Shakur Targets Roach After Teo

Roach is coming off back-to-back fights that resulted in majority draws. Most recently, he fought Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz to a draw this month, following a similar result against Gervonta “Tank” Davis in March. Despite the official results, many analysts and fans believe Roach did enough to earn the victory in both contests. Shakur is ready to give him another shot.

“Lamont Roach. I wanted to fight Lamont. Me and Lamont was the fight to really make happen, but the Teo fight was bigger,” Shakur said 

The Approach

Shakur operates on the principle of “hit and don’t get hit.” Shakur will use his jab to gauge the distance, ensuring that whenever Roach tries to attack, Shakur is already out of range. Knowing Roach is a counter-puncher, Shakur will likely use feints. He could show the left hand to draw a response from Roach, pull back just enough to let the punch miss, and then fire a check-hook or a straight left.

Roach will likely utilize a very high guard to make Shakur work harder to find openings. Roach’s best chance is to time Shakur right as he finishes a combination. If Roach can land a right hand over the top of Shakur’s low-held lead hand, he can have success. While Isaac Cruz brought relentless pressure, Roach stayed calm, slipped the hooks, and landed the cleaner shots.