaging for boxing.

Subscribe now to DAZN to watch over 185 fights a year

“We got the news just like everybody else,” Roach Sr told Fight Hype when discussing how he found out that Davis had decided to face Paul.

“It’s unusual because we had an agreement so we’ll see how that plays out though ‘cause we were preparing for that bout for months. Got postponed a couple of times but to see it go somewhere else, it’s not good for the sport.”

Davis and Paul both have huge followings on social media and are set for major paydays when they square off in the ring.

Jake Paul is due to box Gervonta Davis next (Getty Images)

Roach Sr understands that it is a lucrative contest financially, but still laid into Davis for the way he has conducted himself.

“A lot of people say ‘oh money this, money that’ but you got to do business the right way,” Roach Sr continued.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

“You can’t just break business and go somewhere else. That’s not setting a good precedent in the sport of boxing, it’s not setting a bar on how you operate, how you do business.

“We shouldn’t give people a pass because of who they are, how much money they make… when you got obligations, you honour those obligations.”

Roach Jr is now searching for his next opponent and has been linked with a fight against WBC lightweight king Shakur Stevenson.

He also has the option to drop back down to super-featherweight to defend his WBA crown.

If he chooses this route, he could take on Britain’s James ‘Jazza’ Dickens who is the WBA interim champion after knocking out Albert Batyrgaziev last month.

---

DAZN is the home of combat sports, broadcasting over 185 fights a year from the world's best promoters, including Matchroom, Queensberry, Golden Boy, Misfits, PFL, BKFC, GLORY and more. An Annual Saver subscription is a one-off cost of £119.99 / $224.99 (for 12 months access), that's just 64p / $1.21 per fight.

There is also a Monthly Flex Pass option (cancel any time) at £24.99 / $29.99 per month. A subscription includes weekly magazine shows, comprehensive fight library, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes documentaries, and podcasts and vodcasts.

For pricing in your country, more information and to sign up, click here.