Gervonta Davis, despite a controversial moment, retained his WBA lightweight title in a fight against Lamont Roach.
At Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Davis, heavily favored, faced Roach. The bout ended in a majority draw after 12 rounds, though Davis narrowly avoided defeat.
In the ninth round, Davis surprisingly kneeled after a punch from Roach. He then went to his corner for a towel wipe.
Davis later explained his actions in a post-fight interview.
“I just got my hair done two days ago, and she put grease in my shit,” Davis stated. “The grease came in my face and it burnt my eyes due to sweating.”
The crowd reacted negatively to Davis’s explanation, booing him. Davis defended himself, asking why they doubted him and showing his hair as proof.
Despite the explanation, Davis’s knee-down during the fight could have been penalized as a knockdown. Referee Steve Willis initially started a count but then decided against it.
“I didn’t want to get caught while my eyes were burning,” Davis said at the post-fight press conference. He admitted awareness of possible disqualification but felt taking a knee was safer. He expressed surprise at the referee’s count and subsequent decision.
The judges’ scorecards resulted in a majority draw, with scores of 115-113 for Davis, and two scores of 114-114. A knockdown penalty for Roach would have given him the victory due to point deduction.
Roach commented at the press conference that he believed he should have won regardless of the incident. He acknowledged the rules regarding knee-downs as automatic eight-counts and stated that a knockdown call would have resulted in his majority decision victory.
