114-114; 114-114; 115-113. These are what the judges’ scorecards looked like as Gervonta Davis retained his WBA Lightweight title in a heated contest against Lamont Roach. One incident that has taken the boxing world by storm is, with no surprise, the non-knockout call. Just seconds into the ninth round, Roach came heavy on the 30-year-old Davis as he made a combo of two back-to-back punches and a right hook. After a second or two, Davis looked towards referee Steve Willis and voluntarily kneeled only to sprint towards the ropes to get his face wiped.

There! That itself is a reason to get a call. There are no timeouts in boxing once the rounds start. Hence, Davis kneeling and then also forcing a timeout are two reasons why he should have been disqualified or called for a knockout. And if you think Willis didn’t count. Well, he did. But! As he reached three, instead of calling the knockout, he let Davis return and continue the round as if nothing happened.

The fight ended with one judge giving a lead to Davis while two concluded a draw. Although Gervonta just moved on by explaining “The grease, when you sweat, it was coming into my face.” and that “Hopefully we can run it back in New York.” But while we don’t know if there would be a rematch or the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) will drop a hammer and hand Davis his first career defeat, one more combater has added his name in the list of participants in the debate.

Sitting with Peter Rosenburg of Hot 97 yesterday, Canelo Alvarez gave his few thoughts on the controversial no-call in the Brooklyn fight on March 1. He asked, “Did Gervonta Davis take a knee, and should he have been deducted a point and, in the end, lost that fight to Roach in your opinion?” The Mexican champion replied, “Yeah in my opinion, it was a draw. He take a knee, you need to lose like 10-8 that round at least. The corner, he go up and put the towel in the face, that’s disqualification, for sure. But it’s none of my business.” 

The unified Super Middleweight champion mentioned that the moment Gervonta Davis took a knee, the referee should have given him a standing 10-count, and the judges should have deducted points for Davis in the scorecards—a straight 10-8 should have been the appropriate course of action. But since referee Steve Willis didn’t rule it a knockdown, Tank dodged a bullet and didn’t lose the round, which many argue contributed to the draw.

Indeed, in boxing, if a fighter’s corner jumps in to assist them mid-round without the ref’s green light, that’s grounds for a disqualification. So, the act of Calvin Ford jumping up and wiping Tank’s face could be seen as outside intervention. However, so far, the Commission has only said, “During the round in question – following the commission’s request for the replay video, there was a technical issue preventing the commission from receiving it within the allotted time for review. Therefore, the referee’s in-ring decision was relied upon and the fight continued.”

Roach, for obvious reasons, did not like how the exciting game ended in the Barclays Center. Post match, he told the media, “I’m a little disappointed in the decision. I thought I pulled it out. That’s what two skilled fighters do, go in there and show off their crafts. I definitely thought I won but we can run it back… The script got flipped upside down. Even though I didn’t win tonight, I thought I did, but it’s a win for me in my book, but we are not satisfied with that. We need a real W.

“It (The knee) should have been a knockdown. If that was knockdown, I win the fight.” With just two wins in the final round, Lamont could have actually received two draws, giving him a W. However, things clearly didn’t go his way, or according to the rules.

As for the 62-2 boxer, he made it clear that his stance was based on looking at the matter through an objective lens—it’s about sticking to the rulebook. “I am talking about the rules,” the Guadalajara native reminded. Moreover, he’s not alone in that stance. Even the WBA President is singing the same tune.

Top Comment by Ted

Mohamad Ali fought Sonny Liston the whole round when something was in his eyes, he never took a knee!

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WBA President clarifies his stance

With all the speculations coming from various angles, even Gilberto J. Mendoza Jr., the President of the WBA, couldn’t keep his cool. He reiterated his stance on the controversial moment for the March 1st fight that resulted in a draw. Just a few days after the final showdown, in a statement on X, the 54-year-old emphasized:

“Let me repeat: I stand by what expressed last Sunday in @ringmagazine, based on my 30 years plus experience. Taking a knee without a punch shall be rule a knockdown. It affected the result of the fight.”

Now, because it was not counted as a knockdown, Lamont Roach Jr. couldn’t emerge victorious in a unanimous decision with a little margin. While judge Glenn Feldman and Steve Weisfeld scored the bout as 114-114, judge Eric Marlinski gave it to Davis by scoring 115-113.

And that’s what had been bothering the WBA Super Featherweight champion, given the fact that he had knocked his opponent down on the ground. As a result, the 29-year-old simply didn’t accept it to be the right call. Him and his team have asked their attorney to send a letter to the NYSAC to investigate the incident. And rightly so, the march has begun.

Having said that, do you think Gervonta Davis should have been disqualified, or was the referee’s decision fair? Should NYSAC overturn the fight result based on the knee controversy, or is it time to move on to the rematch? Do let us know your thoughts below.