Roach Eyes WBC Title Shot After December Clash With Cruz

Lamont Roach says he still wants to go after whoever emerges as the WBC light welterweight title after Subriel Matias defends against Dalton Smith on January 10th, 2026.

Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs) is fighting WBC interim 140-lb champion Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz in eight days on December 6th at the Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas. If Lamont captures the interim belt, he’ll have the key to fighting the winner of the Matias-Smith fight.

Roach can’t afford to look past ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (28-3-1, 18 KOs), though, as he’s going to give a lot tougher fight than he may think. Lamont had a lot of problems with the heavy shots Tank and Hector Luis Garcia were hitting him with.

“I want to fight whoever the WBC champion will be at 140. Then Shakur, because I think that’s the best fight in boxing. That’s the best fight in our weight class to make,” said Lamont Roach to Nightcap about wanting to fight WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson after he faces WBC interim 140-lb champion Isaac Cruz on December 6th.

“I think that would be a super fan-friendly fight. Everyone wants to see that fight. They’ve been calling for it since I fought my last fight [Gervonta Davis],” said Roach.

Shakur wants to fight Roach, so that’s a doable one if he returns to the 135-lb division. Fighting Roach gives Shakur a better chance of winning than if he were to fight some of the younger, arguably more talented fighters at lightweight, like Andy Cruz, Abdullah Mason, and Floyd Schofield. It’s understandable why Shakur wants to fight Roach so badly. He has a better chance of winning and can pick up a nice paycheck. Life would be a lot harder for Shakur facing Mason, Cruz, and Schofield.

Then the third, I’d like to fight Gary Antuanne Russell. He’s the WBA champion at 140. Whichever comes first,” said Roach when asked if he’s trying to unify at 140 or 135.

Fighting Antuanne Russell wouldn’t be a good idea for Roach. He hits too hard and would be all over him. With the way Roach fights, he would struggle against Russell.