Lamont Roach has thrown a curveball in the boxing world. He's claimed that Jonathan Oquendo hits harder than Gervonta Davis. This statement comes as Roach gets ready for his rematch with Davis on August 16.
The first fight between Davis and Roach happened in March at the Barclays Center in New York. It ended in a majority draw, which surprised many fans. Davis, who held the WBA lightweight title at the time, was expected to win easily. But Roach became only the second fighter to go the full 12 rounds with Davis.
The fight had its share of controversy. In the ninth round, Davis took a voluntary knee. The referee didn't score it as a knockdown. This decision turned out to be crucial. If it had been scored as a knockdown, it could have been a 10-8 round in Roach's favor.
Now, as they get ready to face each other again, Roach has made a bold statement. Roach has now revealed that he thinks Jonathan Oquendo hits harder than Davis. Here's what he said:
"No. I ain't shi*ing on him or anything like that. He can punch, but Jonathan Oquendo, he's from Puerto Rico. He's got bricks in his hands. He punched hard, I ain't going to lie."
This claim is surprising. Roach fought Oquendo back in May 2019 and won by unanimous decision. Oquendo's record stands at 31 wins, 9 losses, with 19 knockouts. That's not a bad knockout ratio, but it's not as impressive as Davis's record of 30 fights with 28 knockouts.
The rematch between Davis and Roach is set for August 16. It'll be interesting to see if Roach's opinion on Davis's punching power changes after their second encounter in the ring.
