Lamont Roach To Defend WBA Title Against Feargal McCrory On June 28 In Washington, DC
Lamont Roach Jr. he will go home and defend his first title.
The reigning WBA junior lightweight will next face undefeated contender Feargal McCrory. The fight will be a June 28 ProBox telecast from the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington DC
Roach is from near Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
Continuing to manage his career, the show is presented by NoXcuse Promotions. The company is owned by Lamont Roach Sr., who is also his son's manager and head coach.
“Coming home to defend my title is a dream,” commented Roach Jr. “I can't wait to fight in front of so many friends and family. I know (McCrory) is going to take my world title, he wants to keep his '0' and make a name for himself.”
Roach (24-1-1, 9 knockouts) won the title in a split decision from Hector Luis Garcia last November 25 in Las Vegas. Ring's No. 5-rated junior lightweight dropped the undefeated Dominican in the final round to claim a split decision victory.
The fight took place on a show presented by Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), which shut Roach out for months.
This time, the Roach family gets to drive. The event is a rare one for ProBox to take place outside of its home base in the Central Florida region. Hitting the road was a regular occurrence for this group during its first year. Most of its shows since then have been played at ProBox headquarters in Plant City, Florida.
Being given the opportunity to host a title fight is always welcome.
“ProBoxTV is excited to be working with Lamont Roach Sr. and Jr. They are both a success story in and out of the ring,” said ProBoxTV founder and owner Garry Jonas. “They want to do it their way and they want to fight in DC in front of their people.
“We've been able to give them the support they need to make it happen on their terms and we're excited to produce a strong competition.”
Roach will be fighting in the main DC arena for the first time since November 2017.
Meanwhile, McCrory (16-0, 8 KOs) enters his first title fight.
The 31-year-old New York-based Northern Irishman has stopped five of his last seven opponents. His most recent win was on March 15. McCrory stopped Carlos Carlson in three rounds at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden. A title challenge against Roach will mark his sixth consecutive appearance.
One of the features pits undefeated Lester Martinez (17-0, 15 KOs) from Guatemala against veteran Ecuadorian Carlos Gongora (22-2, 17 KOs).
Also on the show, San Antonio's Joshua Franco (18-2-3, 8 KOs) ends his brief retirement to make his first return in over a year. The former WBA 115-pound champion faces Dominican Republic's Geraldo Valdez (16-1, 11 KOs) in a 10-round fight.
Other undercard exercises:
Jordan Roach, Lamont's younger brother, made his professional debut. The 20-year-old former rookie will fight in four rounds against an opponent to be decided.
Fellow rookie, Benjamin Johnson, will also be the champion in the four-round scheduled event.
Upper Marlboro's Rianna Rios (7-0, 1 KO) returns to the place she fought last May 6.
DC prospects Deric Davis (3-0, 3 KOs) and David Whitmire (4-0, 3 KOs) also appeared in separate four-round contests.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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