He may have a whole lot of believers now but heading into his showdown against Gervonta Davis, his jam-packed bandwagon was practically empty.

It was understandable. Lamont Roach never competed at the elite level and was seemingly the smaller man. Roach and his father, however, didn’t understand what anyone was saying.

Roach Sr., needless to say, spent countless years with his son. He watched him grow and develop, and when they were given the opportunity to shine this past March, he was confident that they would take full advantage.

They were right.

During long stretches of their showdown, Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs) dominated. His ability to stick in the pocket with Davis and demand his respect was eye-catching…so was his combination punching.

Things were already going their way on March 1st, but a difficult to explain kneel-down by Davis in the 9th seemingly sealed his fate. In the end, Team Roach was handed a majority draw.

Fast forward several months later, and Roach Sr. has bags under his eyes from sleepless nights. He watched those 36 minutes of action again and again and dissected every second of it. All biases aside, he simply can’t understand why his son didn’t get the nod.

“Not happy with the decision at all,” said Roach Sr. to YSM Sports Media. “I know we won that fight even without the knockdown. I watched it over and over again. I just can’t see no other way.”

That wasn’t how the script was expected to play out. Roach was supposed to saunter his way to the ring, put up a decent fight, get viciously knocked, collect a check, and head back down to his weight class. Roach did collect a check that night but he expects to have another deposited into his bank account soon.

Negotiations for an immediate rematch continue to take place behind the scenes with late June in Las Vegas, Nevada being the clear front-runner.

Getting back in there is something Roach Sr. is looking forward to, mostly because he expects his son to be more dominant. Unlike their first meeting when Team Roach walked alone, Roach Sr. notices that he isn’t on an island this time.

Prior to getting in there with Davis, he scratched his head and wondered how he could get his son more attention and adoration. For years, it was difficult watching his boy fight on smaller shows but now that he has the spotlight, he’s just happy that the respect and appreciation has finally arrived.

“He displayed his talent to the world.”