Gervonta Davis attributed touching the ring canvas during his fight against Lamont Roach to greasy hair product, bizarrely suggesting it prevented a knockdown.
Davis went the distance in a 12-round bout, retaining his WBA lightweight title and undefeated status after a contentious draw against Roach.
However, the most debated moment wasn’t the judges’ scores, but the incident in the ninth round.
Roach landed a jab on Davis, and the champion hesitated before his knee touched the canvas after a delayed reaction.
Conventionally, a knee or glove touching the canvas results in an automatic count and point deduction.
Referee Steve Willis, however, allowed Davis to return to his corner to have his face attended to by his trainers, causing widespread confusion among viewers.
Later, Davis faced boos from the audience when he stated that hair product running into his eyes triggered the reaction.
He explained, “I just got my hair done two days ago, and she put grease in my hair.”
“So, the grease was sweating and getting into my face.”
“It burned my eyes, that kind of thing. Why are you all booing me like I’m lying?” Davis questioned the crowd’s negative reaction.
“This is the truth. Look at my hair; I just had it styled.”
“But it’s okay. You know how it goes. They love you, then they hate you, then they love you again.”
One judge scored the fight 115-113 for Davis, while the other two judges scored it 114-114, resulting in a majority draw.
If Roach had been correctly awarded a knockdown, he would have likely secured a split-decision victory.
Roach commented, “If you intentionally take a knee and the referee begins counting, it should be considered a knockdown.”
“If that was ruled a knockdown, I would have won the fight. But it is what it is. I’m not relying on that knockdown for a win, but I believed I had won anyway.”
Terence Crawford, an undefeated champion across four weight divisions, asserted that Roach was unfairly denied the win.
He posted online, “They robbed that boy, it’s unbelievable.”
“I’ve never witnessed someone take a knee and not have it scored as a knockdown. They must have forgotten the rules for tonight.”
Boxing reporter Steve Mannix suggested Davis was fortunate to avoid disqualification.
Mannix tweeted, “I’ve been texting with three experienced boxing referees. All agree: the knee should have been called a knockdown.”
“One even mentioned that Davis could have been disqualified for receiving attention from his corner at that moment.”
Both fighters expressed interest in a rematch, with Davis proposing it should take place in New York, following their draw at the Barclays Center.
He stated, “We can definitely do it again.”
“Let’s bring it back to New York. Let’s have a rematch in New York. Let’s do it again.”
