It was supposed to be an ecstatic night. In the end, it turned out to be anything but that. Following the Gervonta Davis–Lamont Roach Jr. fight, boxing is experiencing a firefight. A slew of uncomfortable questions has been raising their head. Entering the ring as a 16-1 favorite, most expected Davis to deliver yet another stunning victory. Roach Jr., who climbed up a division, barely had a chance, it seems. As the rounds progressed, the Washington, D.C. native, however, started gaining ground.

It appeared Roach Jr. was marching towards a historic feat. But come the ninth round, and one of the most dramatic episodes of recent times unfolded. Stepping away from a skirmish, ‘Tank’ took a knee and rushed towards his corner. Strictly speaking, the move, even if a voluntary one, should have been considered a knockdown. That didn’t happen. Nor did Davis face any action. In the end, with Davis retaining his title, the match ended in a disputable draw. The champion offered his side of the story. But doubts continue to surface. In circumstances such as this, an expert view often helps.

A DQ for Gervonta Davis?

Sports journalist Chris Mannix revealed that he took up the Davis-Roach fight with three senior boxing referees. It appears they shared a unanimous opinion. “The knee should have been called a knockdown.” Not only that, according to one of them, for his move to get a quick face wipe, Davis should have been disqualified.

Rick Glaser shared a similar viewpoint. “The moment that Cornerman laid hands on Tank, the ref should have immediately DQ’ed Tank Davis!!!” said the boxing insider. In a detailed criticism, he questioned the conduct of referee Steve Willis as well. According to Glaser, if the knockdown had been counted correctly, Lamont Roach Jr. should have either won by disqualification in Round 9 or by majority decision. “Lamont Roach should have won that fight, by DQ in Round 9, or with the knockdown counted, by majority decision,” he pointed in the rebuke.

Hard truths can’t be ignored

“The 9th round was kind of a microcosm of Gervonta Davis’ life in some ways,” said Keith Idec at ‘The Ariel Helwani Show.’ He highlighted Gervonta Davis’ purported tendency to break the rules or act outside the norm – without facing consequences. Idec argued that Davis often takes liberties in the ring. For instance, deciding to take an unsanctioned ‘time out’ in the ninth round of his recent fight, despite boxing not allowing timeouts and yet still getting away with it.

He compared it with a past incident. During the Hector Luis Garcia fight, a fight in the crowd distracted Davis; he seemingly took another unofficial break. Thus, Gervonta Davis does what he wants and, more often than not, avoids repercussions.

Earlier, Idec shared how a few months ago, Davis reached the press conference several hours late. The latest reports suggest the fight is currently under review and that the result has the potential to be overruled.

What are your thoughts? Should Gervonta Davis have faced disqualification for what he did in the ring last Saturday?