Exclusive: Feargal McCrory Backs Lamont Roach but Predicts Gervonta Davis Knockout in Brooklyn Showdown

On March 1, Gervonta Davis (30-0, 28KO) defends his WBA World lightweight title for a sixth time to voluntary challenger Lamont Roach (25-1-1, 10KO) at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, live on Prime Video.

For UK fight fans, the main event will be televised early Sunday morning at approximately 4am. 

The challenger is coming up a division to contest the champion, who is already regarded as one of the most fearsome punchers in the world.

The online reactions to this fight have been universally negative, however, this is the result a foregone conclusion like so many critics have already claimed it is? 

Or could there be a major upset in NYC?

SportsBoom spoke exclusively to Lamont Roach’s last opponent, Feargal McCrory, to extract his first-hand experience and expertise on the imminent match-up.

A Home from Home

Despite hailing from a small town in Northern Ireland with a population of only 6,000, Feargal McCrory has had his last six fights over in America, mostly in New York, which is a city of over eight million people.

The 32-year-old father of three begun the interview by explaining to SportsBoom.com why he has set up base in the States, “I train in Bout Fight Club in Fulton Street in Manhattan with Colin Morgan. I’ve been over here now for six weeks."

“I came out here about five or six years ago, knowing two people in New York, and I had reached out to Andre Rozier at his gym and he invited me to come along and train, and it all just materialised from there."

“I was supposed to make my American debut on the St. Patrick’s Day card in Madison Square Garden, before COVID, but it was cancelled a few days out and that inactivity played a part in my career for a little while."

“Then, I came back here [to Ireland] and I saw the connection I had made with the Irish community in America; I saw the tickets sales and the support I received, it was like a home from home. When the [lockdown] restrictions were lifted, I came back to [America] to really chase that and hunt it down, and try and capitalise on everything that I had already put in place.”

Initially, it was very difficult on his family with the hardworking husband and father away from home so often, and his children were too young to understand why, at first.

“My daughter turned 10 this month, so she understands, she knows, but it doesn’t make it easier. But she does understand the reasons behind me doing this. My son is five, so he doesn’t really grasp it yet. He doesn’t like the FaceTiming, he’d rather I was there, and I was rather I was there too, but it’s a short career and you’ve got to make the most of it."

“And then on top of that, we had another baby girl on the 1st October 2025. That was the reason why I took such a long break after the Lamont Roach fight, it was because my wife was pregnant and I had been away for 13 of the 18 months before the fight, so I was away so much I decided to hang back a little and obviously help with our child for a couple of months. It worked out well for my schedule for the St. Patrick’s Day card, and here we are now.”

Looking Back – The Lamont Roach Fight

At 16 fights unbeaten, McCrory landed a shot at the WBA world super-featherweight title against the holder, Lamont Roach, who had just become champion in his prior fight.

Washington D.C’s Roach defeated Hector Luis Garcia on points in November 2023 to become a world champion on his second attempt, after previously losing out to Jamel Herring in 2019.

When McCrory challenged Roach in June 2024, he was unbeaten and held the WBA Continental Americas super-featherweight title.

Despite a Herculean effort, McCrory hit the deck in round three, then twice in round four, yet still powered forward to put pressure on his opponent until his corner threw in the towel in the eighth round.

McCrory reflected on the only defeat of his career so far, humbly applauding his adversary, “He’s good, he’s very good. He’s slick, his defence is better than anyone I’ve ever been in the ring with. 

“His punching power isn’t that dangerous. I know he dropped me three times; the first time he dropped me was a flash knockdown and didn’t hurt, that was round three. Round four, he dropped me twice with two body shots, but I got over that and I came back, and I was pushing the fight on him.

“He was good, I can’t take anything away from him. I was confident going into the fight that I could beat him. I’m still confident, if I fought him again; that’s the competitor in me – the hunger and the desire and the want to win.”

McCrory then shared a funny interaction that occurred between the two warring super-featherweights during the middle of their intense battle.

“He said to me in the sixth round, ‘You’re not f***ing going anywhere are ya?’ I laughed and I said, ‘No, but you are’. We were in a clinch at the time and he laughed and goes, ‘Ah, I f***ing love you!’ I said back to him, ‘Cut your sh*t out now, we’ll talk later!’”

McCrory continued to commend Roach, whilst also contradicting the adverse reaction from fight fans, who have been very vocal in their masses to discourage the upcoming fight with Davis.

“I know the fans don’t like the fight, but I can’t understand that because, listen, Lamont’s a good fighter; he is; he’s a very, very good fighter, and the reason he doesn’t get enough credit, in my opinion, is because he isn’t as famous as ‘Tank’ or Devin Haney or Ryan Garcia, and that’s why."

“I’m not saying he is as good or even better than them, but he is as good, he just isn’t as famous, and that is why ‘Tank’ is getting slated for fighting Lamont.”

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn was in agreement during a recent interview, echoing Feargal’s words, “Everybody hates the fight, but no one knows who Lamont Roach is, but he is a very good fighter.”

McCrory continued to discuss the contest and shared his opinion on the stoppage when it came in the the last 10 seconds of round eight, “I still – as a fighter and a man – don’t believe the fight should have been stopped, I really don’t. I know my corner were looking out for me, I know all this, I’m not stupid, but hand on heart, I believe I was still ok."

“If he had been hurting me, I wouldn’t have kept walking forward the way I was, I would have changed my plan, I would have looked for something else to do, I wouldn’t have kept the pressure on him."

“And he was also breathing in the seventh and the eighth round, he was busted up and he was bleeding as well, and he wasn’t talking anymore. He wasn’t being flashy, he was really getting down on it. 

“I’m not saying the next round or the 10th round but who knows? He was really, really starting to feel that pace.”

He then revealed he will be supporting his conqueror on fight night, “Look, I wish him all the best and I hope he beats Gervonta Davis. I truly believe Roach is the best 130lbs fighter in the world. So, absolutely, I’m supporting Lamont Roach in this fight, and it would look really good for me if he went out and did a number on ‘Tank’, but who knows.”

Gervonta Davis vs Lamont Roach

Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach actually share a Baltimore vs Washington rivalry that dates back over a decade to the amateurs, where they fought each other multiple times.

Unusually, they even fought twice in the same tournament, in the regionals and finals stages, after Davis defeated Roach, but Roach’s team contested a point deduction and USA Boxing reinstated him back into the tournament finals, where they bizarrely met again, but with the same result. Disgruntled, Roach still believes he should have won those fights, saying that he genuinely thought he had done enough.

Roach now believes that downloaded data will help him in his title challenge against ‘Tank’, also adding that he has a skillset, tenacity and IQ that none of Gervonta’s other opponents have ever had before.

McCrory shared his qualified view on the upcoming clash, “I do think it’s going to be a good fight, I really do, and I do think that it’s down to Roach not being as popular or as famous as these other guys, as I said. His boxing ability is very, very good. 

“Let’s go back now, take a look at his [Davis] opponents – he beat Mario Barrios, he knocked out an older Gamboa, he nearly killed Leo Santa Cruz, and that fight he had with Isaac Cruz. They both fought Hector Garcia, but ‘Tank’ done a far better job than Lamont did.”

Roach defeated Hector Garcia on a split decision, whereas Davis defeated the Dominican within nine rounds. In fact, Davis has defeated his last four foes in rounds six, seven, eight, and nine.

McCrory continued, “But I do think it’ll be a good fight for as long as it lasts. I’d love Lamont to go out and beat him, but I just don’t think it’s going to happen."

“It’s a hard fight for ‘Tank’, it is. I think that Lamont will be ahead on points, but then I think ‘Tank’ catches up to him to knock him out."

“What Davis does, what he’s incredible at, is he makes you feel comfortable throughout the rounds, you know. He lets you away with things over and over and over and then snap! He pulls the trigger; he has that devastating power, that God-given power that you just can’t teach.”