Lamont Roach was angry after his infamous majority draw with Gervonta Davis.

Roach knew what would’ve been a life-changing win was taken from him. The WBA junior lightweight champion firmly felt he did enough to defeat Davis in their 12-round pay-per-view match March 1 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Steve Willis’ failure to count an obvious knockdown against Davis early in the ninth round made matters even more frustrating for Roach. His appeal was denied by the New York State Athletic Commission as well, which discouraged Roach because no one in positions of authority appeared willing to correct mistakes that cost him millions of dollars.

Davis’ decision to exercise his contractual right to an immediate rematch temporarily encouraged Roach. He at least felt then that he’d have an opportunity to defeat Davis more decisively in another high-profile fight generating a lot of attention.

Roach’s second shot at Davis’ WBA lightweight crown was postponed twice before Roach’s rival eventually opted to face Jake Paul in a cruiserweight exhibition. Paul-Davis, which Netflix is scheduled to stream November 14 from Kaseya Center in Miami, has since been jeopardized by Davis’ involvement in another alleged domestic violence incident with an ex-girlfriend.

Roach, 30, essentially gave up on facing Davis again. He is thankful, though, that he’ll headline a Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view card December 6, when he’ll battle WBC interim junior welterweight champ Isaac Cruz at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.

“In the beginning it was tough, but you know, it’s life,” Roach told The Ring regarding the Davis disappointment. “And it’s boxing. Boxing has been a shaky sport for a long time. You know, I just happened to be on the short end of the stick this time. You know, it happens to some greats. So, once you just settle into reality and know [the rematch is] probably not coming back around, you get over it.

“I have bigger and better things to do, so I’m not just gonna sit here and sulk over what should’ve been, even though it should’ve been. It is what it is. Now I just have to go out and prove myself again and again and again. This ain’t no fluke, and the way Imma prove it is Imma be around for a long time.”

The 12-round, 140-pound bout between Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs), of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and Mexico City’s Cruz (28-3-1, 18 KOs) will match the two opponents who’ve given Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs) his most difficult fights. Cruz lost a closely contested, 12-round unanimous decision to the left-handed knockout artist from Baltimore in December 2021 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

DraftKings lists Roach as more than a 2-1 favorite versus Cruz in the 12-round main event of a four-fight pay-per-view show Amazon’s Prime Video will distribute.