By: Sean Crose
The outcome of the bout between WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and challenger Lamont Roach left many in shock. Expected to conquer Roach with his usual devastating prowess, Davis found himself in a fight that didn’t go as planned. In Brooklyn, on Saturday night, Davis managed to keep his unbeaten streak but not without controversy, as a sizeable portion of fans felt it was Roach who should have emerged victorious. Roach displayed an impressive resilience, absorbing Davis’ power hits and regularly finding his own mark on Davis. The bout was fiercely contested, resulting in a majority draw declared by the judges.
And then there was the uproar—not the typical outcry questioning the judges’ eyesight, but a more unusual protest over a strange incident in the ninth round. Out of nowhere, Davis took a knee. This unexpected move raised eyebrows since there was no apparent cause for it. He promptly stood, returned to his corner, and had his face wiped down. What sparked even more debate was referee Steve Willis’s decision not to give Davis an eight count, as standard procedure would dictate when a boxer takes a knee.
Had Willis administered the count for Davis, the outcome would likely have been different. The judges’ scorecards read 115-113 for Davis and 114-114 from the other two judges, resulting in the draw. If the fight had been more decisive, Davis’s unexplained kneeling wouldn’t have attracted so much attention. Yet, the fight was as tight as they come. By the sport’s regulations, such moments require accountability. Nonetheless, it would have been a harsh way for Davis to lose because of a brief, inexplicable decision unrelated to Roach’s performance.
Davis took to social media on Sunday to express his frustration: “They took the fight from me and made it a draw because of that stupid knee decision…but I landed the most punches. He didn’t even hit me when I went down on the knee. I know it was a mistake—I shouldn’t have done that, but the hair grease was burning my eyes!” Whether it was hair grease or something else, Roach seemed uninvolved in Davis’s kneeling. Still, rules are rules. It’s not enjoyable to write about these regulations in such situations, but they do stand firm.
