Gervonta Davis takes a knee in the middle of round nine due to the grease in his braids dripped into his eyes against Lamont Roach Jr. during their bout for Davis’ WBA lightweight title at Barclays Center on March 01, 2025 in New York City. Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP
NEW YORK — Gervonta Davis was being booed, the record crowd that came to cheer the popular champion not approving of his excuse.
“Tank” had gone to a knee during the middle of a round and then got brief assistance from his corner — basically taken a timeout — because grease after getting his hair done this week had gotten into his eye, he explained.
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Lamont Roach wasn’t buying it, either.
Had Roach been credited with a knockdown when Davis’ knee hit the canvas in the ninth round, he would have left Barclays Center on Saturday night with the WBA lightweight championship.
READ: Gervonta Davis knocks out Frank Martin to keep WBA title
Instead, Davis (30-0-1) held onto his belt when he and Roach fought to a majority draw, with the apparent missed knockdown keeping Davis from what would have been the first loss of his career.
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One judge gave the fight to Davis 115-113, while the other two scored it 114-114.
After Davis knelt down near his corner in the ninth round, he leaned over the ropes so his team could towel off the area around his eye. Referee Steve Willis did not count it as a knockdown, as it should be when a knee hits the canvas. Had it been, Davis would have automatically lost a point.
“It should have been a knockdown. If that was knockdown, I win the fight,” Roach said. “He’s saying grease got in his eye, but if he takes a knee and the ref starts counting, it should be a knockdown.”
Fellow boxers were among the stunned observers wondering how Davis escaped a deduction that seemed so obvious.
READ: Gervonta Davis outclasses Ryan Garcia to remain unbeaten
“I never seen someone take a knee and they don’t count it as a knock down. Must of forgot the rules for tonight,” multi-division champion Terence Crawford wrote on X.
Roach (25-1-2) fell just short in his attempt to add a belt in a second weight class after the 130-pound champion moved up to the 135-pound limit.
But he made it far closer than expected after Davis came in as a -1600 favorite on BetMGM, meaning a $1,600 wager would win just $100.
Davis knew much better than the oddsmakers. The Baltimore-based Davis had called Roach, an opponent in the amateur ranks from nearby Washington, the most-skilled fighter he had faced, rating him an “A-plus fighter.”
And nearly a lightweight champion one on a night he landed more punches than Davis and stung him a few times with right hands, showing power that was rarely on display while he racked up just 10 knockouts in his career.
READ: Gervonta Davis stops Hector Garcia to keep ‘regular’ WBA belt
Gervonta Davis exchanges punches with Lamont Roach Jr. during their bout for Davis’ WBA lightweight title at Barclays Center on March 01, 2025 in New York City. Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by AL BELLO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
“I’m a little disappointed in the decision. I thought I pulled it out,” Roach said. “That’s what two skilled fighters do, go in there and show off their craft.”
Roach called for a rematch afterward, disgusted that he was not credited with the knockdown.
Had it been called, Roach could have won the ninth round by a 10-8 score. Instead, Davis finished the round strong — winning it 10-9 on two of the cards.
It was only the third time in Davis’ career he didn’t stop his opponent and he never really got close. He started cautiously, landing just one punch in the first round, surged in the middle of the fight but then Roach closed well.
“I made it competitive, to be honest,” Davis said. “For sure, Lamont is a great fighter. He got the skills, like I said before, and the punching power. It was a lesson learned. Shout out to Lamont Roach and his whole team. Hopefully we can run it back in New York.”
READ: Gervonta Davis beats Yuriorkis Gamboa to win WBA lightweight title
The crowd had always loved Davis during his three previous fights at Barclays Center, and this one drew an announced crowd of 19,250, a sellout that shattered its own attendance record for boxing and was the second-highest grossing event of any kind in the arena’s history.
They roared when Davis came to the ring in a Yankees hat but jeered at the end.
“It’s all cool,” Davis said. “They love you, then they hate you. Then they love you again. You know what I mean?”
The Associated Press scored it 115-113 for Davis.
“I think I pulled it out in the last three rounds for sure,” Davis said. “I was catching him with some clean shots. I feel I was breaking him down as the rounds were going on, but he kept coming so I didn’t want to make mistakes and I kept it cautious.”
READ: Gervonta Davis dismantles Ricardo Nunez with 2nd-round TKO
Two super lightweight title matches resulted in one new champion before the main event.
Gary Antuanne Russell (18-1) dominated Jose Valenzuela (14-3) to win the WBA’s belt, landing nearly twice as many punches and winning every round on one judge’s card in a unanimous decision.
Before that, Alberto Puello improved to 23-0 and kept the WBC’s version of the 140-pound title by edging Spain’s Sandor Martin (42-4) by split decision.
Puello handed Russell his lone loss in June 2024.
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Also, Jarrett Hurd, a former unified 154-pound champion, said he was retiring after losing a spilt decision to Johan Gonzalez in a middleweight bout.
