Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis attributed his inability to unleash his full potential during his championship fight against Lamont Roach Jr. to having his hair braided just two days before the match.
The bout between Roach and Davis resulted in a majority draw, marking the first time the WBA lightweight champion faced a setback in his otherwise flawless career. The fight took place at Barclays Center in front of a capacity crowd, with one judge scoring the fight in favor of Davis by two points and the other two scoring it a 114-114 tie.
As the fight progressed to the later rounds, viewers witnessed Davis having his face wiped with a towel by his cornermen. It was later disclosed that the substance in his hair, which caused the need for wiping, was grease applied during the braiding process.
That hair appointment also led to arguably the critical moment of the fight, which saw Davis go to a knee in the ninth round with the champion escaping a knock down according to referee Steve Willis.
Roach may have only not been granted a knock down due to it being a voluntary knee from Davis and not a direct result of a punch. Some wondering why an automatic 8-count wasn’t applied as soon as ‘Tank’ left his feet.
Davis confirmed after the fight he ran water through his hair earlier on Saturday, thinking that negated the problem. The late-round burning in his eyes from the grease proved otherwise to career-altering effects.
Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Lamont Roach Jr. fought to a majority draw on Saturday night
One judge scored the bout two points in favor of Davis, while the other two scored it 114-114
‘I didn’t want to get caught while my eyes was burning. And you can’t get knocked out like that. So I’d rather take the knee. But I didn’t really know that you can, like, get the disqualified for all that. When [Willis] started counting, I’m like, “What the hell?”‘
It is unclear if Willis stopped counting or if the count from the referee at the center of Saturday’s drama was in regards to something else in the fight.
The domino effect of a knockdown could have tilted the fight Roach’s way and earned him the world title, as opposed to possibly getting another chance at the WBA lightweight title down the road.
Roach blamed the referee not counting Davis going to a knee as the difference in the fight.
‘If that’s a knockdown, I win the fight. I’m a little disappointed in the decision, I thought I pulled it out. I definitely thought I won. We can run it back,’ Roach said. ‘It’s a win for me in my book but we’re not satisfied with that, we need a real W.’
‘It should have been a knockdown. 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.’
The controversy from Davis (30-0-1, 28 knockouts) taking a knee and the referee not counting it appeared to flip the pro-Davis crowd into Roach’s corner, as New York’s fight fans could see him standing toe-to-toe with someone who had a 20-fight knockout streak ended on Saturday.
Davis’ last fight not to end with him knocking out his opponent was in October 2014, eight fights before he became WBA lightweight champion.
‘Did y’all see me in the ring to tell him to keep counting?’ Roach recalled. ‘He started counting. I was like, “Why you stop?” Like, keep counting. You can’t go back and change it.’
Davis’ cornermen, Barry Hunter and Calvin Ford, were particular impressed after the fight with how Roach took punches that have knocked out other boxers and kept coming forward.
‘He forgot where he was at,’ Ford said of Davis’ confusion due to the grease. ‘He thought he was still in the eighth round. He thought he still had rounds to go [in the final round]. He was good, we just couldn’t figure out why he wouldn’t pick it up.’
‘I think it was maybe a lack of focus just for a little bit and we’ll fix that,’ Hunter added. Davis concurred with his trainers that he needed to work on himself a little before his next bout.
Davis got a fortunate verdict from referee Steve Willis in the ninth round of the fight
Davis took a knee but it wasn’t ruled a knockdown – he said he got grease in his eye
Davis says a rematch with Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs) is the ‘fight he wants next, but it’s not going to be next’. He did not disclose his next opponent but teased he has already met with another fighter.
When possible names were brought up to Davis after the fight, he denied it was Shakur Stevenson, with that being a popular name for Davis’ next challenger before Saturday’s shock draw.
Then, a second name caused Davis to be quiet and eventually field the next question from the press – Jake Paul.
The social-media sensation and heavyweight boxer does not have a next bout scheduled after November’s win over Mike Tyson. The weight disparity between Davis and Paul would have a tough time getting sanctioned. However, many thought a 58-year-old Tyson could never step into a ring with Paul either.
The speculation of a possible Paul-Davis fight is only aided by ‘The Problem Child’ appearing ringside before Roach made his way to the ring. Davis added the public should know his next opponent sooner rather than later.
Roach made it clear that he wanted a rematch for his next fight. If Davis wanted to go elsewhere, him stepping in the ring with Stevenson is also a possibility.
Many in boxing thought Roach was a transitional opponent for Davis. That’s proved untrue by being the first to not be defeated by Davis after stepping in the ring with him.
Not being perfect also changed Davis’ retirement plans, with him wanting a few more fights before the end of the year before hanging up the gloves for good coming into Saturday. Now, more is on the table.
‘This changed my plans for sure. I got like four more fights left,’ Davis said.
This was the fourth fight for Davis inside Barclays Center, winning each of the previous three title fights by knockout.
