It has been days since the Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach Jr. fight but the verdict still has people scratching their heads. In the ninth round, ‘Tank’ voluntarily dropped to his knee, which meant Roach couldn’t punch him. Davis then went to the ropes to wipe his face with a towel. The reason? Well, the boxer revealed that he had his hair done two days ago, and the products used “came into my face and it burned my eyes”. But what about the technical aspects of the sport?

When Davis took a knee, referee Steve Willis started to count, but when he reached three, he didn’t rule it as a knockdown, like he should have. Had it been declared a knockdown, Roach would have won via decision—A very different picture in comparison to a draw. No wonder Roach and his side are fuming over the alleged error. His attorney even sent a letter to New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) executive director Matt Delaglio. Roach’s team requested that the decision be overturned to win. But this comes with its own challenges.

On Monday, the commission revealed that while they attempted to review the footage, technical issues made it difficult. “During the round in question, following the commission’s request for the replay video, there was a technical issue preventing the commission from receiving it within the allotted time for review. Therefore, the referee’s in-ring decision was relied upon and the fight continued.”

“The commission is dedicated to preserving the integrity of combative sports and is committed to working with all promotions and production teams — on behalf of the athletes, officials, and fans — to ensure technical issues do not occur in the future that prevent the delivery of ringside instant replay feeds to the commission’s officials when needed.”

Now, we have Gilberto J. Mendoza Jr., the president of the WBA, who reiterated his stance on the controversial moment during the fight between Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach Jr. In a statement on X, the 54-year-old emphasized:

“Let me repeat: I stand by what expressed last Sunday in @ringmagazine, based on my 30 years plus experience. Taking a knee without a punch shall be rule a knockdown. It affected the result of the fight.”

Now, because it was not counted as a knockdown, two judges scored the bout as 114-114, and the third judge gave it to Davis 115-113. However, Roach simply doesn’t accept it to be the right call. “If you voluntarily take a knee and the ref’s not counting, that’s a knockdown,” he said. “If that’s a knockdown, I win the fight.”

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Tank got a free pass

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But this issue reminds us of a Floyd Mayweather fight. Remember in 2001, he faced Carlos Hernandez? Well, during that clash, ‘Money’ took a knee in the sixth round and was seemingly hurt. He walked to his corner, and it looked like something was wrong with his left hand. Now, while Mayweather was able to continue the bout and eventually won it, his taking a knee was scored as a knockdown in Hernandez’s favor.

Lamont Roach Jr. gets support from Garcia and Crawford!

Roach isn’t the only one pushing for a change. Ryan Garcia and Terence Crawford are on the same page.

In a tweet, he posted on Sunday, Garcia wrote, “What I’m wondering is if the commission only makes changes when you complain and cry like Haney or they actually care about the integrity of the sport! Nothing against tank but since the commission switches my victory they should switch this victory for roach. They won’t tho bc they were out to get me from the beginning.”

Then, there was Crawford who wrote on X: “Roach won and that should have been called a knock down. Let’s see what happens.”

Just a few minutes later, the boxer posted another tweet which read: “I never seen someone take a knee and they don’t count it as a knock down. Must of forgot the rules for tonight.”

Regardless, with the complaint officially raised, Roach’s team is now preparing to bolster their case, hoping that if the knockdown is recognized, Roach can be declared the new WBA lightweight champion, with ‘Tank’ Davis suffering a loss on his record.

Do you also agree with Gilberto Mendoza Jr.? Share your thoughts with us below.