Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach battled to a majority draw on Saturday at the Barclays Center, but many believe the result should have been different—and it may not be too late for things to change.
Davis took a knee in the ninth round in a move that should have cost him his WBA lightweight title, but the lack of action from referee Steve Willis allowed Davis to escape with his title.
However, the New York State Athletic Commission is reviewing the matter, and the result could be overturned.
According to a statement from the NYSAC, a “technical issue” prevented replay from being used during the ninth round when Davis clearly took a knee after taking a punch to the face, which should have resulted in a knockdown.
“During the round in question, following the commission’s request for the replay video, there was a technical issue preventing the commission from receiving it within the allotted time for review,” a commission spokeswoman stated in a statement to ESPN.
“Therefore, the referee’s in-ring decision was relied upon, and the fight continued. The commission is dedicated to preserving the integrity of combative sports and is committed to working with all promotions and production teams—on behalf of the athletes, officials, and fans—to ensure technical issues do not occur in the future that prevent the delivery of ringside instant replay feeds to the commission’s officials when needed.”
If the officials reviewing the situation deem a reversal of the decision is in order, we could see the draw overruled. It is unlikely the fight would be changed to a no-contest and even less likely that Roach would be awarded the victory.
If Davis had been docked the point that comes with a knockdown, Roach would have won the fight by majority decision, and he’d be a two-division champion. Longtime boxing journalist Michael Woods reposted a video from Fight Hook News that shows the jab that might have caused the eye irritation he says led to Davis heading to the corner for a break.
No one is arguing that Davis was badly hurt by the jab that landed, but legally, if a fighter goes to a knee after a punch is landed—no matter how soft—it is to be ruled a knockdown.
Even without the knockdown, I scored the fight for Roach. I had it 116-112 in his favor, even without the knockdown being scored properly. Others who accompanied me in the media section also felt Roach had done enough to earn the decision.
Several world champions and prominent fighters also took to social media to share their opinions on some called a robbery with Roach as the victim.
At the end of the day, if the fight is ruled a no-contest, that would be an even bigger win for Davis. A no-contest ruling will look better on Davis’ record from a legacy standpoint than a draw.
The two fighters have discussed a rematch. We’ll see if or how quickly that materializes. For now, much of the boxing world should rightfully have a bad taste in its mouth.
