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With fresh revelations emerging, the Gervonta Davis–Lamont Roach Jr. fight seems to be unraveling like Pandora’s box.

Fans have already had plenty to digest. Tank’s controversial ninth-round knee, his bizarre explanation, referee Steve Willis’ questionable conduct, and the highly disputed match decision. As if that wasn’t enough, yet another controversy seems to have surfaced.

On March 1, Davis and Roach Jr. faced off at the Barclays Center. Looking back, this isn’t a fight Davis will take much pride in. With the New York State Athletic Commission backing the majority draw decision, the unresolved matter appears to be leading toward a rematch, tentatively set for June. But the drama is far from over. There’s a chance the latest issue may take fans back to the infamous ‘Bite Fight’ from ’97 when Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield fought a rematch.

Gervonta Davis Lamont Roach Jr

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Intrigue deepened when Lamont Roach Jr., while reviewing the fight, made a startling observation. In the particular footage, the two fighters are seen locked in a clinch. With his back against the ropes, Davis grabs Roach Jr.’s neck with his left hand. However, due to the way his glove was positioned, it’s difficult to tell what Davis is doing at that exact moment.

Roach Jr. remarked, “That’s when he tried to bite me.” He added further, “I ain’t even notice that until somebody said something.” To set the record straight, in the footage, Davis’ head movement does suggest a possible biting motion toward Roach Jr.’s ear. However, without clear evidence, it remains a claim from Roach rather than a certainty.

Perhaps it’s merely speculation Roach Jr. stumbled upon. The fight has already stirred enough controversy, and adding more fuel to the fire may not be necessary. Already there’s a buzz going around, whether Davis, as a superstar, received preferential treatment in the bout.

One of the biggest talking points remains the moment Davis took a voluntary knee in the ninth round. It was an unusual and shocking move. Then, instead of issuing the standard knockdown count, referee Steve Willis allowed him to recover unpunished. Post-fight, ‘Tank’ explained his actions, claiming that a hair product had dripped into his eyes, forcing him to seek quick assistance from his corner.

Even if true, such a situation should have warranted disciplinary action. Especially considering that at that moment, Roach Jr. appeared to be gaining the upper hand. Many believe that had the knockdown been officially recorded, Roach Jr. would have won the fight. Instead, the majority draw saved Davis from the embarrassment of a loss, and he retained his belts in the process.

Perhaps it’s time to put the controversies aside and let the rematch settle everything. Can Tank, often accused of avoiding top-tier opponents, prove himself against a formidable Lamont Roach Jr.? On the other hand, a victory for Roach Jr. wouldn’t just be a statement. It would fulfill his dream of becoming a two-division world champion.

The drama from Gervonta Davis vs Lamont Roach Jr continues to unfold.

‘Tank’ Davis retained his WBA Lightweight World Title after a majority draw with challenger Roach, who upset the betting odds by even making it the distance.

Roach exchanged with the hard hitter from Baltimore, even wobbling him, and many big names in the sport believe he did enough to win. That should have been the case had referee Steve Willis called a knockdown in the ninth round when Davis took a knee. He didn’t, however, despite starting a count on the night.

The WBA added to the drama by publishing an article on its website that stated, “from our perspective, Willis’ decision was not unreasonable or unjustifiable.” The piece also said that ‘skeptics’ were wrong to say Davis benefited from the referee’s actions and that “no knockdown should have been recorded.”

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The sanctioning body’s president, Gilberto Mendoza, has since had the article removed from the website, pointing out that it was the opinion of a ‘collaborator’ who has no committee influence.

Following that, he send a direct message to Roach via X, formerly Twitter.

“Champ, as president of the WBA I must apologise on the opinion of a collaborator of the website. We believed in you since day one, we knew you would had a marvellous performance and feel proud of you as champion.”

Mendoza was also keen to reach out to Lamont’s father, who serves as his manager and trainer.

 Champ, please extend this message to your dad: I apologise for the misleading opinion of a collaborator [on the] WBA website. We believed in you since day one, we knew it was going to be a great fight and feel proud of your marvelous performance.”

Finally, Mendoza provided an update on the push for an immediate rematch, something ‘Tank’ has said he is pushing for anyway.

“I have asked the WBA committee to follow up [Lamont Roach Jr’s] direct rematch case closely. However, we believe the parties as expressed in the post fight interview will amicably agree to run it again.”

More news is expected soon on the matter, with the New York State Athletic Commission now also involved in proceedings after failing to utilise an instant replay function on the night, something a spokesperson says was due to techincal issues.

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.

The controversy from Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach Jr’s draw in Brooklyn continues to unfold.

‘Tank’ Davis kept hold of his WBA Lightweight World Title with the scores of 115-113 in his favour and two cards of 114-114. Crucially, however, the champion took a knee in the ninth round which was not called a knockdown by referee Steve Willis.

Had it been dealt with as per the rulebook, and the same scores were recorded for every other round, Roach would have left the ring with a massive upset victory and the world title.

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His team have since been in touch with the New York State Athletic Commission to call for the result to be overturned to a win in his favour. The commission says a ‘technical issue’ prevented the use of replay so the referee’s decision was not reviewed on the night. A further verdict is expected.

The WBA on its official website took an opposing view, stating that ‘skeptics’ were wrong to say the call, or lack of, was unfair.

“From our perspective, Willis’ decision was not unreasonable or unjustifiable. He ruled in real-time that Davis had not been struck by a punch before going down, and therefore, no knockdown should be recorded.

“Judges, by regulation, must follow the referee’s rulings—they do not have the authority to override his decisions on knockdowns. Some skeptics have suggested that Willis’ call benefited Davis unfairly, but we do not subscribe to that notion.

“In our long experience judging fights, we see no evidence of favoritism—only a referee prioritizing the physical safety of a fighter who appeared compromised by an eye injury.”

In contrast, the President of the sanctioning body, Gilberto Mendoza, called the fight ‘very controversial.’

The injury in question, Davis has since explained, was due to grease from a recent hair appointment getting into his eye. He has also said he is pushing for an immediate rematch, which may be called regardless of his willingness.

Gervonta Davis just got exposed—and after his performance against Lamont Roach Jr. tonight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, it’s hard to argue otherwise.

But even before the main event began, another revelation left Davis visibly disappointed—a particular boxing stat that he couldn’t improve even during the fight.

As you may know by now, Tank Davis was barely able to defend his WBA lightweight strap after ‘The Reaper’ proved to be a bigger challenge than anyone thought. The bout ended with a majority decision draw, tarnishing Davis’ perfect boxing record. However, this could have been a loss for Davis if the rules were followed to a T.

Gervonta Davis Reveals The Reason He Took A Knee In Controversial Draw With Lamont  Roach - Seconds Out

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During the ninth round, Davis surprisingly took a knee, and it was waved off. Though he later revealed chemicals had dripped into his eye from his hair, if it was scored as a knockdown by the referee, which it should have, Roach would have won last night. Regardless, before the fight began, Davis appeared in an interview with PPV[dot]com.

During the interview, the reporter informed Davis that he had the highest knockout rate, 93%—one of the best in the sport. However, he also had the second-lowest punches per round at 32, just above Zhilei Zhang. Both shocked and disappointed, Davis said, “Me? For real?… If I’m only throwing 32 punches? … that’s not good.”

He even claimed, “As a fighter, I think I need to be throwing more punches.” However, he could not follow that up during the fight. According to CompuBox, Davis threw an average of 23.25 punches per round and landed 8.58 punches per round during the fight, even lower than his earlier average. Meanwhile, Roach outlanded Davis in most rounds and still was handed a draw.

Regardless, you’d expect Davis to be eager for a rematch after recording the first draw of his career—but is that really the case?

After the draw, Davis was adamant about having a rematch in Brooklyn, even stating as much during his in-ring interview. However, by the time he reached the post-fight press conference, something had changed. When asked whether the rematch would happen in 2025, Davis surprisingly claimed, “I’m not sure, bro.”

It can be assumed that Davis may want more time to train for the rematch, and he would like to fight next year. But that’s not the case. When pressed whether Lamont would be his next opponent, Davis stated, “It’s definitely the one I want next, but it’s not gonna be next.” It’s worth mentioning that Davis was supposed to call out Jake Paul following what he thought would be an easy win.

That said, it appears Gervonta Davis was relying too much on his explosive power to win the fight. Unfortunately for him, a former super featherweight was durable enough to weather the storm.

One of the more controversial decisions in a championship boxing match in recent memory occurred on March 1, 2025, when Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis faced Lamont Roach Jr. for the WBA lightweight championship.

In what ended up being an extremely competitive fight, Davis (the reigning WBA lightweight champion who entered the fight with a perfect 30-0 professional record) took a knee out of nowhere in the ninth round after absorbing several of Roach’s shots.

After taking the knee, Davis went to his corner, had one of his coaches wipe his face off, then returned to the ring — all with no penalty.

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Just about everybody watching the fight felt like the intentional knee should have been counted as a knockdown. However, referee Steve Willis ultimately decided not to rule it as such. And as a result of that point not being taken away from Davis, he escaped with a majority draw against Roach instead of a split-decision loss.

Much of the boxing world is claiming this was a horrible decision from Willis and that Roach Jr. got robbed of a much-deserved win. One of these people is pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford, who made a series of X posts that showed his dissent with the knockdown decision.

“Roach won and that should have been called a knock down. Let’s see what happens.”

– Terence Crawford

He later added, “I never seen someone take a knee and they don’t count it as a knock down. Must of forgot the rules for tonight.”

Another X user replied to this second post with a video of Crawford going to a knee during 2019 fight against Egidijus Kavaliauskas, which wasn’t called a knockdown at the time. And Davis reposted this video, which is the only thing he has posted on his X account since the controversial draw.

While that might have been a missed call, Crawford ultimately knocked Kavaliauskas out in that fight, which made the knee irrelevant. Davis can’t say the same about his controversial knee.

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