A phantom knockdown, a referee’s gaffe, a dubious decision and an unresolved outcome. Oh, and hair grease. Don’t forget the hair grease.

Saturday’s Gervonta “Tank” Davis-Lamont Roach Jnr main event in Brooklyn, New York, had a bit of everything for fight fans – not least of which was 12 rounds of excellent, strategic boxing between two world-class fighters. But a night that should have ended in unbridled admiration for both men proved to be a puzzle wrapped in an enigma jammed inside a Trojan Horse that was actually a clown car. That’s boxing for you.

Referee Steve Willis’ choice to look past Davis taking a knee in Round 9 and then retreating to his corner to have his face wiped was, at best, puzzling. But when it turned out that the outcome – a majority draw – hinged on that decision, and many believed the judges’ scorecards flattered Davis, boxing’s always-at-the-ready conspiracy theorists suddenly had more smoking guns in a single fight than they knew what to do with.

In the end, though, some believed the right man won – neither. It was a superbly matched fight, and the draw likely sets up what would be a welcome, fan-friendly rematch. All of which begs the question that our BoxingScene staff answers below: Was the outcome of the Davis-Roach draw fair?

Tris Dixon: I was so impressed with Roach. What a cool customer, and he is an absolute handful. I had Roach edging it, and that ninth-round missed call was decisive. My big take home is that if you know someone is a good fighter and they get a big fight, it shouldn’t matter how famous they are or what their social media following is in order to make it an attractive match. Roach wasn’t in either that “popular” or “big name” bracket. But he is now. Good for him. I’d happily see that again.

Kieran Mulvaney: First, a caveat: I retreated to bed before the broadcast with a cold, but I happened to wake up long enough to watch the main event on my phone. So my feverish musings may be of even less value than usual.

That said: Was the result fair? I thought the judges got it right. I and my virus also scored it 114-114, although Roach's rounds were clearer wins than most of Tank's rounds. Roach deserves immense credit for dominating the latter rounds, which is normally when Davis comes on strong, for fighting fire with fire and taking on – and beating – Davis at his own game by trading down the stretch. But all rounds – whether won narrowly or clearly, and whether late or early in the fight – count equally, and I thought they pretty much split them.

The issue, of course, is Willis’ non-knockdown call. My real-time reaction was to recognize that Willis – who is a generally excellent referee – was trying not to be overly officious and influence the result by punishing Davis for a knockdown that wasn't a knockdown. But Davis took a knee because he was in discomfort, and the fact that he was being bothered by chemicals in his hair rather than Roach’s fists is irrelevant. A boxer can’t just unilaterally decide to pause the fight and get assistance from his corner.

Technically, there’s a case to be made that Davis could even have been DQ’d for receiving training help in the corner midway through the round. Obviously, nobody who hadn’t put down money on that specific prop bet would have wanted to see the fight end that way; but by not even getting a 10-8 round, Roach has considerable reason to feel aggrieved.

Ryan Songalia: First things first: I hope Kieran is feeling better. Vitamin C and zinc are your friends. Now to the business at hand: From ringside, it appeared that the first half of the fight was a tentative affair where neither wanted to make a mistake, particularly when both boxers were at their sharpest and strongest. But as the late boxing guru Emanuel Steward once pointed out, there is a winner and a loser in each round, even in rounds where there is little to no action going on. Fights are scored by tallying the scores of all those rounds, so it’s possible that Davis’ posturing and pot-shotting earned him the edge in some judges’ eyes in those ho-hum rounds.

However, in the absence of any clean, effective punching, you have to consider other scoring criteria, and it was Roach who pressed the action. Roach laid out the blueprint for how to apply smart, disciplined pressure against a counterpuncher. He didn’t overcommit to any punches, forced Davis to try and create offense of his own – which left him vulnerable to counterpunches – and cut the ring off like an experienced pro in order to constantly be in punching range in case Davis made a move. It wouldn’t surprise me if the subtleties of boxing strategy and technique evaded some judges’ grasp.

Declan Warrington: No – for all of the reasons already widely recognized. Similarly unfair is that there’s no guarantee of Roach getting the rematch he deserves. Those considering him a worthy challenger before – Davis and PBC claimed to be among them – can’t possibly justify seeing him as anything other than the worthiest challenger of all. Unless terms are agreed for a unification fight with Shakur Stevenson, Roach should be getting his rematch or Davis should be getting stripped.

Lucas Ketelle: ​​In boxing nothing is fair. Fair is what you can get.

To me, a boxing guy, I saw Roach winning a close fight without the clear knockdown being called when Davis took a knee. It was such a clear decision that my girlfriend even stated she would not watch boxing anymore if Davis was declared the winner. He wasn’t, so boxing is still on the table, but the draw was symbolic as some of the luster of Davis is now gone. Fair is subjective in boxing, and Roach avoiding a loss after a performance like this is a victory in and of itself.

Eric Raskin: My reaction to a draw verdict in a fight where I think one fighter or the other deserved to win is usually, “Well, it could have been worse.” A draw is never the most unfair possible result – and boxing is notorious for doing the most unfair thing possible. So, that’s my way of saying that I didn’t quite hate the draw with every fiber of my being.

But, no – it was not fair. I had Roach winning 115-113. There were several close rounds – and I could more easily have landed on 116-112 for Roach than 114-114. And this is all without taking into account, as my colleagues all mentioned above, the blown non-knockdown call that would have turned even the 114-114 cards into a win for Roach.

So, no, a draw was not fair. Roach deserved better. But at least they didn’t give him a loss.

Owen Lewis: No, simply because Davis took a knee in Round 9 and Willis didn’t call a knockdown – which would have given Roach the necessary margin for victory.

That’s the rational argument. The optics are even worse. Davis, one of the biggest stars in the sport, entered this fight as an enormous favorite and a clear A-side. Roach managed not to get knocked out by Davis’ thundering fists – just the second man to escape them since “Tank” was fighting six-rounders in 2014, by the way – while still fighting in an entertaining style. The crowd was for Roach by the end, and deservedly so.

But Roach didn’t get a victory for all his troubles, and because boxing has a history of corruption, the sport can’t defend itself without getting mocked by everyone from casual fans to hardcores. I genuinely believe that the most likely scenario here is that Willis, and the judges (if you disagreed with them), screwed up in good faith. Still, nobody walks away from tonight satisfied with the scores besides Team Tank.

Jason Langendorf: My colleagues have just about said it all, but I’ll add this: I’ve seen worse.

Old heads are more likely to shrug this one off, knowing just how much has to go exactly right in officiating and scoring a fight to land on a “fair” outcome. Do I think Roach deserved to win? Yeah, I do. Is there an alternate universe in which we don’t get that outcome? Brother, we’re living in it.

In honor of the late Gene Hackman, I offer “Unforgiven” and an exchange between Clint Eastwood’s William Munny and Hackman’s Little Bill Daggett:

“I don’t deserve this,” says Little Bill, as Munny lines him up for a killshot.

Munny’s reply: “Deserve's got nothing to do with it.”

Boxing’s scoring apparatus is roughly akin to those in figure skating, gymnastics and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Until the sport creates a more structured, transparent and honorable system, we’re gonna keep getting these decisions. Fair’s got nothing to do with it.