In this week’s mailbag, we tackle your thoughts on the New York State Athletic Commission deciding not to overturn the draw in the Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach fight, plus whether Daniel Dubois was the deserving winner of the best British boxer of 2024 award, whether Claressa Shields is hyped-up, and whether Gilberto Ramirez’s pre-cruiserweight campaign was overrated.

Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.

NYSAC’S DECISION ON TANK VS. ROACH IS A COP-OUT 

This (“NYSAC: Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach Jnr to remain a draw”) is a cop-out. I’m fine with them not retroactively changing the scoring of the ninth round to count a knockdown and therefore give Roach the victory. If a knockdown had been called in real-time, Davis would have fought differently the last three rounds to get that point back. But it feels like they didn’t even address Davis going to the corner and the cornerman coming up to wipe him. That should have been a disqualification. And an easy way to give Roach the win. But protecting Davis appears to be more the goal here.

-CommanderVander

Kieran Mulvaney’s response: I understand where you’re coming from, but honestly, I think the NYSAC’s hands were somewhat tied here. As you note, they could not reasonably award Roach the victory because we have no idea how the fight would have unfolded down the stretch had referee Steve Willis docked Davis a point in round 9.

A retroactive DQ would also have been hard to justify, because that kind of step is at the referee’s discretion. Case in point: Roger Mayweather stormed into the ring after Zab Judah punched his nephew in the crown jewels in their 2006 contest. Technically, that was an instant DQ. But referee Richard Steele didn’t do that; he allowed the fight to continue after he sent Roger back to the dressing room. And, in the context, that was the correct decision. 

Granted, the two situations aren’t exactly analogous, but it’s a way of illustrating that the referee does have some leeway here. And the NYSAC notes that Willis tried to have his decision reviewed between rounds.

Had Davis been pounding the bejesus out of Roach, not very many people would be complaining about round 9, and most would likely have noted that it would have been an injustice for Tank to be disqualified from a fight he was winning handily. The problem is that Roach did everything right in the fight except win one more clear round to give him the win. 

He’s entitled to feel deeply aggrieved at how everything panned out and to feel that life is unfair. I feel for him, I really do. But I don’t know that there was much else the NYSAC could have done.

KNOCKDOWN NEED NOT HAVE BEEN CALLED IN TANK VS. ROACH

Although I think Lamont Roach won, I am completely fine with the knockdown not being called. It was clear that a punch didn’t cause the knockdown. I think refs should be able to use their discretion in this type of situation. People are going to scream ‘It is the rule,’ but Davis was being sincere in his actions. 

-Aware 

Owen Lewis’ response: Though I see where you’re coming from, I mostly disagree. A punch did cause the knockdown, in that a glancing right hand followed by two left jabs from Roach led to Davis’ discomfort. They weren’t traditional knockdown punches and didn’t hurt Davis, but they were the reason why grease (as Davis says) got in his eye, which is why he took a knee. 

As Lance Pugmire wrote last week, the New York State Athletic Commission actually did say that Willis made a mistake in not calling the knockdown – they just didn’t change the result of the fight. Had his corner rubbed grease into Davis’ eye in the break between rounds, slightly delaying his return to the center of the ring, I think this argument would hold more water. I don’t know how the fight would have turned out if the knockdown had been called in the moment, but given the series of events that did happen, Roach got screwed. 

DANIEL DUBOIS SHOULDN’T BE BRITISH FIGHTER OF THE YEAR 

Daniel Dubois (“Daniel Dubois named BBBofC's boxer of the year”) won a vacant fake belt and then chickened out of defending it against Joseph Parker. Nick Ball had a robbery draw against Rey Vargas, beat Raymond Ford and then beat Ronny Rios. Much better year. 

-famicommander

Tris Dixon’s response: I get the argument, and I have seen it made elsewhere. However, I disagree. Dubois beat Filip Hrgovic, one of the division’s supposed dangermen and an unbeaten contender, and then he went and blitzed Anthony Joshua, one of the top four heavyweights in the world, in devastating fashion.

The Board awards in question cover the 2024 calendar year, so the Parker pull-out is not up for consideration. And, of course, none of this is said to diminish Ball’s fine breakout year, which was outstanding.

CLARESSA SHIELDS’ CAREER IS A HYPED-UP JOKE

Claressa Shields’ career has been nothing but a hyped-up joke from the beginning. It’s not her fault that there are no talented fighters above 147, but you don’t get credit for beating 40-year-old soccer moms and school crossing guards who take Boxercise classes on the weekend. 

-ifc

Owen Lewis’ response: I have to say, ifc, I wonder how much of this comment is genuine. If you follow women’s boxing, you know that Claressa Shields is a cut above everybody else – despite the brilliance of Katie Taylor even as she approaches 40, or Amanda Serrano’s heroics in various weight classes, you won’t find many who would rank either of them above Shields, pound-for-pound (The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, ESPN, and Sporting News all rank Shields #1, just to name a few).

The one part of your comment that I can take in good faith is that it’s not Shields’ fault that the competition in the higher weight classes is a bit thin. That’s not her fault, and it’s not even the fault of the lesser fighters. Because boxing is deeply misogynistic at its core and has not bothered to develop the women’s side of the sport in the way practically every other sport on earth has, these women haven’t been able to enjoy the funding or world-class training from a young age that is crucial to an elite fighter’s development.

You can’t say Shields hasn’t done everything possible to test herself, and I don’t see why you would go out of your way to say she shouldn’t get credit for her last win, when there were no other obvious opponents available. A fighter or competitor lesser than Shields would surely have stayed in one or two weight classes instead of jumping from 168lbs, to 160, to 154, back to 160, and now to 175, or they would have retired instead of continuing to seek new challenges.

This knowledge is easily accessible via pound-for-pound lists and Shields’ BoxRec. So to turn the question on you: Why did you call Shields’ career a hyped-up joke when most believe she’s the best female fighter in the world right now, if not ever?

I’m led to believe that you don’t respect women’s boxing very much, and that you also haven’t taken the time to learn much about it. Generally, blaming people for things that are not their fault is an ill-advised practice. So why not applaud Shields for doing everything she possibly can in some admittedly thin weight divisions instead of dumping on her? It’s fine if you don’t like women’s boxing, but do the fighters and yourself the respect of not slandering the participants out of hand.

GILBERTO RAMIREZ IMPRESSIVE AT CRUISERWEIGHT, BUT WHAT ABOUT BEFORE?

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez had a padded record leading up to the Dmitry Bivol fight and got shut out. Since his move to cruiserweight, he’s been a lot more impressive, in my opinion. 

-TelMex

Lucas Ketelle’s response: To be cynical, every fighter has a record that can be questioned. When a fighter loses, another top contender gets devalued. 

Gilberto Ramirez held the WBO super middleweight title from 2016-2019. During that period of time, he might not have beaten the biggest names, but he won the belt from a titleholder, Arthur Abraham, and made five defenses, two of them against Jesse Hart. Ramirez’s light heavyweight run had a lot of stoppages, but the big loss to Dmitry Bivol overshadowed all of his prior achievements. 

At cruiserweight, Ramirez has been undervalued. He has a good amount of skills and takes a good punch. While Jai Opetaia has made a name for himself with excitement, a case can be made that Ramirez is the best guy in the division. Ramirez has spent nearly a decade at the highest level of the sport, which shows his class, but the Bivol fight seems to make a lot of fight fans skeptical. Ramirez’s final act at cruiserweight (and maybe one day heavyweight) might garner him the praise I believe he deserves.

Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.