- Gervonta Davis took a knee during his fight with Lamont Roach on Saturday
- He said he had something in his eye and the referee didn’t score a knockdown
- A boxing commission is now reviewing the incident that marred the fight
The New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) has revealed it is officially reviewing the knockdown controversy that marred Gervonta Davis’ draw with Lamont Roach on Saturday night.
Davis and Roach could not be separated by the judges after 12 rounds as the former retained his WBA lightweight title at the Barclays Center in New York.
However, a hugely controversial incident occurred in the ninth round when Davis voluntarily took a knee and then went to his corner after complaining that there was something in his eye.
Referee Steve Willis initially started counting for a knockdown, but then stopped his count and allowed Davis to get his eye cleaned before restarting the contest.
Fans were left fuming with the officiating, and it proved to be a costly moment for Roach, who would have won the fight if the knockdown had been given.
Instant replays are supposed to be available in WBA title fights to help out with any controversy, but the NYSAC has now claimed that there was a technology problem during Saturday’s fight which meant that Willis’ call was allowed to stand. The commission will now review the footage and, according to Ring Magazine, they could overturn Willis’ decision.
Gervonta Davis took a knee during his world title fight with Lamont Roach on Saturday
He claimed he had something in his eye and got his corner to clean it during the ninth round
Referee Steve Willis did not penalise Davis, and the NYSAC has now claimed the instant replay technology was not working during the fight
A statement from the NYSAC read: ‘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 to review. Therefore, the referee’s in-ring decision was relied upon and the fight continued.’
The exact outcome of the review remains to be seen, but Roach hinted on Monday that he could soon be declared the official winner of the bout.
‘Word round the block yall fav fight finna be 30-1 not 30-0-1… 2X x 2 Division champ,’ he wrote on X.
Following the fight, Davis blamed grease from his hair dripping into his eyes as the reason behind him taking a knee.
‘I just got my hair done two days ago and she put grease in my s***, so the s*** was like sweating and things like that and the grease coming in my my face. It burned my eyes type s***, yeah,’ Davis explained.
‘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?”‘
But his hairstylist, ‘Lee B The Brand’ hit back at Davis for his bizarre excuse.
Davis claimed grease in his hair dripped into his eyes, but his hairstylist hit back at him
She wrote in a now-deleted post on Instagram: ‘I did his hair WEDNESDAY, It’s SATURDAY! He did press, gym and weigh in.
‘That’s no excuse, how much grease did I use damn.’
