Lamont Roach might be the most patient man in the world.
Back in 2019, his career came to a standstill. It was a difficult time for the super featherweight contender. He slowly worked his way to a world title shot against then champion Jamel Herring but came up incredibly short. Roach took some time to feel sorry for himself. But after roughly a year on the shelf, he bounced back to pick up four victories in a row.
His current win streak grabbed the attention of the WBA sanctioning body. But while he was supposed to fight for their world title a while ago, he was forced to wait. He’s still waiting…somewhat.
At some point this year, Roach is supposed to jump in with Hector Luis Garcia. A date and venue is still being sorted out, but Roach is putting in the pain behind the scenes. His normally quiet gym has the perpetual loud thumping sound of a man wailing away at the heavy bag.
The work he’s putting in isn’t just for show, it’s needed. Garcia has earned his stripes. It started with an upset win over Chris Colbert, which he then parlayed with a championship victory against Roger Gutierrez. A setback vs. Gervonta Davis has dimmed his light just a tad but Roach isn’t sleeping on him.
Although he wasn’t his normally smooth self in that knockout loss, Roach believes that Garcia should still be viewed as one of the division’s top dogs.
“I think he’s a good fighter,” Roach told Broadway Joel during a recent interview. “He definitely worked his way up to where he is. He’s a champion for a reason.”
Garcia hasn’t said much, but he’s presumably getting his mind and confidence right before he steps into the ring with Roach. Watching Davis take out the Dominican native was pretty eye-opening for Roach.
Garcia never officially hit the canvas but instead of jumping off his stool to start the ninth, he sat there stoically. He then began informing his corner that he was unable to continue, making reference to his lack of vision.
You know what they say right? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So, having watched Garcia throw in the towel, Roach is aiming to make him relive that painful feeling.
“I wanna make him quit. Even if I don’t sleep him, I wanna make him quit. I want him to be like ‘alright, I don’t wanna to do this anymore.”