It takes a truly bad call for a referee to take an L even after a fight is over. That’s exactly what happened to Harvey Dock following the Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney bout last April. Now, history is repeating itself with Steve Willis after the nail-biting showdown between Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach in New York.

As we all know by now, despite being the betting favorite and the so-called ‘face of boxing,’ Gervonta Davis nearly lost to WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach. Despite climbing up a weight division to fight the biggest name in it, Roach proved to be a tougher opponent than anyone had dreamed of. He not only went blow for blow with Davis but also pushed his opponent to his limits, often forcing the champion to hold on to the ropes for dear life. Regardless, at the end of the bout, no one got their hand raised, and the fight was declared a majority decision draw. However, fans and experts felt Roach had done enough to secure a win. 

This is mainly because Davis took a knee in the 9th round of the fight, which he claims was because of grease from his hair getting into his eyes. Grease or not, the knee went unpunished by referee Steve Willis and cost Lamont Roach Jr. the fight. If it were to be counted as a knockdown, Roach literally would have won the fight via unanimous decision. 

It was a bad call by the referee, to say the least. While the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) has taken charge and is currently looking into the matter, which could overturn the decision in Roach’s favor, Willis never should have made that mistake. And now he is paying for it. Saudi Boxing Chief Turki Alalshikh who hasn’t had the best dynamic with Davis, recently took a dig at Willis through social media. “NO KNOCKDOWN🤷🏻‍♂️,” Alalshikh wrote on X while sharing a selfie of Willis.

However, this isn’t the first time Alalshikh and Davis garnered a mention in the same breath. 

Turki Alalshikh responds to Gervonta Davis’ ‘Devil’ claims

Gervonta Davis made headlines recently with his strong criticism of Turki Alalshikh and the Riyadh Season boxing events. In a February 27 interview with FightHype, the WBA lightweight champion expressed deep skepticism about Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the sport. Referring to a viral photo of fighters posing with Alalshikh, Davis stated, “That looked like some devil s***, didn’t it? Facts, though. Devil s***, like they sold their souls.”

Alalshikh quickly responded to Davis’ remarks through Ring Magazine on February 28, taking a subtle jab at Tank’s career earnings. “I don’t blame Tank Davis for anything that he says. He doesn’t know me. If I put myself in his position: if he sees [Terence] Crawford making in two fights more with five times than all what Tank made in his career. This is a natural reaction from him.”

While the ongoing friction suggests an unlikely partnership between the two, Alalshikh has previously turned skeptics into business partners. With Canelo Alvarez recently signing a four-fight deal, it remains to be seen if Davis will hold his ground—or if the financial incentives of Riyadh Season will eventually change his stance.

That being said, Gervonta Davis has managed to make a lot of enemies with his attitude. And now that he is vulnerable, the same enemies aren’t missing the opportunity to poke fun at Davis. What do you think of Alalshikh’s remark?