Gervonta Davis held onto his WBA lightweight title on Saturday night after a majority draw with Lamont Roach, though a contentious moment in the ninth round could have handed Davis the first defeat of his career.
One judge scored the bout 115-113 in Davis’s favor, while the other two had it level at 114-114, ensuring the unbeaten Baltimore fighter remained without a loss. (The Guardian had it 117-111 to Roach.)
The key talking point came in the ninth, when Davis voluntarily took a knee near his corner before leaning over the ropes, seemingly in search of assistance to clear an issue with his eye. Under normal rules, a fighter touching the canvas with anything other than their feet is considered a knockdown, which would have cost Davis a point. However, referee Steve Willis did not rule it as such, a decision that could have altered the outcome.
A sold-out crowd of 19,250 at the Barclays Center made their feelings known when Davis later claimed his vision was impaired by grease from his hair.
“It should have been a knockdown,” Roach said. “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.”
Roach, the WBA super featherweight champion who went off as a 9-1 underdog, came just short in his bid to claim a world title in a second weight class.
“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.”
Full report to follow.
