Lamont Roach Jr. set to face Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz in move up to junior welterweight in December

Lamont Roach Jr. is done waiting for his rematch with Gervonta Davis. Instead, Roach will move to the junior welterweight division to face Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz in a bout for Cruz’s interim WBC title on Dec. 6, as reported by ESPN.

Roach battled Davis to a draw in their March clash for Davis’ WBA lightweight title. Sentiment was near unanimous that Roach deserved the win in the fight, and a rematch was immediately on the table. Davis’ team seemed uninterested in pursuing the rematch as time went on and he now is set for a strange exhibition bout with Jake Paul in November.

Rather than sit on the sidelines and wait to see if Davis would return to the negotiating table after the Paul fight, Roach now heads up to 140 pounds for a showdown with Cruz, bringing the momentum of a seven-fight unbeaten streak and public sentiment that he should be a world champion with him.

Cruz has his own history with Davis, having been very competitive in their 2021 fight and gunning for a rematch in the following years that would never come to fruition.

Four fights after losing to Davis, Cruz won his first world championship, stopping Rolly Romero to win the WBA title at 140 pounds. He would drop a split decision to Jose Valenzuela and lose the title in his next fight, but has since rebounded with back-to-back victories. In his most recent fight, Cruz won the interim title with a win over Omar Salcido.

The winner will be in line for a title shot against Subriel Matias, who took a majority decision over Alberto Puello in July to win the belt.