Nearly seven years have past since Maryland native Lamont Roach last fought in the “DMV” region. Following that ten-round clinic over Rey Perez at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md., Roach grabbed the microphone and promised the crowd that he would return home one day to defend a world title in front of them.

That promise will be fulfilled this Friday when the 28-year-old Roach defends his WBA junior lightweight title this Friday against unbeaten Irish contender Feargal McCrory at Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington D.C. The nation’s capital is just 20 miles from Roach’s hometown of Upper Marlboro, Md., giving his local supporters a chance to witness his first title defense.

“It’s very special to me because that’s what I set out to do. Friday night is gonna be the last step to complete what I set out to do,” said Roach (24-1-1, 9 knockouts), who is rated no. 4 by The Ring at 130 pounds.

Roach won the title in his last fight, dropping Hector Luis Garcia in the twelfth round to lift the title by split decision. The win was his fifth straight win since his lone defeat as a professional, when he lost a unanimous decision to Jamel Herring in 2019 in his first title opportunity. In some ways, Roach says life has changed, with local fans stopping him more often for photos or a moment of his time. That’s fine with Roach, who knows what he signed up for when he devoted his life to such a public career. But in other ways, it’s still business as usual.

“It’s still kind of surreal because I’m still training and working as if I’m not the champ. That’s my mindset, that’s how I feel, like I still have more to prove. I think that’s what keeps me going because there is more, I still have more goals set for myself that I want to achieve so the work is never done,” said Roach.

McCrory (16-0, 8 KOs), a 31-year-old from County Tyrone, Ireland, is taking a significant step-up in competition in his first world title opportunity. This will be McCrory’s first scheduled twelve-rounder, with only one of his fights going past the sixth. Still, McCrory has plenty of amateur experience, competing 127 times, representing Ireland internationally and winning several tournaments abroad. He has also built up a strong following in New York City, where he now lives and trains with Colin Morgan, and Philadelphia, where he fought once in 2023.

Lamont Roach lands a hook on Hector Garcia. Photo by Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME

“Feargal is tough. We watched him and we know that he’s a guy that likes to fight, he’s a guy that tries to impose his will and doesn’t want to be denied. That’s all the factors that will make for a fan friendly fight,” said Roach of McCrory, who is rated no. 12 by the WBA at 130 pounds.

“When it boiled down to it, the other guys had already been beaten and were on their way towards the end of their careers. I felt like I didn’t want to fight those guys that were heading out the door because then I would feel like they would have a sense of just to lay down. I’m at home, I want to give the fans something to be on their toes about.”

The entire show is a family affair for the Roaches, with father/trainer Lamont Roach Sr. serving as the event’s promoter, alongside Pro Box Promotions, which will also stream the fight live on their Pro Box platform, beginning at 8 p.m. ET. In addition, the card will feature the professional debut of Jordan Roach, Lamont’s 20-year-old younger brother, in a four-round junior bantamweight fight against Luis Domingo Hernandez (15-13-1, 10 KOs) of the Dominican Republic. Jordan Roach, who is currently rated no. 5 by USA Boxing at 112 pounds, had a fantastic amateur career, highlighted by winning the 2022 USA National Championships, among other titles.

Lamont Roach Jr. says that he had always dreamed of having his brother fight on one of his cards, and he expects Jordan to move quickly to a world title because there are fewer top contenders to get past at his weight class.

“It’s such a good feeling that my family are so much involved with this production that we’re gonna put on for the people. I can’t explain how it feels, I’m the reason we are able to be in this position. I’m able to put my brother on a platform that is streamed by millions of people. It’s not like he’s signed with a big promoter who is gonna put him on a card that is out of town and you get a couple of comp tickets. It’s gonna be a full blown packed crowd and he gets to have that for his pro debut,” said Roach.

Should he get past McCrory, he hopes that a unification bout with another 130-pound titleholder, namely WBC champ O’Shaquie Foster, can be arranged. Roach says the two and their teams had discussed making the fight, but says the “business aspects” didn’t line up to make it happen at the current moment. That doesn’t mean he’s moving on from that goal.

“I want to be a unified world champion and then eventually I want to be a multi-division world champion. Overall I want to be a staple in this sport. I want to be one of the guys that gets talked about when I’m not fighting or when I’m retired. I just want to leave a mark on the sport,” said Roach.

By Friday night, he will have already left a mark on boxing fans in his home region.

Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler and The Guardian, and is part of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Class of 2020. He can be reached at [email protected].