Gervonta Davis takes a knee in bizarre moment as he draws with Lamont Roach
Gervonta Davis suffered the first blemish on his unbeaten record against Lamont Roach. The lightweights boxed to a majority draw in a razor close fight that saw Davis take a contentious knee in the ninth round. Amazon PrimeDavis took a knee in the ninth, but it wasn’t scored a knockdown[/caption] Davis retains his WBA lightweight title as a result and will pursue a rematch with Roach, whose stock has risen tenfold following the fight. Roach entered Saturday night as a massive underdog but he proved to be Davis’ toughest test to date. The pair fought each other twice in the amateurs and that familiarity was clear from the off as a cagey opening quarter ensued. At the end of the third round, Roach pushed down ‘Tank’s’ head which prompted the champion to complain to referee Steve Willis. When he did, Roach landed a looping left hand while Davis’ head was turned. It injected some much-needed spite into Davis’ work as he came out looking to land with vengeance in the fourth stanza. At the end of the round, Davis caught Roach with several sharp straight lefts and by the fifth frame his output had increased significantly. Undettered by Davis’ added intensity, the challenger bravely engaged with the Baltimore banger in the pocket and had success up close against the pound-for-pound star. In the eighth round, Roach landed a beautiful counter right hand that stumbled Davis backwards and in the ninth they went toe-to-toe. Midway through the round nine, Davis took a knee after a jab grazed his face. View Tweet: https://t.co/oR7fYG9Ree PBCRoach asked questions of Davis[/caption] The shot appeared to compromise Davis’ vision temporarily as he walked over to his corner to get his eye wiped by a towel. The referee could have, and perhaps should have, scored it a knockdown but after a telling off, Willis allowed the action to resume. When he did, Roach and Davis got right back to work as they threw hell to the wind down the home straight to the final bell. Explaining what caused him to take a knee, Davis said: “I just got my hair done two days ago and she put grease in my s***. “When you are sweating and s*** like that, the grease came into my face and it burnt my eyes.” The crowd then started to boo. “Yo why you all booing like I’m talking b*****?” ‘Tank’ shouted. PBCDavis sat down on his shots but Roach stood up to his power[/caption] “Look at my hair, I just got my s*** done.” The mic was then passed to Roach to a cacophony of cheers. “I’m a little disappointed in the decision, I thought I pulled it off,” he said. “But that is what happens sometimes when two skilled fighters get in there and do what they do. “I definitely thought I won, hopefully we can run it back, but Gervonta is a great fighter. “I thank him for the opportunity to show the world and all the people that were doubting me, all the people talking s***, all the fake boxing media. “That s*** got flipped upside down, even though I didn’t win tonight, it is a win for me in my book but we are not satisfied with that we need a real W.” Davis also said he was open to rematching Roach and that seems to almost certainly be the next step for both men. Follow talkBOXING on social media talkBOXING is now on Twitter and Facebook. Follow us on social media for big breaking boxing news, exclusive interviews and the best bits from our talkBOXING YouTube show. Like our Facebook page HERE Follow us on Twitter HERE Sign up for our WhatsApp channel HERE
Gervonta Davis suffered the first blemish on his unbeaten record against Lamont Roach.
The lightweights boxed to a majority draw in a razor close fight that saw Davis take a contentious knee in the ninth round.
Davis retains his WBA lightweight title as a result and will pursue a rematch with Roach, whose stock has risen tenfold following the fight.
Roach entered Saturday night as a massive underdog but he proved to be Davis’ toughest test to date.
The pair fought each other twice in the amateurs and that familiarity was clear from the off as a cagey opening quarter ensued.
At the end of the third round, Roach pushed down ‘Tank’s’ head which prompted the champion to complain to referee Steve Willis.
When he did, Roach landed a looping left hand while Davis’ head was turned.
It injected some much-needed spite into Davis’ work as he came out looking to land with vengeance in the fourth stanza.
At the end of the round, Davis caught Roach with several sharp straight lefts and by the fifth frame his output had increased significantly.
Undettered by Davis’ added intensity, the challenger bravely engaged with the Baltimore banger in the pocket and had success up close against the pound-for-pound star.
In the eighth round, Roach landed a beautiful counter right hand that stumbled Davis backwards and in the ninth they went toe-to-toe.
Midway through the round nine, Davis took a knee after a jab grazed his face.
The shot appeared to compromise Davis’ vision temporarily as he walked over to his corner to get his eye wiped by a towel.
The referee could have, and perhaps should have, scored it a knockdown but after a telling off, Willis allowed the action to resume.
When he did, Roach and Davis got right back to work as they threw hell to the wind down the home straight to the final bell.
Explaining what caused him to take a knee, Davis said: “I just got my hair done two days ago and she put grease in my s***.
“When you are sweating and s*** like that, the grease came into my face and it burnt my eyes.”
The crowd then started to boo. “Yo why you all booing like I’m talking b*****?” ‘Tank’ shouted.
“Look at my hair, I just got my s*** done.”
The mic was then passed to Roach to a cacophony of cheers.
“I’m a little disappointed in the decision, I thought I pulled it off,” he said.
“But that is what happens sometimes when two skilled fighters get in there and do what they do.
“I definitely thought I won, hopefully we can run it back, but Gervonta is a great fighter.
“I thank him for the opportunity to show the world and all the people that were doubting me, all the people talking s***, all the fake boxing media.
“That s*** got flipped upside down, even though I didn’t win tonight, it is a win for me in my book but we are not satisfied with that we need a real W.”
Davis also said he was open to rematching Roach and that seems to almost certainly be the next step for both men.
