Despite the Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr. fight for the WBA lightweight championship having taken place last weekend, the fight’s outcome is still embroiled in controversy.
This is due to the sudden knee that Davis took during the ninth round that came seemingly out of the blue. After taking this knee, Davis went over to his corner and requested a member of his team wipe his face with a towel before returning to the fight.
The knee could have (and most think absolutely should have) been ruled a knockdown while essentially calling timeout and accepting assistance from the corner in the middle of the round was grounds for disqualification. However, the knee wasn’t called a knockdown, Davis wasn’t disqualified, and he escaped with a majority draw.
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Lamont Roach Jr. is furious about this outcome. And ranting on social media is not all he’s doing, as his attorney sent a letter to New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) executive director Matt Delaglio requesting that he overturn the majority draw into a decision win for Roach Jr.
Per the initial report of this letter from Dan Rafael of Fight Freaks Unite, one part of the letter writes, “Mr. Roach is confident that the Commission will agree with the millions who have seen the fight and determine that Mr. Roach is the true winner of the bout – either via TKO due to Mr. Davis removing himself from the Bout or being disqualified for carrying an illegal irritant into the ring, or via decision after scores have been adjusted to reflect the knockdown.”
The suggestion from Roach Jr.’s team that Davis get disqualified due to an “illegal irritant” (which is surely due to the hair gel/grease Davis was wearing that has prompted its own post-fight controversy) is fascinating.
While Davis did cite having grease in his hair as the excuse for his cornerman wiping his face off in that fateful ninth round, Roach Jr. would probably have a better shot at getting the fight overturned through the knockdown than by disqualification due to hair grease.
