Tank Davis vs. Lamont Roach ends in majority draw following controversial call ruling against a knockdown

First published at www.mmafighting.com

Gervonta “Tank” Davis ended his night with the first blemish on his record after going to a majority draw following a stunning performance by Lamont Roach but he could have just as easily walked away with a loss.

The controversy unraveled in the ninth round when Davis voluntarily took a knee before effectively calling a timeout to allow his corner to use a towel to wipe his eyes. The referee actually started a mandatory 10 count but then waved it off after realizing that Davis was wiping something out of his eyes.

Still by rule, Davis taking the knee should have counted but because the referee didn’t score it as a knockdown, that ultimately made the difference between a draw and a huge upset win for Roach. During the 12 round fight, Roach outpunched Davis in numerous exchanges while arguably landing the more effective shots.

The final scorecards tallied were 115-113 for Davis and the other two judges gave identical 114-114 scores, which results in the majority draw. If Davis lost a point in the ninth with a scored knockdown, he would have fallen by split decision but instead he still leaves undefeated.

“I just got my hair done two days ago and she put grease in my shit,” Davis explained when asked about why he took the knee. “When you’re sweating and things like that, the grease was coming in my face and it burnt my eyes.

“Damn, why you all booing like I’m saying bullshit? This is real facts. Come on, look at my hair. I just got my shit done. They love you then they hate you.”

Considering how consequential that moment played into the result it’s understandable why the crowd was so upset but Davis wasted no time offering Roach the opportunity for a rematch regardless of his belief that he should have actually won the fight.

“I think I pulled it out the last three rounds,” Davis said. “I was catching him with some clean shots. He kept coming so I didn’t want to make no mistakes so I kept it cautious. To be honest, I really made it competitive.

“Lamont is a great fighter. He’s got the skills. It was a lesson [learned]. Shout out to Lamont Roach and his whole team. Hopefully we can run it back, for sure. Bring it back to New York. Let’s have a rematch back in New York … hopefully we can get a rematch. If not, all the best to Lamont Roach and his whole team.”

For his part, Roach didn’t fault Davis for wiping his eyes clean but he knows deep down that taking the knee should have been scored as a knockdown.

“He probably wasn’t [lying] when he said that grease got in his eye,” Roach said. “But if you voluntarily take a knee and the ref starts counting, it should be a knockdown. If that’s a knockdown, I win the fight. It is what it is. I’m not banking on that knockdown to win. I just thought pulled it out.”

Moral victories don’t count but Roach should definitely still hold his head high after he gave Davis everything he could handle across 12 rounds despite setting foot in the ring as a massive underdog. But getting praised for a great performance but still leaving with a majority draw just isn’t good enough for Roach

“I’ve been one of the ones and I came out here and showed it,” Roach said. “I’m a little bit disappointed in the decision, I thought I pulled it out. I definitely thought I won but we can run it back. Gervonta’s a great fighter. Even though I didn’t win tonight, I thought I did but it’s a win for me in my book. But I’m not satisfied with that. We need a real ‘W.’”

Despite all the controversy surrounding the no-call knockdown, Roach and Davis put on a show, especially in the second half of the fight.

A notoriously slow starter, Davis played with his food like usual with Roach taking an understandably cautious approach in his own right to stay away from the nasty counters coming from the undefeated champion. With Davis dancing on the outside, Roach was getting a little heavy on his lead foot, which earned him a warning from his coaches not to get too comfortable standing in front of a known knockout specialist.

The low output continued all the way to the third round, which made the fight harder to score but the power was still primarily being thrown by Davis. The exchanges led to some contentious moments with Davis actually talking trash to Roach in the ring.

Luring Roach out of his comfort zone allowed Davis to start really leaning into his punches with several stiff shots finding a home on the chin. The Davis’ left hand was coming with speed and that got more than a few reactions from the New York faithful in attendance.

Just when it looked like Davis was taking over, Roach just stepped in the pocket and started firing off shots in succession including a nasty right hand that landed clean. The success from Roach definitely got Davis’ attention as the lightweights really began firing bombs at each other.

As the fight moved into the eighth round, Davis uncorked a hellacious left that thudded off Roach’s head but rather than rattle the challenger, he came back with a right hook that briefly wobbled the Baltimore native. It was a shocking moment as Roach continued to prove he was a worthy opponent regardless of the lopsided odds.

A few moments later in the ninth round is when all the controversy stirred with the non-call for the knockdown but regardless, Roach’s confidence continue to soar even as Davis decided throw caution to the wind with several blistering combinations in a row. Davis was concentrating on punishing the body with Roach making him pay with the uppercut as the fighters were almost content to battle it out in a phone booth.

Roach refused to back down and he was consistently making Davis miss many of his biggest punches. He was also throwing rapid fire shots that were bothering Davis because he just couldn’t find any real rhythm.

By the time the final bell sounded, there was a palpable feeling that Davis may have just tasted defeat for the first time in his career. Instead, Davis escaped with a majority draw thanks to the referee’s decision not to count the voluntary knee as a knockdown with that moment looming large over the result.

At worst, Roach should earn a rematch but perhaps at best he might file a grievance with the commission following an epic night that probably should have ended with his hand raised in victory.

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