Lamont Roach Interview: Zepeda, Davis, Cruz

Key Facts at a Glance

What Does Roach Say About the Gervonta Davis Draw?

Brian Mazique: I talked to you right before the Gervonta fight, and in retrospect, I went back and I watched the interview and everything you said after the fight. I'm not going to lie to you, Lamont, when you said those things to me during the interview, I was like, I wonder, does he really believe this, or is this just pre-fight talk? And now I believe you. How many times have people brought that up to you?

Lamont Roach: I mean, a few. Even a few spectators, like if they paid attention and watched a few interviews or a few questions that I answered, they'd be the ones to tell you that he'd been telling you guys from the beginning. So, you know, I like to hear things like that. I get my just due.

Brian Mazique: I always keep it real, because when you were saying that, I'm like, you know how fighters talk. Sometimes a dude might not even really believe he can beat a guy, but it's before the fight. So what else am I going to say, right? I wrote this in articles. I said this in videos. I was there in Barclays that day, that whole weekend. You won that fight. But one thing that really got me right after, I felt like everybody else in the world was more mad than you. I'm looking at him and I'm like, bro is chilling. Like he didn't just get robbed. How was that?

Lamont Roach: I guess this is just a poker face because I was pissed, honestly. And then just settling into it, it was a longer lasting effect too, because when you look at it in the business aspect, and you look at it in the accolade aspect, you look at it in the life bro aspect, it's just like a lot of things were unfairly unchecked for me. So it was more so like something I had to sulk in for a few days. And then eventually get over it. Because I know boxing is a effed up sport. When it comes, it's not the first time that happened. And it just is way more messed up when you on the short end of the stick. So me reacting a certain way wouldn't have made things better. I was shocked. I was upset and disappointed, but can't cry with spilled milk, man.

Lamont Roach: I'm destined for this. And I'm not going to say, I think I know that's 100% why I'm here today.

How Does He Compare the Davis and Cruz Draws?

Brian Mazique: You don't get the nod in that fight, end up having to take a majority draw. The next fight, you come out and you battle with Isaac Cruz and it's another majority draw. I'm just going to be real with you. I felt like you definitely more clearly beat Gervonta than Cruz. Yeah. That fight felt like a draw.

Lamont Roach: I rewatched that. I mean, even in the fight and rewatching, I thought I'd be able to cruise too. I just thought the fight was closer. I just thought it was a clear, close win for me.

Brian Mazique: I wouldn't say that nobody that thought that is crazy. But I feel like the fight was so close, those rounds that could go either way. This depends on who scores or whatever. The Gervonta fight wasn't close like that to me. I think I had an 8-4 to be honest. So this one was more 7-5, 6-6, whatever I could see.

Does He Feel Pressure Against Zepeda?

Brian Mazique: You go into Zepeda, this is another huge fight. Do you feel pressure? Like I need to definitively do this because I can't have another one of these draws.

Lamont Roach: I don't necessarily feel pressure because I know what kind of fighter I am, what I'm capable of. Obviously, I don't think nobody can beat me, but there's a little sentiment that we have to go out there with a chip on our shoulder to have, because obviously, I don't know what it is, but maybe boxing isn't ready for a change in the guard or something like that. They're not ready to let a new player up at the top yet. I don't know. It's something. So we pay attention and we take note. We're not oblivious. We'd be ignorant to not think that we at least have to do something, make an adjustment or whatever the case may be. So that's all taken into account for our game plan this weekend. And on top of that, it just made me go harder, man, made me go harder, capitalizing on top of things that we need to and be precise within the round and make sure that the round is won clearly.

What Do Judges and Fans Miss About His Style?

Brian Mazique: Do you think some of it sometimes is like the boxing public and even, I hate to say this, sometimes even boxing judges lack of understanding of when somebody's winning a round, if somebody's not getting floored?

Lamont Roach: I absolutely think so. I think so, for sure. Again, like it's subjective. And when it comes to that, it's whose hands is the subjectiveness landing?

Brian Mazique: Some people just have styles where the style that they fight, if you know, you know, but if you don't know, you might not see. And I feel like sometimes you're one of those fighters. It's like on the inside, I'm working and I'm doing things and I'm scoring and I'm landing, but are you seeing what I'm doing?

Lamont Roach: Absolutely. Some people might just say, for instance, because I am fighting Zepeda, he throws a billion punches. Who's to say I'm not blocking, catching, slipping? Who's to say those punches are affecting me or are effective? Who's to say I'm not doing beautiful work countering? Who's to say, and having the ability to stay there? So like I said, it's subjective.

Brian Mazique: You're fighting Zepeda after Shakur. And Shakur used Zepeda as this, I'm going to show y'all, I can stand in the pocket. I can tear him up. I can pick him apart. But that kind of set the groundwork, and you know how people are, they're going to say, well, Shakur did this to Zepeda. What is Lamont going to do?

Lamont Roach: That's automatic though. That's just how the people around and involved in boxing work. They're going to compare you to your last fight, the opponent's last fight, who did what and how they did it. So that's inevitable. You can't escape that.

What Is the Game Plan Against Zepeda?

Brian Mazique: I think I heard you describe yourself as boxing wise you're a full package. IQ, power, conditioning. But if you had to strip it down, what specific weapon or habit in the ring is it that you feel like has won you the most tough rounds?

Lamont Roach: IQ, brain. And it's like a combination. I can't even like, I can't strip it all the way, but I think mainly it's here. It's up top.

Brian Mazique: I used to always say a lot of athletic fighters will win on a plan A, but the truly great fighters can adapt to a plan B in the middle of a fight. Do you agree with that?

Lamont Roach: For sure. I broke my hand in the fifth round and I fought Pitbull and I had to adjust. I had to. Because if you don't adjust, you panic and then you lose. And that's kind of what happened.

Brian Mazique: When you're fighting Zepeda, even though they're different because the dimensions are different, the punches come at different angles, but both of those guys are aggressive, come forward, want to throw a lot of punches, style fighters. How do you decide what you're going to neutralize first between pace, power, angles?

Lamont Roach: So just like how he presents what he presents, they got to worry about me. We're not going to sit back and worry about what he got to bring to the table because we know what he got to bring to the table. They don't know what I can bring to the table or what I choose to bring to the table. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to impose whatever we can do and make them adjust.

Roach vs. Zepeda Full Card

• Lamont Roach Jr. vs. William Zepeda — vacant WBC lightweight title
• Raymond Muratalla vs. Robson Conceicao — IBF lightweight title
• Raul Curiel vs. Quinton Randall — welterweight
• Charles Conwell vs. Paul Kroll — super welterweight
• Gurgen Hovhannisyan vs. Uila Mau'u — heavyweight
• Joel Iriarte vs. Jorge Lagunas — welterweight
• Dylan Capetillo vs. Juan Carlos Becerril — super lightweight
• Fabian Guzman vs. Aaron Coley — middleweight
• Gael Cabrera vs. Francisco Pedroza Portillo — super bantamweight
• Dalis Kaleiopu vs. Yeyery Castillo — lightweight