The New York State Athletic Commission has decided not to alter the draw between WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and super-featherweight champion Lamont Roach, individuals connected to both fighters told BoxingScene Friday.
Roach appealed to the commission to reconsider the 115-113, 114-114, 114-114 scorecards following the human errors committed by referee Steve Willis in the ninth round of Saturday’s bout at New York’s Barclays Center.
Washington’s Roach had landed a handful of blows on Baltimore’s unbeaten three-division champion Davis when Davis turned away from the action to take a knee, then walked to his corner, where co-trainer Calvin Ford wiped his face.
Davis, 30-0-1 (28 KOs), said his eyes stung from a hair chemical that was applied two days earlier.
But Roach’s team railed at the fact that Willis stopped his eight count to signify a knockdown that would’ve likely given Roach a 10-8 round on all three scorecards, and that he failed to sanction Davis for turning his back to the action – an act of surrender that could trigger a disqualification – and that he was treated by the trainer.
Two judges scored the ninth 10-9 for Davis – a monumental turn of events that allowed America’s most popular fighter to preserve the draw.
“It’s a disappointment, but we had to protest,” said ProBox TV founder Garry Jonas, whose company backs Roach. “We can only control what we can control.
“Once we get Lamont back in the ring [with Davis], we’ll have the chance to get it right in the ring.”
Roach, 25-1-2 (10 KOs), told BoxingScene Thursday he was hopeful the New York commission would reward him the victory considering it spent an abundance of time reviewing the matter.
But in the end, the commission informed a Roach attorney Friday that while Roach should have been credited with a knockdown and that Willis made a mistake, it was not changing the outcome.
Roach remains positive that he’ll be granted a rematch by Davis, and Roach additionally has felt buoyed by the public’s response to his performance and the way he was wronged. A video replay of the knockdown additionally failed to reach the commission’s replay official in time for a reversal.
“An unofficial win is almost as good as a win … the response and support for this young man [Roach] has given his career a major leap. This was certainly a bittersweet outcome, but it’s far more sweet than bitter.
“All Lamont can do now is control how he does in the ring next time.”
Roach, fighting as a 16-1 betting underdog, surprisingly landed the heavier punches on Davis – twice rocking him significantly – and Roach didn’t ever appear bothered by Davis’ famed power.
Jonas said he hopes the New York commission will absorb this incident as an opportunity to treat both fighters fair in the future, regardless of who the “A-side” is.
“Lamont won the fight in the eyes of the public, and we’ll take that,” Jonas said.
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.