Lamont Roach Jr. came within striking distance of making history on March 1st. Had the referee called the knockdown in the ninth round, Roach would’ve earned two more points than his opponent on the scorecards, giving him a unanimous decision victory. But as fate would have it, ‘The Reaper’s’ opportunity slipped through his fingers. Ultimately, Roach was left frustrated. Though his victory was clear as day, the final verdict told a different story.

But what about his opponent, Gervonta Davis? While Tank Davis didn’t lose the fight, the fallout has been arguably worse than a defeat. He’s been relentlessly criticized for the alleged reason of taking the knee in round nine. So much so that he felt the need to step up and clear the air. However, Davis’ attempt to play the victim card didn’t sit well with many. So, what exactly went down?

Knockdown or no-knockdown: Gervonta Davis argues with Lamont Roach Jr.

A few hours ago, Gervonta Davis took to X and lamented in a now-deleted post, “They took the fight from me and made it a draw becuz I did that bullsh*t knee..but I landed the most punches in the fight..he didn’t even hit me w a punch when I took the knee. I get it though, I shouldn’t have done that but that hair grease was burning my eyes!” But the community notes on Gervonta Davis’ post became an embarrassment for the WBA lightweight champion as it directly contradicted his claim about landing more punches. This might have been one of the reasons why Tank quickly deleted his post.

As a result, Roach wasn’t ready to take his insinuations. Seeing this post from his opponent, the 25-1 boxer also took to X. His post read, “2 judges gave you that round bruv… if they scored the knock down I win by UNANIMOUS DECISION 😭.” He pointed out that despite Davis’ actions, two judges gave Davis the round where he took the knee, which Roach felt was unfair. The 29-year-old believed that if the knockdown in the ninth round had been properly scored, he would’ve won the fight by unanimous decision, and the draw wouldn’t have happened.

So the thing is, the draw cost Lamont Roach millions as the New York State Athletic Commission refused to review Gervonta Davis’ unscored knee during the fight. If the NYSAC had utilized the replay option, they could have penalized Tank. Had Davis been penalized, it could have led to a split decision loss for him, handing Roach the victory. A win over the undefeated champion would have elevated Roach’s status to a whole new level. Moreover, it would have also increased his earnings, potentially leading to higher-paying matchups and sponsorships.

Regardless, if you take a closer look at what Gervonta Davis posted earlier, things just don’t seem to add up.

Let’s look at the numbers

You see, before the fight, Gervonta Davis had an eye-opening interview with PPV[dot]com, where he learned that his knockout rate—93%, one of the best in the sport—was paired with a surprisingly low punches-per-round average of just 32 among all world champions, second-last only to heavyweight Zhilei Zhang. Davis, clearly taken aback by the revelation, expressed disappointment, saying, “Me? For real?… If I’m only throwing 32 punches? … that’s not good.” He admitted that he needed to throw more punches going forward. Well, did that happen?

Nope. When the fight began, Davis couldn’t back up his words. According to CompuBox stats, Davis averaged just 23.25 punches per round this time around, landing only 8.58, even lower than his previous average of 32. On the other hand, Lamont Roach Jr. outlanded Davis in most of the rounds, yet the fight was scored a draw. This discrepancy between Davis’ pre-fight expectations and his performance during the match further adds to the controversy surrounding the outcome.

With that said, do you think Gervonta Davis lost the fight? Do you think Lamont Roach Jr. should’ve won it instead?