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Gervonta Davis loses fans with shocking comments after Lamont Roach Jr. boxing draw

'Tank' kept his WBA lightweight title Saturday night in the battle of the DMV against Lamont Roach Jr.

Zain Bando

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

In the hours since Gervonta Davis' majority draw (115-113, 114-114, 114-114) against Lamont Roach Jr., which allowed Davis to hang onto his unbeaten record alongside retaining his WBA Lightweight Championship, the fight was overshadowed by one key moment sending outrage throughout the boxing community

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A Round 9 "knee" from Davis wasn't ruled a knockdown from referee Steve Willis. Had it been, Roach Jr. would have been awarded a split decision to hand Davis his first loss. Alas, social media went awry.

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Longtime boxing journalist Dan Rafael went ballistic over Willis' ruling, one of many head-scratching reactions to the fight. A fight that, until the sudden incident, was largely back-and-forth.

"Tank" and Roach Jr. React After The Fight

Davis, similarly to UFC flyweight Manel Kape, quickly dismissed any wrongdoing and didn't blame Willis for his handling of the situation, much less the New York State Athletic Commission.

"I didn’t want to get caught while my eyes were burning,” Davis told reporters after the fight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. “You can get knocked out like that. I’d rather take a knee, you know, but I didn’t know you could get disqualified for all that. When he started counting, I was like 'What the hell?' But it’s cool.”

Meanwhile, Roach Jr. was rather classy but disagreed with the scorecards entirely.

"Honestly, I thought I should have won without that being counted a knockdown,” Roach said. "I’m not the ref, you know what I’m saying, if he had to wipe sweat out of his eye he had to wipe sweat out of his eye. The rules do state if you take a knee it’s an automatic eight-count. If that was counted a knockdown, I would have won a majority decision.”

Gervonta Davis exchanges punches with Lamont Roach Jr. during their bout for Davis' WBA lightweight title at Barclays Center.
Gervonta Davis exchanges punches with Lamont Roach Jr. during their bout for Davis' WBA lightweight title at Barclays Center. / (Al Bello/Getty Images)

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As for whether a rematch between the two happens immediately, it appears Davis has other plans later this year.

"It's definitely the one I want next," Davis said about a Roach Jr. rematch. "But it's not going to be next."

Lamont Roach Jr. punches Gervonta Davis during their bout for Davis' WBA lightweight title at Barclays Center
Lamont Roach Jr. punches Gervonta Davis during their bout for Davis' WBA lightweight title at Barclays Center / Al Bello/Getty Images

As for who might be next, WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson was invested in the fight ringside, as he hopes to test his skills against Davis in the near future – even if it happens to be against Roach Jr. instead.

All parties involved have much to figure out moving forward, but it's clear Davis can still draw intrigue even in the heat of controversy.

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For now, only time will tell what's next for both as it was one of the PBC's first marquee boxing events of the year thus far.

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Zain Bando
ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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