Lamont Roach is in a boat all by himself.

For the 29-year-old, nothing came easy. After putting together an undefeated record for half a decade, Roach came out on the losing end in his first world title shot against Jamel Herring in 2019.

Since then, the dubious voices that echoed throughout his career only grew louder. There wasn’t much expected of Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs) in his second title shot against Hector Luis Garcia, but The Ring’s No. 4 ranked junior lightweight didn’t allow the outside noise in.

Now, even with a world title around his waist, Roach isn’t being shown the respect he believes he deserves.

A few months ago, Gervonta Davis began surveying the landscape, looking for a worthy opponent. Although they fight in separate weight classes, Davis, who successfully defended his WBA lightweight title against Frank Martin last year, picked Roach from the crowd and told him, let’s get it on.

Giving Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) a size advantage was a no-brainer for Roach. Signing his name on the dotted line meant two things, a loaded paycheck and an opportunity to prove that he’s one of boxing’s elite.

Officially, the two will throw down in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in a PBC pay-per-view headliner. Like most, if not all of his big fights, Roach will stroll to the ring as a sizable underdog. The combination of fighting in a higher weight class, along with the pernicious knockout power of Davis, has many under the assumption that he won’t get it done.

Usually, that would bother him. But considering where he’s come from and the success he’s enjoyed by drowning out the clatter, Roach is throwing on his headphones and simply ignoring the talk.

“I don’t care about what people have to say,” said a calm Roach on a self-recorded video. “I don’t care about who’s doubting me. If I cared, I wouldn’t be here.”