Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis Removed From Pound-For-Pound Standings After Contentious Majority Draw Against Lamont Roach

The WBA lightweight titlist – ‘Tank’ was lucky to exit the ropes on March 1 in Brooklyn, New York, with his world crown still around his waist following a disputed majority draw against former amateur opponent and 130-pound champion Lamont Roach Jr. The controversy of the bout was radically dialled up when referee Steve Willis failed to consider Davis' voluntary knee in Round 9 as a knockdown, which would've given Roach the win.

“Another one where referees really messed up. And Steve Willis is a brilliant referee, by the way. I love him. He’s one of my favourite referees. He’s animated, he’s in the fights, he’s about it. Any close exchange, he’s always there. I’ve seen the guy jump into punches to stop fighters from getting hit. I’ve seen him do it many times. He made a catastrophic error there. Lamont Roach is going to be absolutely heartbroken,” said Tony Bellew in an interview with the CasinoBeats.

In spite of the referee Steve Willis not ruling it as a knockdown, that decision played a pivotal role in the match’s outcome. Roach later appealed to the New York State Athletic Commission, but his request to overturn the result was denied after the NYSAC upheld the initial result.

“It’s a count and I don’t want to hear that he got grease in the eye. That’s a you problem. That’s not a me problem. So Lamont Roach had every right to be crying out and saying that it was a count. And it is a count because what are we going to be doing next? When a fighter gets tired, he’s going to say he’s got grease in his eyes. It’s exhausting, you can’t do it. I feel for the ref because he obviously knows it’s not a knockdown, and essentially it’s not a knockdown. He’s took a couple of punches, I’ve seen it. He’s just took a couple of shots. But what he’s then got to do is, he’s got to stay on his feet, he’s got to back up to his corner, he’s got to tell the referee he’s got something in his eye. The minute he takes the knee, it is a count because at no point in a fight can you show your opponent distress and expect them not to capitalise. If he takes a step back, shows everyone he’s not in distress, then tells the referee about his eye. The referee can then stop the timer and get his eye cleaned out,” said the ‘Bomber’.

Meanwhile, Lamont Roach isn’t backing down after his contentious draw with Gervonta Davis, maintaining his performance demonstrated he belongs among boxing’s pound-for-pound best.

“March 1st was crazy! I appreciate everyone who was apart of this night even the haters. First, I want to thank God, without him none of this is possible. I want to thank the ones who truly believed in me from the start and most of them was my family fasho. Thank you to all my sponsors your support was greatly appreciated. Last but definitely not least thank you to my team, my trainers, my dad, Robert & Gary. We put this sh*t together and executed exactly how we drew it out! Even tho I ain’t get the results i deserved, I was the other half of a sellout crowd that broke the record for highest grossing event in the history of the Barclays center. AND I showed that I was a pound for pound talent against a generational star in the sport. I was born a star but March 1st a star was finally under the microscope of the world! I can’t wait to run it back and put on a show again!,” Roach posted on his Instagram account.