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The Guardian will have round-by-round updates, analysis and instant reaction in this space.
In the US, the fight will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video Pay-Per-View. The main card begins at 8pm ET, with the main event ringwalks expected around 11.30pm ET. The pay-per-view is priced at $79.95.
In the UK, Amazon Prime Video PPV will also broadcast the action for £14.99.
In Latin America, ESPN and Disney+ will carry the fight.
Gervonta Davis v Lamont Roach Jr
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Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s his lookahead to Saturday’s main event.
Thirty bouts, 30 wins, 28 knockouts. World titles at 130lb, 135lb and 140lb while selling out arenas from coast to coast. There’s a reason why the squat Baltimore southpaw nicknamed Tank has become the face of American boxing and one of its vanishingly few dependable box-office attractions. People don’t just pay to see him win. They tune in to see how he finishes the show.
And once more Davis has promised them something worth watching. On Saturday night in Brooklyn, he will look to add another victim to the list when he defends his lightweight strap against Lamont Roach Jr, a super featherweight belt-holder moving up a division for a shot at a seismic upset. Granted special permission to retain his 130lb title while taking on Davis at 135, Roach has seized on the opportunity to turn the industry on its ear. “I’m here to boogie,” he said Thursday. “I got a big tool bag and I’m coming with everything in it.”
The 29-year-old challenger from Washington DC is a capable operator with above-average hand speed and technical ability borne from a deep amateur background. He’s won six on the trot since his lone professional defeat to Jamel Herring in 2019, including an upset by split decision over Héctor Luis García to become a first-time world champion in 2023. But the steps up in weight and class he’ll make on Saturday have left most onlookers terribly pessimistic about his chances. Not least the oddsmakers, who have priced Davis as a vertiginous 1-20 favorite.
The reality is that for Davis, this fight is just another showcase. Another sellout crowd, another headline event, another lucrative payday on Amazon Prime’s young pay-per-view platform. The $79.95 price tag won’t keep the fans away. Barclays will be packed, buzzing, waiting for the moment Tank finds his shot and shuts off the lights. That’s the expectation. The real question is what comes next.
