Almost a week removed from Gervonta “Tank” Davis’s shocking draw against Lamont Roach, Timothy Bradley does not think Davis got exposed, or that the judges were particularly out of line in calling the fight a draw. But he does think “Tank” is probably a bit disappointed in himself. 

“Tank is not overrated, or anything like that. I know a lot of people are saying that. I know a lot of people saying that, ‘Well, this guy can beat him,’ no, no, no. Styles make fights, guys,” Bradley told BoxingScene.

Bradley happened to enjoy this particular style clash. On fight night, Bradley streamed his live reaction on his YouTube channel. When the action heated up in the late rounds, he grew gleeful, even throwing caution to the wind and turning his camera to the action on his TV screen. Though aware of the copyright strike potential – Bradley wanted nothing more than to share the fight with the people watching his video, so he did. (Eventually YouTube did indeed come for the video, and Bradley deleted it afterwards.) 

“I think it was a shocker to everyone,” Bradley said. “If you put Roach’s biggest win, the same guy that Tank fought – [Hector Luis] Garcia – the triangle thing in boxing, it really doesn’t work. But I’m just saying, it’s like, ‘Tank knocked this guy out. Same guy that [Roach] went life and death with, and he needed a knockdown in order to win the fight.’”

Bradley was especially impressed by Roach's ability to trade punches with Davis and take the return fire. “It was crazy, because Roach became the puncher! It was so interesting. There wasn’t a moment in the fight when I was like, ‘Oh, Roach is hurt badly.’” He was stung, but not hurt badly. There were spots in the fight when I was like, ‘Tank is buzzed, and it’s extremely noticeable.’”

Davis enjoyed his best run of the fight in the fifth and sixth rounds, in which he outlanded Roach 19-12, and 18-10 in power punches. “I knew that Tank usually turns it up after four. He was getting competition, all that he could handle, from Roach. So it was like, are we gonna see Tank explode right now and really put it on Roach? And he couldn’t. I mean, he tried, but he couldn’t. Roach was so game.”

Bradley doesn’t mind the scorecards. Though he scored the fight for Roach on replay (as did I, 116-112), he recognizes the several close rounds throughout the fight and is at peace with a draw, or 115-113 in Davis’ favor. 

“What people need to realize is that scoring a live and scoring a fight on TV is two different things,” he said. “Those scorecards, to me, were top notch. These [judges] are the best in the business. Every last one of these guys are the best in the business. Seriously. So it’s not like we have rookie judges on the card [...] to have it 114-114 is respectable. To have it go towards Tank, it’s respectable, in my opinion. Although I thought Tank lost!” 

Though judges are frequently subject to the ire of fans and media, the reality is that the former group is the one highly trained in how to score a fight – and as Bradley says, scoring in person is different from scoring remotely. The subjectivity of the scoring criteria also typically allows for a wide range of justifiable scores. 115-113 Davis, though not the consensus or even popular, is also not outside the realm of possibility.

Bradley does adamantly feel that referee Steve Willis – and the ringside review officials – missed a blatant knockdown in the ninth round when Davis took a knee. He knows the technique of taking a knee well – in his 2013 war with Ruslan Provodnikov, he dished out and endured a steady, brutal battering. After testing Bradley’s chin throughout the fight, Provodnikov hurt him badly in the final minute. Taking punishment, Bradley knew that he could get knocked out, so he dropped to a knee for a brief reprieve and to help drain the clock – fully aware, even concussed, that he would lose a point. (He remained clear-eyed enough to beat the count and win a narrow decision, too.)

“I took a knee voluntarily, so that way I wouldn’t get knocked out,” Bradley said. “The eight-count happened. Simple as that. It’s a no-brainer.”

Bradley referred to the well-known rules under the Association of Boxing Commissions, that “It shall be ruled a knockdown when, as a result of a legal blow or series of legal blows, a contestant: 1. Touches the floor with any part of the body other than his/her feet; 2. Is being held up by the ropes, or 3. Is hanging on, through, or over the ropes without the ability to protect him/herself and cannot fall to the floor.”

Roach struck Davis with a grazing right hand followed by two jabs in the ninth round, the latter of which Bradley believes was responsible for Davis’ eye issues that led to him taking a knee.

“There’s no excuse for Tank saying that, ‘I didn’t know [the rules concerning a knockdown],’ Bradley said. “That’s not an excuse. You’re a professional. You’ve been in the game long enough to understand.”

All that said, Bradley doubts a review or appeal will change the result of the bout. Appeals rarely do in boxing. 

In the past, Bradley has been clear in his praise of Davis’ skills and his disappointment over Davis’ matchmaking. With that in mind, and Bradley’s experience as a professional who very much did not resist running headlong into difficult fights, I asked Bradley how he thought Davis was feeling. 

With the condition that he is speculating, Bradley offered: “I think that Tank feels that he let a lot of people down. I think that Tank feels that he let himself down. I feel that he feels that he could have done better in the fight. He kind of mismanaged the fight, in a sense. I feel that he let his corner down, he feels that he let his corner down, and his fans down. I would say that he’s somewhat embarrassed, to a degree.

“And there’s a possibility he’s not feeling this way. I think there’s a possibility he’s like, ‘I’m gonna revisit this when I want to revisit this. No one’s gonna tell me what to do. It’s a draw, it’s fine, the judges got it. It is what it is, and I’m moving on.’”

Then Bradley’s lingering competitive spirit flashed. “But if I was Tank, to be honest with you, I would definitely revisit this.”