Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Lamont Roach fought to a majority draw on March 1, 2025, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The judges scored the bout 115-113 in favor of Davis and 114-114 twice, allowing Davis to retain his WBA lightweight title.

The fight was closely contested, with momentum shifts between both fighters. A pivotal moment occurred in the ninth round when Davis took a knee due to an eye issue caused by hair grease. The referee did not rule it a knockdown, leading to controversy, as such a call could have influenced the fight’s outcome.

Both Davis and Roach have expressed interest in a rematch to settle the dispute.

Round 1

Lamont Roach Jr. throws a right to the body. It misses. But he’s still on his feet. Call it a victory for Roach. Gervonta “Tank’’ Davis showing no interest in opening up early. Roach throws a couple of jabs and that could be enough to seal this round. Half a dozen and Davis finally throws a punch – a right that does not land. Roach is the aggressor, but with caution. Davis scores with a halfhearted left. Roach 10, Davis 9.

Round 2

Roach opens with a couple of left jabs and this remains tactical. He throws a right. And a left. Davis looks to be content watching the punches miss. Davis lures Roach into the corner but Roach won’t take the bait. He keeps a wise distance. Davis fires a hard left. Then a right. But nothing for the highlight reel. Davis slightly more active. Slightly. Roach 20, Davis 18.

Round 3

Roach attacks with a left. Davis fends it off. Boxers still very careful here, although Roach is the technical aggressor. Davis fires a left and a right but looks tentative. Davis smiles as he sees Roach flinch. Davis scores with a left and Roach answers with a nice left. Scores with a chopping right. Davis connects with a left. Roach 29, Davis 28.

Round 4

Roach out quick behind left jabs. Davis unleashes a nice left and scores to the body. Roach wraps him up and fires a right. Davis loosening up, on his toes and fires a couple of rights. Neither connect, but he’s busier. A little showmanship from Davis. But where’s the big punch? Roach lands a nice left while Davis is complaining to the ref. Roach 38, Davis 38.

Round 5

Roach is the aggressor, but not showing a ton of confidence as he “stalks.’’ Fires his jab. He squeezes a right through Davis’ high guard. But Davis is deflecting most of the punches coming his way. Not a fan-friendly affair to this point. They trade lefts and Roach shows some aggression. Davis connects with a solid left and Roach looks agitated. Roach talking to Davis and closes the round with a jab to Davis’ face. But Davis scored effectively to the body. Davis 48, Roach 47.

Round 6

Davis, angered by a potential low blow, unleashes a flurry of punches. Roach’s body is the target. Davis unloads with a left with KO power, but it misses. They’re at the center of the ring now, and Davis lets fly with a couple of lefts to the body. Roach answers, only to be hit again. Davis connects with both hands and looks increasingly confident. Davis lands another good left. Davis 58, Roach 56.

Round 7

Roach marches forward and fires a left and right, then doubles up to the body. Not sure if anything landed. Davis smiling. Takes a left, and answers with a left. Davis surges behind two lefts. Connects with an uppercut. Roach scores but takes a hard left and then a hard right. Davis sticks out his tongue. Roach lands a hard right! And a second right. Roach showing courage. Great exchange as the round ends, and Roach puts together his best round. Davis 67, Roach 66.

Round 8

Roach inching forward but showing more caution now. May be able to give CompuBox the round off. Roach throws a double jab and Davis darts in only to be tied up. They exchange punches. Davis lands a hard right and then looks stunned by a counter right. Roach lands another solid right and eats a left, but he’s on his feet. Bell rings and Davis taps Roach as if acknowledging his worthy effort. Davis 76, Roach 76.

Round 9

Roach standing his ground. Takes a left and fires back with a right. Davis takes a knee. He went to his corner for an unspecified reason. Davis unloads and Roach fires right back. Davis is firing with that KO power, and Roach counters with a big right. Roach not backing down. Roach connects with another hard right. Roach 86, Davis 85.

Round 10

Action slows. But Davis scores with a left hook to the body and a combination. Davis lands a left and Roach connects with a harder right. Again, standing his ground and then moving forward. Davis lands two lefts and Roach fires back with the jab. But it’s Tank’s round. Roach 95, Davis 95.

Round 11

Roach out quick again behind his jab. They trade more big punches. Davis scores with a big left and digs into the body. Bu Roach storms back. Roach may be growing fatigued. And just like that, he lands another right. Roach lands a big right. Catches a body shot. They are, center of the ring, exchanging big shots. Davis warned for a low blow. Davis throwing heavy leather, and Roach up to the challenge. Davis 105, Roach 104.

Round 12

Round begins. Davis looks skyward with some confusion. He better stay focused on Roach. They open with a nice exchange. Davis tries to bait Roach. Davis darts in, takes a punch. Delivers a left. More nice exchanges here, and Roach getting the better of it. Davis lands a left, but Roach counters. Roach moving forward. Roach grabbing Davis by the ankles. Holding on. Roach takes a right as the bell rings, but it’s harmless. Davis 114, Roach 114.

Gervonta “Tank’’ Davis didn’t lose the fight, but he lost his aura of invincibility.

His fight Saturday with heavy underdog Lamont Roach Jr. ended in a majority draw.

Davis (30-0-1) and Roach (25-1-2) traded big shots over the 12-round lightweight fight at New York’s Barclays Center and, incredibly enough, Roach ended the fight on his feet.

The judges scored it 115-113 (for Davis), 114-114 and 114-114.

“Hopefully we can get a rematch,’’ Davis said.

Before the fight, Davis said Roach would be the most skilled boxer he’d faced yet. It was no exaggeration.

“For sure, Lamont is a great fighter. He’s got the skill, like I said before,” Davis said. “He got punching power.’’

Both fighters were cautious early, but by midway through the fight, punches were flying and landing.

“I’m one of the best fighters in the world, and I showed that tonight,’’ Roach said, indicating he wants a rematch. “I want to run it back for sure.’’

Davis-Roach controversy

Early in the ninth round, Davis took a knee and went back to his corner. Davis explained in his in-ring interview that he’d just gotten his hair done two days earlier and grease slid down his face and into his eye. The explanation apparently didn’t go over well with the crowd, which booed.

“Damn, why you all booing?’’ said Davis.

If the referee had ruled Davis taking a knee a knockdown, it would have resulted in a one-point deduction for Davis on all three judges’ cards.

“If that’s a knockdown I win the fight,’’ Roach said.

But in welcoming a rematch, Roach said about the controversy, “It is what it is.’’

One of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world, Gervonta “Tank” Davis, returns to the ring on Saturday, March 1, to put his WBA lightweight title on the line against WBA Super Featherweight World Champion Lamont Roach at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Prime PPV. Below is a look at the Davis vs. Roach fight card details.

Davis Vs. Roach Fight Card

Davis Vs. Roach Fight Card: PBC PPV on Prime Video

Gervonta Davis vs Lamont Roach: WBA lightweight title

Jose Valenzuela vs Gary Antuanne Russell: Super lightweight

Alberto Puello vs Sandor Martin: WBC super lightweight title

Yoenis Tellez vs Julian Williams: Super welterweight

Davis Vs. Roach Fight Card: PBC Prime Card

Jarrett Hurd vs Johan Gonzalez: Middleweight

Geo Lopez vs Alex Dilmaghani: Super featherweight

Davis Vs. Roach Fight Card: PBC Undercard

Cristian Cangelosi vs Jarrod Tennant: Super welterweight

Gervonta Davis (3-0 with 28 knockouts) won the IBF junior lightweight title in his 17th pro fight, scoring a seventh-round TKO win over José Pedraza in 2017. He defended that belt with two knockouts before knocking out Jesús Cuellar in the third round in their 2018 bout to capture the WBA super featherweight title. Then, in 2019, the Baltimore-born fighter moved to lightweight to fight Yuriorkis Gamboa for the vacant WBA (regular) lightweight title. Davis won that contest by TKO in the 12th round. Davis then defeated Leo Santa Cruz in 2020 by sixth-round knockout in a scrap that was for the WBA lightweight and WBA super featherweight belts. In December 2021, following a TKO over Mario Barrios in June 2021, Davis faced Isaac Cruz for the WBA lightweight strap. That contest went 12 rounds, with Davis winning via unanimous decision. Davis is 4-0 since the win over Cruz, beating Rolando Romero, Hector Garcia, Ryan Garcia, and most recently Frank Martin via knockout.

. Davis had been in talks to face Vasiliy Lomachenko, but that fight never came to fruition.’

ESPN has Davis ranked as the No. 8 pound-for-pound boxer. He is the No. 1 ranked 135-pound fighter.

Lamont Roach Jr. (25-1-1) sported a 19-0-1 record when he stepped into the ring in November 2019 to face Jamel Herring for the WBO super featherweight title. That contest went the 12-round distance, with Herring retaining his belt. Roach bounced back with four wins after that setback. Then, in November 2023, Roach got the opportunity to fight for the WBA super featherweight belt, meeting Héctor Luis García. Roach won that contest via majority decision. In his most recent outing, the Washington DC-born competitor defeated Feargal McCrory by TKO in front of a hometown crowd to retain that title.

Roach is the No. 5 ranked 130-pounder.

“I’m gonna chop, chop, bob and weave. I’m gonna end it in the ninth round,” Davis said at the fight’s press conference.

“I like to show people that they aren’t who they say they are.” Davis added. “I like to prove it to the people they come with. My first time winning the title, the whole building doubted me.”

“Lamont’s got skills. Even at a smaller weight class,” said Davis. “He’s one of the guys who I came up with in the sport of boxing, and he’s still doing well. He’s definitely a top opponent and everyone will see that on March 1.

“I shouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe I’m gonna win. I’ve hurt everybody that I’ve been in the ring with and this won’t be any different,” said Roach.

“This is a hell of an opportunity and we’re gonna conquer it,” added the challenger. “Everyone knows what I’m coming to do. And if you don’t, you’ll be surprised. I’m gonna show you what happens when two dogs go in the ring together.”

We will have more on the Davis vs. Roach fight card, including updated betting odds, as fight night approaches.