The boxing world is crying ‘robbery’ after an outrageous refereeing mistake saved Gervonta Davis from a shock defeat against Lamont Roach on Saturday night.
Davis, widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, was lucky to escape with a draw in a bout he was expected to win following a highly-contentious moment in the ninth round at Barclays Center.
After Roach landed a right hand, the WBA lightweight champion moved backwards before bizarrely taking a knee unprovoked and heading over to his corner, which he later revealed was to wipe grease out of his eyes following a recent hair appointment.
However, boxing fans were quickly left outraged when referee Steve Willis inexplicably failed to score it as a knockdown for the challenger, despite initially starting an eight-count.
The official stopped his count at two before he could be heard saying to Davis: ‘What’s going on man?’
After the champion tried to explain why he took a knee to briefly half the contest, Willis told him before resuming the fight: ‘I understand, but when you take a knee like that, it looks like a knockdown.’
Following that astonishing blunder, Roach was forced to settle for a majority draw thanks to two judges’ scores of 114-114 and a 115-113 verdict in favor of Davis.
If Willis had correctly called a knockdown in the ninth, the underdog would have emerged with a stunning upset victory in Brooklyn.
Two-weight undisputed king Terence Crawford led the online fury after the controversial result, insisting Roach was ‘robbed’ of a historic win on the night.
‘Roach won and that should have been called a knock down. Let’s see what happens,’ Crawford wrote on X before adding, ‘They robbed that boy and it’s crazy’.
He then explained in another post: ‘I never seen someone take a knee and they don’t count it as a knock down. Must of forgot the rules for tonight.’
Boxing fans are in complete agreement with Crawford, fuming that Davis was spared from a clear knockdown in the ninth round.
‘Robbed in broad daylight man. With cameras in every corner,’ said one user.
Another commented: ‘It should be a Knockdown. Roach won that.’
A third put: ‘Damn, all the sports getting rigged smh’.
A Davis supporter admitted: ‘Yeah. I’m a huge Tank fan, but I can’t defend this. I’ve never seen something like this before. Wild!’
‘Such a shame they robbed an underdog,’ concluded a fifth.
Another asked: ‘Is taking a knee allowed now?’
While one simply put: ‘Rigged’.
Gervonta’s former opponent Ryan Garcia also weighed in on the controversy, saying on X: ‘Lamont won that – Not calling that knockdown is the most wild thing I ever seen in boxing, that type of stuff makes boxing look bad’.
According to DAZN boxing reporter Chris Mannix, Davis – better known as ‘Tank’ – could even have been disqualified for taking a timeout to get his faced wiped by his corner.
‘Texting with three veteran boxing referees,’ Mannix revealed on X. ‘All agree: The knee should have been called a knockdown.
‘One noted that Tank could have been disqualified for getting his face wiped by his corner.’
Davis clarified after the draw – which goes down as the first blemish on his 31-fight record – that he merely wanted to wipe his face due to a burning sensation caused by a hair product running down into his eyes.
Davis claims he needed to head to his corner and have grease wiped out of his eyes + 4 View gallery Davis claims he needed to head to his corner and have grease wiped out of his eyes
But Roach is adamant it should have been a knockdown, which would have earned him a win + 4 View gallery But Roach is adamant it should have been a knockdown, which would have earned him a win
‘I didn’t want to get caught while my eyes was burning,’ he stressed. ‘And you can’t get knocked out like that. So I’d rather take the knee. But I didn’t really know that you can, like, get the disqualified for all that. When [Willis] started counting, I’m like, “What the hell?”‘
Roach, meanwhile, believes he was robbed of a precious victory on the night.
‘If that’s a knockdown, I win the fight. I’m a little disappointed in the decision, I thought I pulled it out. I definitely thought I won. We can run it back,’ he said. ‘It’s a win for me in my book but we’re not satisfied with that, we need a real W.’
‘It should have been a knockdown. If that was knockdown, I win the fight. He’s saying grease got in his eye, but if he takes a knee and the ref starts counting, it should be a knockdown. It is what it is. I’m not banking on that knockdown to win. I just thought I pulled it out.’
