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Gervonta Davis just got exposed—and after his performance against Lamont Roach Jr. tonight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, it’s hard to argue otherwise. But even before the main event began, another revelation left Davis visibly disappointed—a particular boxing stat that he couldn’t improve even during the fight.

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As you may know by now, Tank Davis was barely able to defend his WBA lightweight strap after ‘The Reaper’ proved to be a bigger challenge than anyone thought. The bout ended with a majority decision draw, tarnishing Davis’ perfect boxing record. However, this could have been a loss for Davis if the rules were followed to a T.

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During the ninth round, Davis surprisingly took a knee, and it was waved off. Though he later revealed chemicals had dripped into his eye from his hair, if it was scored as a knockdown by the referee, which it should have, Roach would have won last night. Regardless, before the fight began, Davis appeared in an interview with PPV[dot]com.

During the interview, the reporter informed Davis that he had the highest knockout rate, 93%—one of the best in the sport. However, he also had the second-lowest punches per round at 32, just above Zhilei Zhang. Both shocked and disappointed, Davis said, “Me? For real?… If I’m only throwing 32 punches? … that’s not good.”

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He even claimed, “As a fighter, I think I need to be throwing more punches.” However, he could not follow that up during the fight. According to CompuBox, Davis threw an average of 23.25 punches per round and landed 8.58 punches per round during the fight, even lower than his earlier average. Meanwhile, Roach outlanded Davis in most rounds and still was handed a draw.

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Regardless, you’d expect Davis to be eager for a rematch after recording the first draw of his career—but is that really the case?

Gervonta Davis on whether he would fight Lamont Roach Jr. next

After the draw, Davis was adamant about having a rematch in Brooklyn, even stating as much during his in-ring interview. However, by the time he reached the post-fight press conference, something had changed. When asked whether the rematch would happen in 2025, Davis surprisingly claimed, “I’m not sure, bro.”

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It can be assumed that Davis may want more time to train for the rematch, and he would like to fight next year. But that’s not the case. When pressed whether Lamont would be his next opponent, Davis stated, “It’s definitely the one I want next, but it’s not gonna be next.” It’s worth mentioning that Davis was supposed to call out Jake Paul following what he thought would be an easy win.

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That said, it appears Gervonta Davis was relying too much on his explosive power to win the fight. Unfortunately for him, a former super featherweight was durable enough to weather the storm. What are your thoughts on Davis’ surprisingly bad punch-per-round stat?

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Written by

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Sudeep Sinha

4,781 Articles

Sudeep Sinha is a Golf Writer at EssentiallySports, covering the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the storylines around the sport's biggest events and names. He previously spent over two years writing in the Boxing department, where his fight-night coverage was featured on Sports Illustrated, Daily Mail, and Yahoo Sports, including his reporting on Ryan Garcia's career arc. On the golf beat, Sudeep covers tour news, player form, and the season-long storylines that shape the men's and women's game, from majors to the ongoing shifts in how professional golf is structured. That same appetite for detail that made his boxing coverage stand out now shows up in how he breaks down a swing change or a schedule shakeup for hardcore and casual fans alike. Outside work, he splits his time between reading, cycling, and following combat sports.

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Gokul Pillai

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